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Tennessee Vols morning report: Karen Weekly, players on sweep of Texas A&M

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Spring practice is over, the NBA Playoffs are underway, and the NFL Draft is not for another week. That doesn’t mean the Tennessee Vols aren’t still loaded with news regarding their athletic program in the middle of the week, mainly on the diamond.

Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with continued coverage of a huge softball series win Monday. We’ll add to what we’ve already done on that front with postgame interviews. Meanwhile, we have a baseball award and a baseball preview to bring you.

Men’s tennis also made news with another player winning an award he’s already won multiple times on the year, and we’ll touch on that too. Let’s start, though, with everything happening in baseball and softball, as those continue to generate stories.

Karen Weekly, players recap sweep of Texas A&M – UTSports

A walk-off home run by Zaida Puni, a walk-off grand slam by Kelcy Leach and a complete game by Erin Edmoundson fueled Tennessee softball’s sweep over the Aggies. After Monday’s game, Karen Weekly, Puni and Edmoundson all spoke. Weekly, who got her 1200th win over the weekend, discussed the importance of an SEC sweep. Here’s a bit of what she said.

"“It’s a really big deal. Hard to get sweeps in this league. Just a great performance (Monday) by Erin (Edmoundson), and then Zaida (Puni) just keeps being Zaida, so a lot of good things happened this weekend.”"

Puni, who had two home runs over the weekend, talked about how she felt after the sweep ended. Here’s a bit of what she said it did for her confidence.

"“It just shows that I know how to play, and I think I’ve been holding back on performing, so this weekend, it basically showed that my confidence is there.”"

Edmoundson talked about what was working for her and Leach at catcher late in the game Sunday with so many strikeouts. Here’s how she described it.

"“We were kind of mixing it up. Kelcy (Leach) and I have worked together for five years now, and so we just work like clockwork in some ways.”"

Jorel Ortega named SEC Player of the Week – Jack Foster, SI.com

Thanks to three home runs and going 8-of-12 at the plate in the Tennessee Vols baseball team’s series win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Southeastern Conference named second baseman Jorel Ortega as its player of the week. He’s the first UT player to receive that award this year.

"Ortega led the SEC with a .563 batting average for the week and also tied for the league lead with nine hits, with his Sunday performance featuring a career-high four hits. He also tied for second in the SEC with six runs scored last week, scoring at least once in every game."

Baseball to host Bellarmine – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com

Despite two losses last week, the Tennessee Vols baseball team remains No. 1 across almost every service. They will host the Bellarmine Knights Tuesday in a midweek series.

"First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. EDT. SEC Network+ will televise the midweek matchup with Andy Brock on the call.The Vols enter Tuesday’s contest ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll for the fourth consecutive week."

Shunsuke Mitsui wins SEC award for third time – SECSports

Shunsuke Mitsui was named SEC Freshman of the Week again, marking twice in a row and three times on the year he’s earned the award. He earned it for his efforts in helping the Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team beat Alabama on Friday and the Auburn Tigers on Sunday.

"With a pair of singles wins this weekend, Tennessee freshman Shunsuke Mitsui became just the second player in the SEC this season to reach the 20-win milestone in dual singles matches. Mitsui is also the lone SEC freshman to log 20 regular-season dual singles wins this year."

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