Middle Tennessee’s Jennings, Vanderbilt’s Owen earn TSWA weekly honors

March 21, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee’s Gabe Jennings and Vanderbilt’s Hunter Owen were named the baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from March 13-19.

Jennings batted .500 (9-for-18) with two doubles, a triple, one homer and nine RBIs in four games for the Blue Raiders. The Lebanon, Tenn., native was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs in a midweek victory against Tennessee Tech, posting a two-run single in the fourth, a two-run double in the fifth, a solo homer in the seventh and an RBI double in the eighth.

The junior collected three hits, including an RBI triple, in the first of a three-game series against Western Kentucky. He singled and drove in a run in the second game of the series and added a single and a stolen base in the series finale with the Hilltoppers. Jennings is batting .270 with three doubles, four home runs, 21 RBIs and 15 runs scored in 19 games this season.

Owen tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout against Ole Miss in the second game of a weekend series for the Commodores. The South Portland, Maine, native walked one and threw just 96 pitches in Vanderbilt’s first nine-inning, complete-game shutout since Jack Leiter’s no-hitter vs. South Carolina in 2021.

Owen retired the final 23 batters he faced in the contest, striking out 11 against the defending national champions. The lefthander improved to 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA in five starts this season, tossing 28.2 innings and giving up 19 hits with nine walks and 35 strikeouts. Opponents are batting just .184 against him.

2022-23 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 21 – Jack Roode, University of the South (Player); Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
February 28 – Jared Dickey, Tennessee (Player); Chase Burns, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 7 – Blake Burke, Tennessee (Player); Chase Dollander, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 14 – Cole Turney, Cumberland University (Player); Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)

Carson-Newman’s Bailey, Tennessee State’s Manus garner TSWA weekly accolades

March 21, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman’s Macauley Bailey and Tennessee State’s Caitlyn Manus garnered softball Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from March 13-19.

Bailey batted .643 (9-for-14) with two extra-base hits, 11 RBIs and five runs scored in four games for the Eagles. The Cross Plains, Tenn., native posted two hits and three RBIs along with a run scored in the first of two games against UVA-Wise and was 4-for-4 with four RBIs in the second contest versus the Cavaliers, including a two-run double.

The freshman singled home a run and scored once in the first game of a doubleheader against Newberry College and posted two hits with a solo homer, three RBIs and two runs scored in the nightcap. Bailey is batting .448 with eight doubles, 10 home runs and 22 runs scored in 30 contests. She leads all NCAA divisions with 48 RBIs.

Manus posted a 1-1 record with a 0.00 ERA over two outings for the Tigers, helping TSU break a 14-game losing streak to conference rival Southeast Missouri.

The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native tossed a complete-game shutout against SEMO in the first of a three-game series, allowing just four hits with three walks and one strikeout. The sophomore righthander retired the side in order just twice in the game, working around at least one baserunner in 5-of-7 innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the fifth in a 3-0 contest.

Manus suffered the loss in a midweek contest against UAB, giving up one unearned run and three hits with one strikeout in 4.0 innings of relief in a 2-1 defeat. She has posted a 10-8 record in 20 appearances covering 94.2 innings, posting 48 strikeouts with two shutouts and eight complete games.

2022-23 TSWA SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 21 – Macey Neal, Union University (Player)
February 28 – Chloe Kleischmidt, Tusculum University (Player); Rylee Gattis, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
March 7 – Acelynn Sellers, Chattanooga (Player); Alyssa Lavdis, Chattanooga (Pitcher)
March 14 – Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman (Player); Ashlan Sensing, Trevecca Nazarene (Pitcher)

Carson-Newman’s Bailey, Trevecca’s Sensing earn TSWA weekly honor

March 14, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman’s Macauley Bailey and Trevecca Nazarene’s Ashlan Sensing garnered softball Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from March 6-12.

Bailey batted .500 with one double, one triple and 10 RBIs in six games for the Eagles. The Cross Plains, Tenn., native singled and drove in a run with sacrifice flies in both ends of a doubleheader against Limestone University. The freshman catcher collected two hits and four RBIs in the first of two games versus North Greenville, including an RBI single in the first and a bases-clearing triple in the fourth.

