Texas Tailgaters @ Savannah Bananas

0:12 364

0:14 days ago, the Texas Tailgaters took

0:17 their first [music] steps in the sport

0:19 of Banana Ball. Tonight, the boys in

0:21 blue and orange take on the namesake of

0:23 the sport, the Savannah Bananas, in the

0:25 second largest Banana Ball game ever

0:28 here from Neyland Stadium.

0:30 >> [music]

0:30 >> The best match up our sport has to offer

0:32 gives us two of the best starting

0:33 southpaws in 2026, Austin Driggers for

0:36 the Bananas and Christian Davis for the

0:39 Tailgaters. Come on in and stay awhile

0:42 as it's Banana Ball on ESPN.

0:50 He's one of the most brilliant minds in

0:53 this universe. Josh Celestki, to my

0:55 right. I'm Brett Loftis, voice of the

0:57 Texas Tailgaters. Josh, a four-game

1:00 winning streak for the Tailgaters

1:01 against the Bananas came to an end two

1:03 nights ago at Covenant Health Park, just

1:05 right down the road here in Knoxville.

1:07 But, we're back in a football stadium

1:09 where we were three weeks ago, and those

1:12 Texas Tailgaters victorious. This has

1:14 been the best match up in the sport and

1:16 perhaps the best version of Banana Ball

1:18 we've seen this year. How do we see that

1:20 happen again tonight?

1:21 >> Well, I think you're going to see

1:22 another cutthroat battle, especially

1:24 when it comes to trick plays. That was

1:25 certainly the case on Thursday night,

1:27 the Bananas just edging out the

1:29 Tailgaters 15 to 14 to deny an equalizer

1:33 point. But look, the Bananas got to

1:35 breathe that sigh of relief on Thursday,

1:37 finally overcoming the Tailgaters, but

1:39 they have played awfully good against

1:41 the Bananas all season long. And when

1:43 they were playing in Kyle Field, they

1:45 kind of embarrassed the Bananas. It was

1:47 a very strong win for the Texas

1:49 Tailgaters, and they're trying to do

1:50 that yet again in front of the second

1:53 largest crowd in Banana Ball history.

1:55 >> Two big differences at Kyle Field. One,

1:57 the Texas Tailgaters were the home team.

1:59 The second being Biko Skalla was there.

2:02 I'm so honored and blessed to be in his

2:03 seat, but we're actually able to find

2:06 where he was at tonight. I think I think

2:08 we have that. Let's see it.

2:13 I've acquired Sting.

2:16 Goblins, orcs.

2:18 Look out.

2:21 >> [screaming and groaning]

2:22 >> FOR GONDOR!

2:24 I'VE BEEN COME ON, STOPPABLE.

2:27 Me versus a car, who wins? Pretty sure

2:29 it's me now.

2:30 >> [screaming]

2:37 >> Oh, crap.

2:39 Like I could take on a polar bear right

2:40 now.

2:41 >> [music]

2:41 >> Now I get what they mean when they say

2:42 power corrupts.

2:44 I'm corrupted.

2:53 Man, Biko Skalla. That's a dangerous man

2:55 roaming the streets, Jash Swaleski.

2:57 Yeah, and you know, you might see him on

2:58 the milk cartons next time you go to the

3:00 store. We're We're kind of missing Biko

3:02 right now. So, if you happen to see a

3:03 guy wielding a sword in your

3:05 neighborhood, please email Zach at

3:08 thesavannahbananas.com.

3:09 We will really appreciate getting our

3:11 beloved Biko back here. You don't have

3:14 to send an email to see highlights from

3:16 two nights ago from Comer to Hal Park

3:18 where the Bananas took on the Tailgaters

3:20 game one here in Knoxville. As we

3:22 actually roll those right now. It

3:23 started off the same way a lot of

3:25 Tailgater games have started off this

3:27 year with a trick [music] play, but as

3:28 for those in the yellow, Alex Ziegler,

3:31 the designated fielder for the Bananas

3:32 going in behind the back bucket to begin

3:34 the ballgame in the first.

3:35 >> Yeah, and that capped [music] off a

3:36 three-trick play inning for the Savannah

3:38 Bananas. A really strong start. And it

3:40 was the same offensively. They had DR

3:42 Meadows in scoring position, BUT IT'S

3:45 THE THROW FROM ZACH WATSON in left

3:47 field, perfect and in time to Taj Porter

3:50 [music] to keep Meadows from scoring and

3:52 keep the bananas off the board in the

3:55 first inning [music] of play. Tremendous

3:57 stuff from Wani and then Noa Nistic in

3:59 the second inning escapes some trouble

4:01 with a big strikeout. [music]

4:03 >> Talking about pitching, this one gets

4:05 away from Chris Clark, misses high. The

4:07 first point of the ball game, a walk-off

4:09 from [music] the captain, Bill LeRoy, to

4:11 take a one to nothing lead at the end of

4:13 two. Perhaps things would get better for

4:16 those Tailgaters and they would. Chris

4:18 Clark [music] gets his first strikeout

4:20 back in Knoxville where he was a Smoky

4:21 in 2022 and 2025 pitching in his old

4:24 jersey. Yeah, that was fun stuff for

4:26 Chris [music] Clark, but you saw this

4:28 pitch a little wild against Reese

4:30 Alexiades and he would swipe first base

4:32 [music] for the fifth time this season

4:34 leading all players. Tailgaters would

4:37 challenge, but on replay [music] review

4:39 the call was upheld, so Alexiades safely

4:42 in at first and then the very next pitch

4:44 from [music] Chris Clark destroyed off

4:47 the bat of Dan Oberst rattling around in

4:49 that left [music] center field corner

4:52 and it was Reese Alexiades streaking

4:54 around and scoring the second point

4:56 [music] of the game for the Savannah

4:57 Bananas.

