– Senior Day turned out to be a great day for Tennessee Tech's softball seniors as the Golden Eagles completed the sweep over Morehead State 7-seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Softball Championship and put together some great performances The top of which was Payton Wagner throwing the program's 20th no-hitter in its history and the first since Alyssa Arden threw one in 2019 to top Jacksonville State then topped the visiting Eagles 3-1 in the second game The Golden Eagles complete the regular season with a 19-33 record and 11-16 in the Ohio Valley Conference 6-seeded Tennessee State in the opening game of the OVC tournament at 10 a.m Wednesday at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria The winner will advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will face No It is Tech's second-straight appearance in the OVC tournament and the first time to make back-to-back appearances in the field since the 2016 and 2017 campaigns Wagner came close to throwing a perfect game allowing a single walk to lead off the second inning striking out eight – her best tally in a Tennessee Tech uniform allowing eight runs – seven earned – as she gave up six hits Sofia Carroll went 2-for-3 in game one, while Jailynn Paderez drove in two then Stewart scored on a throwing error on a stolen base by Carroll One run came in during the fourth as Shoulders' sacrifice fly to center field brought in Skylar Sybesma Tech forced the run rule in the bottom of the fifth as pinch-runner Bella Ochoa scored on Paderez' sacrifice fly to right. Makayli Harris grounded into a fielder's choice and Morehead State opted to try to get Kirby at the plate the umpires ruled Kirby safe on obstruction Carroll ended the game with what was officially a single to center field as Bishop crossing the plate forced the run rule In game two, Lainey Fitzgerald picked up her fifth win of the season Kirby drove in two runs with a solo home run in the bottom of the first to tie the game at one, then a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Abbee Klinefelter drove in Shoulders before that with an intended sacrifice bunt that resulted in a fielder's choice Shoulders slid under the tag and was called safe Following the game, Tech's seniors – Shoulders, Ashlyn Riggs They also caught the ceremonial first pitch from their fathers before the start of the day's first game We use cookies to ensure you have the best browsing experience on our website. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy & Terms of Service – The Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team dropped its first of two match-ups with Ohio Valley Conference rival Morehead State for the weekend falling to the visiting Eagles Friday afternoon in a 5-0 decision at the Tech Beach Courts For Tech (3-9, 1-4), the No. 1 pairing of Bella Powell and Alayna Pierce pushed their opponents the hardest on the day The Golden Eagle duo earned an impressive 21-12 win in the first set against Morehead's Bella Marita and Irene Wogenstahl but the visiting pair flipped the score in set two for a 21-12 win of their own 4-1) side edged Powell and Pierce in the deciding fight Hargan and Peighton Isley by tight scores of 23-21 and 24-22 Competing as an extra, non-scoring pairing, Tech's combo of Bella Lineberger and Ayanna Rodgers fell in straight sets at the hands of Landyn Snowden and Amelia Nott Tech and Morehead State will square off again on Saturday morning with an 11:00 a.m who served as the Golden Eagle head coach for the first seven tilts of the year and new head coach Bella Borgiotti will each be honored with commemorative volleyballs to honor their first career wins directing the purple and gold – Following 21 years leading the Tennessee Tech athletic department to new levels of success across the playing fields Mark Wilson is resigning as director of athletics for the Golden Eagles effective June 30 A national search will begin immediately for a director of athletics Wilson assumed his role as Tennessee Tech University's director of athletics in July 2004 Over his more than 20 years at the helm of the department he has led the Golden Eagles to 45 Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships and 18 appearances in NCAA Championships highlighted by the 2018 baseball team's Super Regional appearance He has also championed Tennessee Tech's commitment to academic achievement with Golden Eagle student-athletes achieving 32 straight semesters with a department GPA above 3.0 19 individual members of the purple and gold have taken home the OVC Scholar Athlete Award the league's highest honor presented to student-athletes Tech has claimed 23 OVC Team Academic Awards and earned two OVC Institutional Sportsmanship Awards "I have loved working alongside our donors and staff to propel Tennessee Tech Athletics Thank you for blessing me in so many immeasurable ways "We are immensely grateful to Mark for his unwavering commitment to Tennessee Tech and the success of our student-athletes not only on the field but also in the classroom," said TTU President Dr "Mark has been a beacon to the University and the Cookeville community He has also helped Tennessee Tech navigate a global pandemic and the biggest changes the college athletics landscape has ever seen I am thankful for all that Mark has done for Tennessee Tech and our students." improvements to the department have been plentiful The Hooper Eblen Center has seen the creative addition of basketball offices and the Pruett Director's Skybox and the second on-campus floor projection system in the country.  The three-time defending OVC regular season champion soccer program has seen enhancements to the grass playing surface and lights at Tech Soccer Field The 25,000-square-foot Athletic Performance Center has become a crucial piece to athletic performance and life on campus Both Quillen Field at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex and Tech Softball Field were recently remodeled with turf installed over both playing surfaces and new padded outfield walls installed at each facility.  