She followed that with three more RBIs in the second game at NGU with an RBI groundout and a two-run single. Bailey collected two hits in both games of a twinbill against Catawba College, including a sacrifice fly to end the second contest that completed a six-run come-from-behind victory, the largest comeback in school history.

Bailey is hitting .410 with seven doubles, nine homers, 37 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 26 games this season.

Sensing posted a 3-1 record with a 0.54 ERA and three shutouts in four outings, including a perfect game. Opponents batted just .159 against her over 26.0 innings of work.

The Dickson, Tenn., native tossed a four-hit shutout in the team’s first game of the week versus Lewis University, striking out four without a walk in a 2-0 victory. She retired the side in order in three of the last four innings and induced an inning-ending doubleplay in the fifth after a one-out single.

The sophomore righthander suffered the loss in a 2-1 setback against Ferris State, giving up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts in six innings. She rebounded with a six-inning perfect game versus College of Staten Island, striking out nine and ended the week with a complete-game victory against Southwest Minnesota State, tossing another shutout with no walks and three strikeouts.

Sensing improved to 5-4 with a 1.49 ERA in 61.0 innings over 12 appearances, allowing 42 hits with six walks and 60 strikeouts.

Cumberland’s Turney, Middle Tennessee’s Hamm earn TSWA weekly honors

March 14, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Cumberland’s Cole Turney and Middle Tennessee’s Jaden Hamm were named the baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from March 6-12.

Turney batted .636 (7-for-11) with six home runs, 12 RBIs and nine runs scored in four games for the Phoenix. The Richmond, Texas, native hit a two-run homer in the first inning and scored twice in a midweek contest at Bryan College.

The senior outfielder belted three home runs in the first of a three-game series against Shawnee State, including a solo shot in the third, a two-run blast in the fourth and another two-run homer in the fifth. He drilled a three-run homer, walked three times and scored three runs in the second game versus the Bears and added a two-run shot among two hits in the series finale.

Turney is batting .551 with four doubles, 13 home runs, 37 RBIs and 25 runs scored through 18 games this season. He has 19 walks and just six strikeouts in 73 plate appearances.

Hamm tossed a one-hit, complete-game shutout in the series opener against Evansville for the Blue Raiders. The Culleoka, Tenn., native walked three and struck out 11, posting the first nine-inning, one-hit complete-game shutout for the program since Bob Hardin in 1976.

Evansville’s only hit was of the infield variety to leadoff the sixth inning, but the junior righthander induced an inning-ending doubleplay to escape a 1st-and-3rd jam with one out in a 1-0 contest. The Blue Raiders also turned a doubleplay to end the third inning and Hamm faced only four batters over the minimum in the complete game.

Hamm improved to 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 28.0 innings over four appearances this year, allowing 23 hits with six walks and 36 strikeouts.

Tennessee’s Blake, Dollander earn TSWA weekly honors

March 7, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee’s Blake Burke and Chase Dollander were named the baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from February 27-March 5.

Burke batted .500 (11-for-22) with two doubles, three home runs, 14 RBIs and five runs scored in five games for the Vols. The Brentwood, Calif., native posted three hits with a two-run single, an RBI single and a two-run homer in the first of two games against Charleston Southern. He collected a two-run single and another two-run homer in the second contest versus the Buccaneers.

The sophomore infielder posted six hits in 14 at-bats in a weekend series versus Gonzaga, including three hits and two RBIs in the opener. He added three more hits and a three-run homer in the second game against the Zags and walked and scored in the series finale.

Burke leads the club with a .420 batting average while registering seven home runs, 21 RBIs and 13 runs scored in 13 outings this season.

Dollander tossed six shutout innings in the series opener against Gonzaga, scattering six hits. The Evans, Ga., native did not walk a batter and struck out 11, retiring the side in order just once. The junior righthander worked around two singles to start the game and induced a ground ball doubleplay after a leadoff single in the third. The contest was scoreless until the Vols plated six combined runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Dollander posted his second straight double-digit strikeout effort and improved to 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA in three outings this year, giving up just 14 hits with two walks and 30 strikeouts in 17.1 innings.