4:57 >> Yeah, up two to nothing after four, you

4:59 got to feel good if you're the Bananas.

5:01 Now you can feel even better. One out,

5:02 top five, Reese Alexiades fakes the tip

5:04 drill, then Super Reese with a super

5:07 throw beats Jake Peppersick by half a

5:10 mile and what a tag from Bill [music]

5:12 LeRoy. Double play to end the inning. I

5:14 mean there's some of the best outfield

5:15 assists we have seen in the game all

5:17 season long. Tremendous stuff FROM

5:19 ALEXIADES AND ALL OF HIS BANANAS

5:22 TEAMMATES LOVING THE strong defense and

5:25 speaking of STRONG DEFENSE, IT'S ZACH

5:27 WATSON TORNADO CATCH IN LEFT FIELD. How

5:30 about this, Brett? Bucket! Bucket!

5:33 Bucket! Bucket! And then, well, you

5:35 didn't bucket Super Reese continued his

5:37 showman performance as he got an RBI

5:39 walk-off single in the sixth. That would

5:41 be the final point that the Bananas

5:43 [music] would score as they took a three

5:44 to nothing lead. Now we can get back to

5:46 our regular scheduled programming.

5:48 Jordan Hussey, Taylor Justice, book it,

5:50 book it.

5:51 >> [music]

5:51 >> Yeah, the Tailgaters trying to stay in

5:53 line to secure that equalizer point, but

5:56 this is where things were really on the

5:58 line. Eighth inning, the Bananas trying

6:00 to continue to push that needle where

6:02 Roy misses the trick play and put Hussey

6:04 on first base and then the next batter,

6:07 Zack Watson, hitting this one over the

6:09 head of Robert Anthony Cruz in left

6:11 field. That would plate two for the

6:13 Texas Tailgaters in the top of the

6:16 eighth inning. But then, very next

6:19 batter, Nick Lopez, comes up to the dish

6:22 and this is where you see some

6:23 high-level IQ courtesy of DR Meadows in

6:27 center field. The Bananas only up one

6:29 trick PLAY CURRENTLY, BUT MEADOWS

6:31 CONTINUES TO TIP UNTIL ROBERT ANTHONY

6:34 CRUZ can secure that one behind the back

6:37 and the Bananas would be up three going

6:39 into the bottom half and they would wind

6:41 up denying that equalizer point.

6:43 >> and yang of trick plays in a single

6:44 inning. Trick play miss from Bill Leroy

6:46 and then they get the double trick play

6:47 to negate the equalizer point. No yin

6:49 and yang here. It's the best closer in

6:51 the history of the sport, Danny Heasley,

6:53 to get a strike out and secure the three

6:55 to one victory for the Bananas.

6:57 Low-scoring game, only three to two in

6:59 the [music] runs category. A lot of

7:00 trick plays. It was your typical best

7:03 version of Banana Ball possible between

7:05 the Tailgaters and Bananas and it's been

7:06 much of the same this year. Josh, these

7:10 two teams, when they played as the home

7:12 team, it's normally been the home team

7:14 who comes out victorious. Tonight,

7:16 that's the Bananas [music] who are the

7:17 home team on the scoreboard. Yeah, I

7:18 mean, these teams have played eight

7:20 total times this season when you include

7:21 the Banana Ball Open and when they

7:23 played as the home team, both of these

7:24 squads three and one. And where you

7:27 really see the differences when you're

7:29 comparing these home and away numbers

7:31 for both of these squads, it's on the

7:33 pitching side of things. The Savannah

7:35 Bananas with a 3.75

7:37 earned run average when they're pitching

7:39 as the home squad. That earned run

7:40 average over nine [music] when they're

7:42 as the away team. And you see, it as far

7:45 as trick plays are concerned, it's

7:46 really not affecting the Texas

7:48 Tailgaters very much, but the Bananas

7:50 feel a lot more comfortable getting all

7:52 those trick playouts when they're

7:53 playing [music] as the home team.

7:55 They've just got to continue to see if

7:56 they can silence those Tailgaters fast

7:58 as you [music] see, they have just a 735

8:01 OPS when they have played as the away

8:03 squad this year. Yeah, Tailgaters are

8:05 not afraid to rip trick plays [music] no

8:06 matter where they're at on the

8:07 scoreboard. Tonight, they're the away

8:10 team here in the eighth largest stadium

8:13 in the entire universe. It is Neyland

8:15 Stadium that plays home to the SEC's

8:18 Tennessee Volunteers. And check this

8:20 [music] out, my history nut Josh

8:21 Stelesky loves this. It's the first

8:23 baseball game played here since 1921

8:26 when the University of Tennessee took on

8:28 Cincinnati in an exhibition game. Yeah,

8:30 it is pretty crazy that we're snapping

8:32 this streak of over 100 years with no

8:35 baseball being played in this stadium.

8:38 Very unique dimensions, a short porch to

8:40 left field, [music] 50-ft nets courtesy

8:43 of Netting Pros. We'll see how many home

8:45 runs we get here tonight. The record in

8:47 football stadiums [music] is 11, but

8:49 I'll tell you what, the energy has been

8:51 brought here in Neyland Stadium by

8:53 [music] all the fans. You could say it's

8:55 unlike anything we've seen before, but

8:57 21 days ago, we seen the biggest, the

8:59 largest Banana Ball game of all time.