Baseball's lights were upgraded to LED in 2022 "During our search for an AD at the time of Mark's hiring every Tennessee Tech coach expressed that we needed rastic improvements in facilities a full allotment of assistant coaches as allowed by the NCAA especially in the area of recruiting dollars," former Golden Eagle associate athletic director director for compliance and current special assistant to the athletic director Frank Harrell explained "Mark dramatically improved every facility for each team in his time at Tech and each sport has a full allotment of NCAA coaching positions our teams' budgets have gone from being in the lower third of the league to being in the top two or three in the conference "This has enabled our teams to compete for championships Mark has been unusual in that he always 'rolled up his sleeves' and jumped in to help whenever needed It was not unusual to see Mark shoveling snow so the TSSAA Football Championships could go on Mark has always worked hard to better the experiences for our student-athletes and coaches. But the best thing has been his relationship with student-athletes and he was always there to make sure the student-athlete experience was outstanding His mantra was that he wanted every athlete to leave here with a ring on one hand and a diploma in the other." relationships in the community and beyond have strengthened with partnerships with the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce He played an important part in Tennessee Tech and Cookeville hosting the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl high school football state championship games from 2009 to 2020 has also seen a growth in media exposure for Tech's athletic programs with the OVC Digital Network into the conference's current streaming partnership with ESPN+ following Golden Eagle athletics has become easier for fans Wilson was named one of four recipients of the Athletic Director of the Year Award for the Football Championship Subdivision in 2013 presented by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America He has also been active in the OVC's governance structure serving as the chair of the conference Board of Directors of Athletics for two terms and represented the OVC on the NCAA Leadership Council He served as the President of the FCS ADA Executive Committee after a year as the First Vice President Wilson has also served a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee and currently serves on the NCAA FCS Football Oversight Committee – In a narrow battle that saw the Tennessee Tech tennis team and Southern Indiana split singles play the doubles point proved to be the difference in a 4-3 USI victory Saturday morning at Tech Tennis Courts Tech's second Horizon League and home match of the season featured singles victories out of Alex Alvarez, Darek Kuczynski and Ricard Garavi Yepez 5 position and Garavi Yepez picked up a 6-4 the Screaming Eagles captured the tandem point Tech won the No. 2 doubles get-together with an Alex Alvarez and Murilo Burckhardt 6-3 nod against Quinten Gillespie and Eytan Michaeli The Golden Eagles will flock to Eastern Illinois for their final road match of the regular season on Saturday First serve in Charleston is set for 10 a.m (WZTV) — A 34-year-old man was fatally shot Friday evening in the parking lot of an axe-throwing business in Cookeville Cookeville Police Department (CPD) officers responded around 7:52 p.m where they found Ashton Bohannon with gunshot wounds Officers rendered aid on the scene before Bohannon was transported to Cookeville Regional Medical Center A 22-year-old suspect was detained at the scene without incident and later interviewed by detectives WKRN News 2 Storm damage in Cookeville from high winds Pop sensation Benson Boone is hitting the road with American Heart Tour Millersville's new police chief officially took over Monday The city is launching a new effort to support immigrants in Nashville during moments of crisis Many residents are still reeling from an ICE operation that took place in Nashville over the weekend Brentwood City Managers talks what's in store for the city TN Arson Awareness Week: Preventing arson at places of worship The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) announced a precautionary fish consumption advisory for Center Hill Reservoir in DeKalb and Putnam counties Monday Mayor Freddie O’Connell held a press conference to discuss federal law enforcement actions in South Nashville from the weekend Newsmaker on Tour: Public safety in Brentwood Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInCOOKEVILLE (WSMV) - A 65-year-old man who works at Mustard Seed Ranch (MSR) in Putnam County was arrested on the property Friday for allegedly raping a child who was in short-term care there according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) the Department of Children’s Services notified the PCSO about a potential situation involving a child at MSR which gave them probable cause for a search warrant PCSO investigators executed that search warrant at MSR on Kuykendall Road they arrested 65-year-old Dale Burbank and charged him with statutory rape by an authority figure Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris called the arrest a “bad hopefully isolated incident that took place while a child was in a short-term care at this facility.” “The Mustard Seed Ranch has been operating in our community since 2006,” Sheriff Farris said “It is a highly respected Christian based Residential Licensed Child Care Agency and it has helped many children in our community over the years.” According to its website interdenominational Christian ministry designed to take children out of unsafe environments and into loving nurturing homes.” They have three existing homes that are near capacity The sheriff said anyone with any information regarding this incident should contact PCSO Detective Boyer at (931) 365-8605 (WSMV) - A Christmas parade controversy has taken over Cookeville after a new group of churches started to organize the holiday celebration The float application included a “Statement of Faith” participants are required to recognize The statements include several conservative Christian values and beliefs around gay marriage A copy of the application obtained by WSMV lists the River Community Church, Bluwaters Rentals and Life Church as the groups organizing the parade this year. The application for their “Celebrating the Light of