9:01 College Station, Texas, Kyle Field on

9:04 the campus of [music] Texas A&M. It was

9:07 the same exact matchup, the Texas

9:09 Tailgaters playing host to the Savannah

9:11 Bananas. How did it start out? Super

9:13 Reese with a super slam in the top of

9:16 the second. The first bomb of the night

9:18 goes to the Bananas. Yeah, it was a big

9:20 home run for Reese Alexiades who has

9:22 just been tearing the cover off the

9:24 ball, specifically in football stadiums

9:26 this year. But the Bananas brought out

9:28 their special guest, Tyler Tony of Dude

9:30 Perfect, went down swinging against

9:33 Chris Clark. I mean, that's a [music]

9:34 former Cubs minor leaguer making it all

9:36 the way up to Triple A. A tough AB for

9:39 Tony, but still getting some kudos from

9:41 his teammates. And you see the Nanners

9:43 up two runs here in the fourth inning,

9:46 but they would be unable to hold this

9:47 lead as Jordan Houssain came all the way

9:51 around to score on a ball four sprint

9:53 and a throw [music] that went awry from

9:55 Bananas catcher Bill Leroy. One of the

9:57 most electric plays you will ever see in

9:59 our young sport. That is why you love to

10:01 see the ball four sprint. That's why you

10:03 love to see Jordan Barth. Mustered up a

10:05 whole bunch of nachos up there in that

10:07 suite en route to the Tailgaters taking

10:09 a four to nothing lead after six frames.

10:11 >> There's been nobody hotter than Jordan

10:13 Barth since that Banana Ball Open. And

10:16 you saw Jonathan Louders get in that bat

10:18 riding up on the unicycle. And the big

10:21 question was short porch to left field

10:23 and Kyle Field. COULD LOUDERS DO THE

10:25 IMPOSSIBLE? A DEEP DRIVE OUT TO LEFT

10:28 FIELD. THAT ONE OFF the 50-foot net. A

10:31 very long single for Jonathan Louders,

10:34 but he was fired up nonetheless and he

10:36 would come around to score on this

10:39 sacrifice fly. But a really TREMENDOUS

10:42 CATCH from Reese Alexiades manning

10:45 center field crashing up against the

10:47 netting. Super Reese was superb [music]

10:49 as he has been in football stadiums

10:51 going all the way back to 2025. [music]

10:53 Best defensive play of the night. But

10:55 hey, Super Reese shows up offensively as

10:57 well. Second Yaya of the ball game help

11:00 put the Bananas in the [music] points

11:02 category right there. Four to one as we

11:05 rolled on to the night in a match up

11:07 we've seen so much this year in the

11:08 ninth inning. Reese Miller, Robert

11:10 Anthony Coe's, and Red pops out to Jose

11:13 Gonzales for those Texas Tailgaters to

11:15 get the biggest win in the biggest

11:17 stadium in the history of Banana Ball by

11:20 a final of four to three. That was 21

11:22 nights ago. Here tonight, Neyland

11:24 Stadium, home of the Balls. It's the

11:26 Tailgaters. It's the Savannah Bananas.

11:28 It's Banana Ball right here on ESPN.

11:36 >> [music]

11:56 >> All right, ladies and gentlemen, it is

11:58 now time to learn the rules of our game.

12:02 The name of the game is Banana Ball. And

12:04 in Banana Ball, we have 11 rules. Rule

12:07 number one, every inning counts. You win

12:09 the inning, you get a point. How do you

12:11 win the inning? Score more runs than the

12:13 other team. The final inning counts the

12:15 most, where every run counts for a

12:17 point. And if the visiting team has more

12:19 trick plays than the home team when we

12:21 get to the final inning, they will

12:23 receive an equalizer point. Rule number

12:26 two, we have nine innings or

12:28 >> [music]

12:28 >> a two-hour time limit. Unless. Rule

12:30 number three, if we are tied, it will

12:32 force a one-on-one showdown tiebreaker.

12:35 One hitter versus one pitcher with one

12:38 fielder. Rule number four, there is no

12:40 bunting because, say it with me,

12:43 Knoxville, bunting

12:45 sucks.

12:46 If you bunt,

12:48 you're thrown out of the game. Swing the

12:49 bat. Rule number five, batters can steal

12:52 first base. Rule number six, there are

12:54 no walks in Banana Ball. Ball four is a

12:57 sprint. The runner can go as far as they

12:59 want as long as the outfielders touch

13:00 the ball. Rule number seven, batters may

13:03 not step out of the batter's box. If

13:04 they do,

13:06 they'll call it a strike. Rule number

13:08 eight, there are no mound visits. Rule

13:10 number nine, the Banana Ball Challenge

13:12 Rule. During the game, each team has an

13:14 opportunity to challenge

13:17 one umpire call per game. And not only

13:19 do the teams get to challenge your

13:21 authority, Vince,

13:23 well, so do the fans. Your fan challenge

13:24 representative was picked earlier

13:26 tonight. His name is Mark.

13:29 And I swear he's here somewhere.

13:33 There he is. Oh, yeah.

13:35 That's That's not [music] nice.

13:38 Welcome back to our 2026 Banana Ball

13:41 World Tour pre-show presented by DQ. DQ,

13:45 happy taste good. Neyland Stadium,

13:49 101,000 people, the second largest

13:52 Banana Ball game of [music] all time.

13:54 And one of the biggest stars in this

13:55 game is a designated fielder for the

13:57 Texas Tailgaters. Let's take a look at

14:00 what Sunshine did last Saturday night in

14:02 El Paso. [music]

14:06 Jonathan Sunshine

14:09 Louder's breaks the Banana Ball single

14:11 game trick play [music] record with his

14:13 ninth trick play here in El Paso.

14:16 Sunshine tip drill.

14:18 Look at him.

14:21 Look at it.

14:23 Sunshine, oh, what a play. Look at him

14:25 between the legs.

14:26 He throws it to himself. Look at

14:28 tip drill.

14:30 Look at it. Look at

14:33 Jordan Barnes between the legs for one.

14:35 Between the legs, Sunny.

14:37 Look at

14:37 Look at it.

14:38 But it's Sunshine tip drill.

14:41 Look at it.

14:41 >> [music]

14:42 >> Look at it.

14:42 Trick or treat

14:44 overload here in Texas. And after

14:46 Sunshine [music]

14:48 between the legs

14:49 Look at it. To first

14:50 out of time. Hit the Sunshine

14:53 between the

14:54 >> [music]

14:55 >> Look at it.

14:56 Jonathan Sunshine Louder's

14:58 Sunshine

14:59 between the legs.

15:01 Play with justice.

15:02 Look at it.

15:03 Look at it.

15:04 Tailgaters [music] win 4 to 1. And they

15:06 just broke the single game trick play

15:09 record

15:10 with 22 of them. Jonathan Sunshine

15:13 Louder's ninth trick plays. Looking for

15:15 the record.

15:19 Jonathan Sunshine Louder's special

15:22 Jaszczolewski, what he has done to

15:24 revolutionize [music] trick plays and

15:26 also the sport of Banana Ball as a

15:28 designated fielder has been special in

15:29 the great year of 2026. [music]

15:31 >> Yeah, and he snapped Ryan Cox's Glove

15:32 Magician's record for most trick plays

15:34 in a single game. But [music] to see, he

15:36 is also currently on pace to beat Cox's

15:38 record of being the fastest guy to reach

15:40 100 trick plays in a single season. Cox

15:43 did it in 33 games in 2025. Looter's is

15:46 projected to hit 100 in game 28 this

15:49 season. [music]

15:50 And what really stands out every time

15:52 I'm interacting with Jonathan Looter's,

15:54 he wants to [music] talk about trick

15:55 plays, how he can continue to plus the

15:58 experience for people, and he wants

16:00 [music] to make sure that his identity

16:02 is that he is the best designated

16:05 [music] fielder known to fans in Banana

16:07 Ball. You keep hearing us, if this is

16:09 your first ever time [music] watching

16:10 the great sport of Banana Ball, mention

16:12 designated fielder. Well, how did that

16:14 come about? For more on that, let's send

16:17 it to our lovely sideline reporter, Sam

16:19 Bellow.

16:23 While most of Banana Ball has come

16:25 straight [music] from the mind of Jesse

16:27 Cole, the sport's newest addition

16:29 actually came from its oldest player.

16:31 Please welcome Matt Wall.

16:34 I didn't know how to be accepted [music]

16:36 by me, so I really thought about how I

16:38 was going to introduce that to Jesse.

16:39 And Jesse goes, "Will you just get to

16:41 the point?"

16:42 >> Their points were very [music] valid.

16:43 >> It was designated runner, designated

16:45 hitter, designated fielder. The

16:47 designated fielder, a position designed

16:49 around utilizing your best glove in the

16:51 lineup the same way in which a [music]

16:53 team might use their best bat as their

16:55 designated batter. The brainchild of

16:58 Indianapolis Clowns Matt Wall. THERE'S

17:00 MATT WALL

17:00 SHOWING OFF THE TRICKERY. HIGHLIGHTING

17:02 defensive stars like himself and Texas

17:05 Tailgaters Jonathan "Sunshine" Looter's.

17:07 He is as tricky as we've seen anyone in

17:10 Banana Ball.

17:11 >> The innovation of trick plays, the

17:12 evolution of our sport. Who both knew,

17:14 aside from longevity for their own

17:16 careers, was a big win for the fans.

17:19 It's going to be more entertaining with

17:20 trick plays and you have better defense

17:21 with faster games. Like, those two

17:23 things are really good for Banana Ball.

17:24 AND HOW ABOUT JONATHAN LOAISIGA? HOW

17:27 MANY JUGGLES IS HE GOING TO DO? And with

17:30 the equalizer point now in play, it

17:33 matters that much more. What we're doing

17:35 [music] with our trick plays actually

17:37 helps us win games possibly, which is

17:39 really cool. TRICK PLAY FOR THE WIN.

17:57 We are your hosts. I am the Young

17:59 Professor, Matt Grayfer. And I am

18:00 Garrett Rhinestone Lampert. And let's

18:03 meet the rest of the crew.

18:05 CARRYING OUR TUNE ALL ACROSS THE NATION.

18:09 GIVE IT UP FOR THE WORLD-FAMOUS BANANA

18:12 BAND.

18:16 The best country music both sides of the

18:20 Mississippi. Ladies and gentlemen, it's

18:22 the Tailgater Band.

18:28 They are the greatest dad bod cheer

18:31 squad to ever grace God's green earth.

18:34 Give it up for THE BANANA

18:37 BAND.

18:38 >> [screaming]

18:41 >> THE BIGGEST TAILGATERS IN ALL OF SPORTS.

18:44 The last thing a cheeseburger sees

18:46 before it meets his maker. The Beefy

18:49 Boys.

18:53 They are America's sweethearts.

18:57 Your Banana Nanas. [screaming]

19:04 Watch them move everywhere they go. The

19:07 official dance team of THE TEXAS

19:09 TAILGATERS. THE Texas

19:12 Two-Steppers.

19:18 She is her royal majesty of Banana Land,

19:21 Princess Potassia.

19:26 The rodeo radical who truly does it all,

19:30 the concrete cowboy, JJ

19:34 CASH.

19:51 IT JUST MEANS MORE IN THE SEC, and in

19:54 Banana Ball, whatever's normal, do the

19:57 exact opposite. There's 11 rules of our

20:00 sport, and why don't [music] we take a

20:01 look at them, brought to you by DQ.

20:08 Banana Ball is the fastest and most

20:10 entertaining show in sports, and the 11

20:13 rules guarantee the most fan's first

20:15 experience every second. Unbelievable!

20:18 WELCOME TO THE BANANA BALL CHAMPIONSHIP

20:20 LEAGUE. Rule number one, win the inning,

20:23 win the point. The team that scores the

20:25 most runs in an inning wins the point.

20:27 >> It's a walk-off winner!