CHRISTmas” event was posted on a Facebook page that was cleared after the controversy started This is the first time the church group has worked on the city’s Christmas celebration The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce used to organize a parade board but decided to back away after the committee voted to deny a float application from a Pride group “The 2023 decision that was made by the committee did not match the values of our chamber staff,” president and CEO Amy New said in a statement “There was a litany of malicious attacks and false allegations against me The Chamber board decided not to participate in any parade committees moving forward.” The Upper Cumberland Pride group was unable to get any information about the decision to not allow their float that included an elf Leaders told WSMV they are “disheartened and appalled” by the discrimination shown by the new parade organizers “Many members of the LGBTQIA+ community are Christians and are people who celebrate Christmas,” Upper Cumberland Pride said in a statement “They have families who deserve representation Not to mention the other religions that also have wintertime celebrations embedded in their culture.” “Discrimination against ANY group of people is the antithesis of what Jesus taught,” the organization’s statement continued “The Bible says to love one another and do no harm Cookeville city leaders said the parade has been put on for decades by a private group The city simply grants its permit applications and welcomes people to celebrate the holiday tradition In a joint statement by Mayor Laurin Wheaton and City Council members the city said it had nothing to do with the parade’s transition to these local church leaders or the rules surrounding float applications “It is extremely unfortunate that something like a Christmas parade has become such a controversial event in this day and time but the City of Cookeville government is not involved with this event at all,” the city leaders said in a post on social media Cookeville small business owner Montana Chambers said she and many other people simply could not agree in good conscious with the statements on the application She said the parade was a holiday event everyone in the community wanted to be a part of until now Chambers is helping organize another Christmas parade that will be all-inclusive while showing that Cookeville is a very welcoming and supportive community “I was very sad and disappointed because it felt very exclusionary towards some members of our community,” Chambers said about the float rules In just a couple of days, the GoFundMe set up by Chambers’ group has raised more than six times the amount needed to hold the parade Cookeville charges a $100 parade permit fee and a refundable $250 cleaning fee The inclusive group is in the process of finalizing their permit information including selecting a date for the Christmas celebration Local businesses and community leaders have also offered to help them with the event “Everybody has been very positive,” Chambers said “Everybody really came together and was really ready to help The church group’s parade was scheduled for Saturday Mills said they have not filed any parade permits as of Tuesday afternoon WSMV4 attempted to contact the church group multiple times for this story but our calls and emails were not returned by the deadline 3B Media105.7 The HOG / Spirit 101.9/ 93.3 The Ranch94.1 The VIBE / 98.9 The WOLF37 South DriveCrossville Phone: 931-484-1057Fax: 931-707-0580 located at 1115 Interstate Drive in Cookeville recently received a failing grade of 63 from the Tennessee Health Department Health inspector found violations including but not limited to: Those interested can read the full report HERE From Cumberland County Sheriff's Office: This morning law enforcement was alerted to a report of… Corporal Logan Janow responded to a fraud report… Corporal Ben Griffin of the Fairfield Glade Police Department responded to… Phone: 931-484-1057Fax: 931-707-0580 Website by: 3B Media in association with Maximum Site Design – Due to scheduling complications in Nashville Saturday's Horizon League men's tennis match between Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State will now be held in Cookeville at the Tech Tennis Courts at 10:30 a.m The match was originally slated to be held in Nashville at 1:00 p.m Admission to all Tech men's tennis home matches is free of charge. For other updates and news concerning Tech tennis fans are encouraged to check TTUSports.com and Tennessee Tech social media a storm front brought a twister through Nashville that EF4 tornado took the lives of nearly 20 80 more were hurt and dozens lost their homes The survivors are anxious about another storm coming their way someday but there is an eeriness you can only feel when you're here They haven't picked up all the pieces Darrell Jennings says people didn't take warnings as seriously as they do now He knew something was wrong when he looked out and up at the sky I saw one of the houses on Punk Woodson just go up in the air the wind gust hit the back door and bent the back door in "Pulled my daughter out of her room a couple of seconds before her window exploded," said Jennings Brandon Smith with Putnam County Emergency Management says most citizens have a NOAA weather radio and more than 2 thousand radios are in the hands of community members Jennings and his family are a lot more aware and prepared too Get reports like this and all the news of the day in Middle Tennessee delivered to your inbox each morning with the FOX 17 News Daily Newsletter. (WZTV) — A 22-year-old Cookeville man died in a single-vehicle crash Friday evening on I-40 in Davidson County The crash occurred on east-bound lanes near the I-440 junction Borchardt II was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer around 6:30 p.m when the SUV was seen weaving across lanes before swerving and hitting a rock wall The vehicle rolled over and came to rest on its passenger side Borchardt was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center A 22-year-old passenger in the car sustained minor injuries MNPD said speed and alcohol appear to be contributing factors and the passenger told officers the two had been drinking prior to the crash