20:30 >> [cheering]

20:31 >> Oh my goodness! With the equalizer

20:33 point, trick plays provide the away team

20:36 an opportunity to earn a point going

20:38 into the final inning.

20:39 And in the final inning, every run

20:41 counts as a point.

20:43 Rule number two, Banana Ball has a

20:45 two-hour time limit, guaranteeing that

20:48 every game is fast-paced and

20:50 action-packed.

20:51 Rule number three, no stepping out of

20:53 the batter's box. If you do, it will

20:55 result in a strike.

20:56 >> Max stepped out of the box, and because

20:58 he stepped out of the box, that's it.

21:00 Rule number four, no [music] bunting,

21:03 cuz bunting sucks. If you bunt, you'll

21:05 be thrown out of the game. Rule number

21:07 five, [music] batters can steal first

21:09 base.

21:10 >> Ball three, GIDDY IS TAKING OFF FOR

21:11 FIRST. THROW FROM LEROY, IN TIME!

21:14 RULE NUMBER SIX, there's no walks. Walks

21:18 are ball four sprints. The batter can

21:20 advance as far as they want until every

21:22 position player touches the ball.

21:24 >> No defenders have touched the banana

21:26 BALL. IT IS A FOUR-BASE SPRINT TO OPEN

21:29 UP the ball game! Rule number seven,

21:32 no mound visits.

21:34 Nope.

21:35 Rule number eight, foul balls caught by

21:37 a fan count as an out.

21:40 >> [screaming]

21:45 >> Rule number [music] nine, the showdowns.

21:48 In showdowns, the best of the best face

21:50 off [music] in the biggest moment. One

21:52 hitter versus one pitcher with one

21:54 fielder behind him. And the hitter has

21:57 to score.

22:02 Rule number 10, the banana ball

22:03 challenge rule gives the coaches and you

22:06 the fans a chance to impact a call on

22:08 the field.

22:10 Rule number 11, the golden batter.

22:12 >> [music]

22:13 >> Once a game, each team can give any

22:15 player an at bat, regardless of the

22:16 lineup. This offers the biggest matchups

22:19 on the biggest stage.

22:26 >> [screaming]

22:28 [cheering]

22:32 >> And those are the rules of banana ball.

22:45 the Isle of Man

22:46 to Tokyo, Japan. The Banana Maniacs come

22:49 from across the globe to witness

22:52 this. This is not baseball. This is the

22:56 crucible where the fastest, hungriest,

23:00 and most entertaining players [music]

23:01 are forged. This is a game OF THE FANS,

23:04 BY THE FANS, and for the fans. But, this

23:09 is not your granddad's pastime. THIS IS

23:12 NOT JUST another night at the ballpark.

23:15 This game is baseball by birth, fruit by

23:19 name, AND AN ABSOLUTE WORLDWIDE

23:21 PHENOMENON BY THE GRACE OF GOD. THIS IS

23:24 THE TIME FOR ALL 101,000

23:28 PEOPLE HERE IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE,

23:31 TO GET ON YOUR FEET AND GIVE ME YOUR

23:35 VOICES.

23:37 >> [music]

23:40 >> BECAUSE THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW in the

23:44 sports. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS

23:48 BANANA BALL.

23:50 >> [screaming]

23:51 >> NEYLAND STADIUM, IT'S TIME TO MEET THE

23:54 STARTING LINEUP FOR YOUR SAVANNAH

23:58 BANANAS.

24:01 Leading off in center field, number

24:03 five, DR. THE DOC MEDOWS.

24:11 THE LEFT FIELDER, NUMBER 15, we call him

24:14 Rack, ROBERT ANTHONY CRUZ.

24:21 >> [music]

24:22 >> OVER AT THIRD BASE, NUMBER FOUR, Kyle KJ

24:27 Jackson.

24:33 Our right fielder, number two, Reese

24:36 Alexiades.

24:43 Batting fifth at DH, number 19, DAN

24:48 OBER.

24:52 FIRST BASEMAN, number nine, Max

24:55 Goldberg.

25:01 BEHIND the plate, numero uno, the

25:05 captain, Bill Leroy. [screaming]

25:14 AT SHORTSTOP, number six, our glove

25:18 magician, RYAN

25:20 COX.

25:21 >> [screaming]

25:24 [music]

25:25 >> THE EXTRA HITTER, NUMBER SEVEN, TY

25:28 JACKSON.

25:36 AND AT second base, number eight, our

25:39 greatest showman, baby, JACKSON

25:43 >> [screaming]

25:44 >> OLSZEWSKI.

25:45 >> [cheering]

25:51 >> ON THE MOUND FOR YOUR SAVANNAH BANANAS

25:53 TONIGHT, number 11, Austin Drury.

26:05 YOUR SAVANNAH Bananas are led BY TYLER

26:08 GILLIAM, ASSISTED BY ADAM PYRO PIRATE,

26:11 Ryan Kellogg, Bryce Tolver, and the

26:14 legend, REGGIE

26:17 HORTON.

26:24 THE STARTING LINEUPS for the Savannah

26:27 Bananas on the other side. First pitch

26:30 here from the second biggest Banana Ball

26:32 game ever.

26:49 With the performance of our national

26:51 anthem, please welcome to the field

26:54 Connor Johnson.

26:57 >> [music]

27:02 >> And

27:02 oh say

27:04 >> [music]

27:05 >> can you see

27:07 by the dawn's

27:10 early light

27:13 what so proudly

27:16 we hailed

27:19 at the twilight's

27:21 last

27:24 and [music] these broad stripes

27:27 and bright stars [singing]

27:30 through the perilous

27:33 fight

27:35 o'er the ramparts

27:38 we watched

27:41 were so gallantly

27:44 streaming

27:46 and the rockets'

27:49 red glare

27:51 the bombs bursting

27:54 in air

27:57 gave proof

28:00 through the night

28:03 that our flag [singing]

28:05 was still there

28:09 and oh say

28:11 does

28:12 that star

28:14 spangled

28:15 banner

28:17 yet wave

28:18 >> [singing]

28:22 >> o'er the land

28:25 of the free

28:29 and the home

28:32 of the

28:34 brave

28:36 >> [cheering]

28:39 >> LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

28:41 CONNOR

28:42 JOHNSON!

28:44 How blessed are we? The Texas

28:47 Tailgaters, the Savannah Bananas,

28:50 101,000 of our closest friends, and you

28:53 all at home. As just Banana Ball on

28:55 ESPN, the second biggest Banana Ball

28:58 game ever from Neyland Stadium. He's

29:01 Josh Solecki, I'm Brett Loftis, [music]

29:03 and this is the best match-up we have to

29:05 offer you in 2026.

29:10 Josh, here tonight you're going to see

29:12 three things. A lot of home runs, a lot

29:15 of trick plays, and a lot of fun in

29:17 between the line between these two

29:18 teams.

29:18 >> And you're also going to get a fantastic

29:20 pitching match-up as well. The Bananas

29:22 sending out the former Los Angeles

29:24 Dodgers minor leaguer Austin Jury to get

29:26 the ball, and the Tailgaters countering

29:28 with Christian Davis inducing more trick

29:30 plays than anybody else this season. It

29:33 is a fascinating match-up, and again,

29:35 this is one of the last games we see

29:37 between these two teams. They want this

29:40 win tonight badly. The Bananas and

29:42 Tailgaters won't see each other until

29:43 the next to last week in the regular

29:45 season in September. But what we can

29:47 look to see right now is the defense

29:49 tonight for the Savannah Bananas.

29:52 Yeah, you've got Robert Anthony Cruz

29:54 starting in left field, Meadows in

29:55 center, Alex Ziola in right. From third

29:57 to first, it is Kyle Jackson, Ryan Cox,

29:59 Jackson Olson, and Alec Ziegler. And the

30:02 battery tonight, Austin Jury and Bill

30:04 Leroy. And it's D.R. Meadows, just his

30:07 second start back in [music] center

30:08 field. He's been recovering from a

30:10 hamstring injury, but we saw on Thursday

30:13 night the effect of D.R. Meadows helping

30:15 this team collect 15 trick plays, and

30:18 Meadows had three of them in center

30:20 field. D.R., that's I know I know Bill

30:23 the Cat Bill Leroy is the official

30:25 captain of the Savannah Bananas, but

30:27 there's just something different when

30:28 you look at this line-up and you look

30:29 out in center field and you [music] see

30:32 D.R. Meadows. He has been a big time

30:33 difference. Who else has been a big

30:35 difference in this battery? Obviously,

30:36 Bill Leroy, we just mentioned [music]

30:37 him, the captain. But when the Savannah

30:40 Bananas chose to take a starting pitcher

30:42 with the fourth overall pick in the 2026

30:46 first-year Banana Ball player draft. You

30:47 had to look and you had to think it had

30:50 to be nobody else other than Austin

30:51 Drury. Yeah, he's been a phenomenal

30:53 southpaw this season making his 10th

30:55 start for the Savannah Bananas. 29 and

30:58 2/3 innings pitched, 10th in Banana Ball

31:00 right now, and he is one of 13, just 13

31:04 qualified pitchers with an earned run

31:06 average below four this season. Drury's

31:09 had a lot of dominance on the pitcher's

31:10 mound and is fourth in Banana Ball with

31:13 his 33 strikeouts this year.

31:15 >> However, the last time he faced this

31:17 Tailgaters lineup, they roughed him up a

31:19 little bit and for good reason. Two

31:20 reasons, in a football stadium at Cav

31:22 Field and because Austin Drury issued

31:25 out four ball four sprints. A lot of

31:27 patience that starts at the top of the

31:29 order here with Zack Watson. Why do you

31:31 get his first ever start at the

31:32 Tailgater on right field? The auctioneer

31:34 Kyle Martin hitting in the three hole,

31:36 Banana Ball championship leader home

31:38 runs getting his first ever start in

31:40 left field, Jordan Bart, who's been

31:41 hotter than the surface of the sun in

31:43 the cleanup spot. You look down there in

31:45 the bottom of the order. Perhaps the two

31:46 best 10-hole hitters in the entire sport

31:49 is Jordan Hussein. And then when you

31:51 look Ryan Cox not hitting there tonight,

31:53 but in the eight hole, those guys

31:54 anchoring the bottom of both of their

31:56 lineups. Yeah, Jordan Hussein so good at

31:58 feeding the top of this order and Zack

32:00 Watson set the table very well on

32:01 Thursday night. Two doubles, two runs

32:04 batted in for the Tailgaters, and Kyle

32:06 Martin's looking for a slight rebound

32:08 after his [music] 21 game on base streak

32:11 was snapped Thursday night. Jesse Cole,

32:14 busted out of his mind and ready to get

32:16 the second largest Banana Ball game ever

32:18 started.

32:21 Fans to throw out tonight's first pitch,

32:25 they just punched THEIR TICKET TO THE

32:28 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES.

32:31 PLEASE WELCOME THE UNIVERSITY OF

32:33 TENNESSEE'S SOFTBALL TEAM!

32:47 Beating the Georgia Bulldogs tonight to

32:50 go here in Knoxville.

32:52 The Tennessee Volunteers softball team

32:55 clinch their spot to go play in the

32:57 Women's College World Series been here

33:00 tonight in Knoxville. Second largest

33:03 Bananaball game ever. They're going to

33:05 throw the first pitch that counts, Josh

33:06 Dobbs. And the folks here in Neilland

33:09 giving them a massive ovation, the 10th

33:11 time they have reached the College World

33:14 Series. So, a big congratulations to

33:16 those Lady Volunteers.

33:19 And it's not a Bananaball, it's a

33:21 softball.

33:29 The entire team on the field.

33:32 First pitch softball style. Misses high.

33:36 And Zack Watson will begin his night

33:38 with a 1-0 count.

33:40 >> [cheering]

33:41 >> But how cool is this?

33:51 All 101,000 folks enjoyed that.

33:54 And normally when you show up to a

33:56 Bananaball game, you're going to see

33:57 something you've never seen before. I've

33:58 never seen a Bananaball game or a

34:00 baseball game the first pitch that

34:02 counts a softball and pitching underhand

34:05 that.

34:05 I mean, you just want to make sure that

34:07 they're comfortable doing what they do

34:08 best. Awesome move. Awesome start to

34:12 this ball game and very unique. I mean,

34:14 we talk about 11 unique rules to

34:16 Bananaball, but then you see those

34:18 intricate details where Zack Watson, he

34:21 gets to begin the night with a 1-0

34:23 count.

34:25 What, he's been on fire as well.

34:28 The Lady Vols going to hang out here

34:29 tonight.

34:30 Perhaps some other special guests in the

34:32 ring as well as now Jesse Cole has a

34:34 microphone again. EVERYONE HERE TELL

34:37 Y'ALL START THE CLOCK ON THREE. ONE,

34:41 TWO, THREE.

34:44 SHOWTIME.

34:46 Showtime indeed.

34:49 Batter up here in the mountains of East

34:51 Tennessee. The Savannah Bananas, the

34:54 Texas Tailgaters, Austin Drury, Zack

34:57 Wass, where else would you rather be?

35:00 Two and 0 now to Wass.

35:03 He was the lone star in the ballgame

35:05 Thursday night for the Tailgaters going

35:07 two for four with that two run double.

35:20 Stangle up side, Coxy between the legs,

35:23 ZIGGY BEHIND THE BACK. BOOK IT, BOOK it

35:25 to begin the ballgame here in Daytona.

35:28 My goodness, the Savannah BANANAS

35:31 PULLING OUT THE TRICKS AND DOING IT

35:33 EARLY. RYAN COXY FIELDS THAT ONE THROUGH

35:36 HIS LEGS, goes with a little 360 spin

35:40 after the fact, and then it's Alex

35:41 Ziegler, the designated fielder for the

35:44 Bananas at first base, showing his

35:46 impact capping off a double trick play.

35:49 Just talked about it in the pre-show.

35:50 Matt Wolfe, Jonathan Sunshine Luthers,

35:52 if you work with us pitching that idea

35:54 to Jesse Cole last year in late August

35:57 coming into effect already here for

35:59 these Savannah Bananas. Nick Lopez

36:01 played in SEC, but it was at Kentucky as

36:04 he returns back to the Southeast behind

36:06 0 and 2 to Austin Drury.

36:08 Pokes it in the sky. Robert Anthony

36:10 Cruz, the rover out there in shallow

36:12 left center, makes out number two.

36:15 Yeah, there are very interesting

36:16 dimensions here tonight in Nealon

36:18 Stadium. Robert Anthony Cruz, you know,

36:20 he doesn't have a lot of ground to

36:21 really play with manning left field. So,

36:24 the Bananas at times elect to play him

36:26 all over the park in this rover

36:29 position. Just shift based on what you

36:31 see the batter's tendencies are. And he

36:34 had Nick Lo- Lopez played perfectly

36:37 there for out number two. The Bananaball

36:39 Championship league leader in long

36:41 balls, Kyle Martin

36:44 takes a big time hack, one and one.

36:48 He's been big time against these bananas

36:49 this year. Three home runs in UNC

36:51 against them.

36:53 Had a home run against them in the open

36:54 as well.

36:55 Also had a home run in the pop-up game

36:57 at Navasota High School

36:59 on April the 30th.

37:03 AD

37:05 can't get the call, gets behind Bill

37:06 Leroy. Never going to see K-Mart try to

37:08 steal first. Now, because again, this is

37:11 a guy averaging a home run every 7.8 at

37:13 bats this season. Only Mark McGuire in

37:16 '98

37:18 and Barry Bonds in 2001 had a lower home

37:21 run to AB ratio than Kyle Martin's. That

37:24 is what we are seeing. And McGuire hit

37:26 70 that year, Bonds had 73. That's the

37:29 pace Kyle Martin's on.

37:31 Right here, gets the ball for a sprint.

37:34 Just a second he's gotten in the second

37:36 half after the Bananaball open. He's

37:39 trying to get two OUT OF IT AND HE DOES.

37:41 The 33-year-old from Greenville, South

37:43 Carolina does the dougie. Has old man

37:46 still got some good wheels.

37:49 You got to respect the hustle from Kyle

37:51 Martin.

37:52 Very confident that was ball four. That

37:55 was the call from Vincent Chapman. Bill

37:56 Leroy didn't exactly think so behind the

37:58 plate. So, he didn't give the firmest

38:00 throw to Ryan Cox at shortstop to start

38:03 that ball four sprint defense and that's

38:05 what helped K-Mart get two bags.

38:08 Mention since the open

38:10 this guy, Jordan Bart. The only

38:12 Tailgater hitting over 400 and in 11

38:14 games played [music] since mid-April,

38:16 he's hitting .556.

38:20 Has hit all four of his home runs since

38:22 the open as well. Hotter than the

38:24 surface of the sun and right now in the

38:26 driver's seat two and one.

38:30 Mhm. Home run hack.

38:32 These Tailgaters are seeing red early.

38:34 They lead all of Savannah with 28 long

38:36 balls this year as a team.

38:38 Deuces wild. Two balls, two strikes, two

38:40 outs.

38:41 Jordan Barth stays alive.

38:43 Yeah, Austin Drury just challenging him

38:44 with the heat. Barth, you talked about

38:46 how good he's been since the open. Seven

38:49 of his 11 games have been multi-hit

38:51 affairs. Telling you this guy's playing

38:53 on a different planet than everyone else

38:55 and spoils that bender from AD.

38:59 >> [music]

39:00 >> Such a treacherous lineup to navigate

39:03 one through five for these Tailgaters.

39:05 But if anybody can do it, be the fourth

39:07 overall pick and Austin Drury trying to

39:08 right his wrongs from three nights three

39:10 weekends ago

39:12 >> [music]

39:12 >> in College Station. Hit back up the

39:14 middle. Wreck in shallow center. Decides

39:18 to throw home. Kyle Martin stayed at

39:20 third.

39:22 His runners on the corners now still

39:24 with two outs as Jordan Barth adds

39:25 another hit post open.

39:27 I'll tell you what, the rovers playing

39:29 some dividends for the Savannah Bananas

39:31 right now. Not only did it get the

39:32 second out of the inning against Nick

39:34 Lopez, but then you've got Robert

39:36 Anthony Cruz keeping that ball shallow

39:38 enough in the outfield where Kyle Martin

39:40 can't come around and score there

39:42 against Austin Drury.

39:44 Taylor Justice, former CPL Banana, and

39:48 second year Texas Tailgater in the box

39:50 ahead one and oh.

39:53 Had one of the eight hits on Thursday

39:55 night for the Tailgaters.

39:57 Hitting 365, just an offensive onslaught

40:01 of the year for Taylor Justice who's

40:02 known as an elite defender. Hit five

40:04 trick plays last Saturday night tying

40:06 the record in a single Banana Ball game

40:09 for the most ever by a first baseman.

40:18 Out to shallow left. KJ going back.

40:21 Nobody playing back there. Coxy has to

40:23 go to the fence on his horses Jordan

40:25 Barth. Rack comes in from the rover

40:27 position to cover third. Will throw it

40:29 to second advancing up to second base

40:31 Taylor Justice. And the first run of the

40:33 night be an RBI single from Taylor

40:35 Justice.

40:39 >> [music]

40:51 [music]

40:59 >> Taylor Justice. Mention his offensive

41:01 onslaught Josh he continues here in

41:03 2026. He plates the first run here in

41:05 Nealon. And he's at his best hitting

41:07 with [music] guys in scoring position.

41:08 Now eight for 15 with runners in scoring

41:12 position this year. And trying to keep

41:14 the line moving as Jose Brother Gonzalez

41:17 takes strike one.

41:18 Five home runs

41:20 only here for Brother. This right back

41:22 [music] to Austin Drury who throws it to

41:24 first quickly for out number three.

41:28 Tailgaters

41:30 with an opportunity to protect this one

41:32 tonight. How [music] will they look to

41:34 do so? Well, this is the lineup that

41:36 they will run out here on Nealon

41:39 Stadium's field tonight.

41:41 Again, flipping what they usually do in

41:43 the outfield is Josh as mentioned

41:45 because of the short left field porch

41:47 Kyle Martin will play [music] left. Zack

41:48 Watson will move over and help Indiana

41:50 Stanley man a lot of that right center

41:52 field. On the corners Justice, Barth,

41:55 and up the middle the two best [music]

41:56 trick play artists there are in our

41:58 sport. Jordan who say second with 58.

42:01 Jonathan Sunshine Looter 79 trick plays

42:03 first and second in 12.6 trick plays a

42:06 game Josh Zalewski. Nobody [music] else

42:08 is even averaging in double digits. They

42:10 have almost three more per game than the

42:12 Savannah Bananas. I mean, nobody's in

42:14 their ballpark [music] right now, and a

42:15 big part of that is Jonathan Luter's,

42:17 who is projected to finish with 219

42:21 trick plays

42:22 >> [music]

42:22 >> by season's end. Unbelievable stuff

42:24 right now that we're seeing from

42:26 Jonathan Luter's.

42:29 Taj Porter, the catcher, his best friend

42:31 and former college teammate, is the

42:33 starting pitcher. The 2025 Banana Ball

42:35 All-Star, Christian Davis. You want to

42:37 talk about trick plays, nobody's better

42:39 at inducing them in our sport than CD.

42:42 69 trick plays induced, over 60% of his

42:46 outs this year have come via trick

42:48 plays. Yeah, and he leads all starting

42:50 pitchers with four wins this season, the

42:52 second most wins on tour, seventh in

42:55 Banana Ball with a 3.19 earned run

42:58 average, and he's one of three pitchers

43:00 in Banana Ball with over 20 innings

43:02 pitched while also averaging three outs

43:05 in less than four minutes. We mentioned

43:07 the table setter, the guy that they look

43:09 to as a leader, top of the order, there

43:11 he is. DR Meadows, Robert Anthony Cruz,

43:14 and Kyle Jackson, this is Savannah

43:16 Bananas starting lineup brought to you

43:18 by PNC Bank. Look, the Bananas want to

43:21 get a victory here tonight against the

43:22 Texas Tailgaters, they're going to need

43:24 more offense from DR Meadows. He has had

43:26 eight multi-hit games this season. The

43:29 Bananas have won seven of those

43:31 contests, and that was so the case on

43:33 Thursday night. They are hoping for more

43:36 big stuff from their table setter.

43:40 We talked about Austin Drury's outing at

43:42 College Station. Christian Davis also

43:44 pitched in that game and got absolutely

43:46 tagged by the Savannah Bananas.

43:48 First one to DR, a called strike. CD in

43:51 that outing, four innings, gave up four

43:53 runs and had two ball four sprints.

43:58 Something about these teams seeing each

44:00 other so much, Josh.

44:01 >> It wasn't exactly a sharp astounding,

44:03 but he had the benefit of a lot of run

44:04 support from the Texas Tailgaters, which

44:07 made things a lot easier for him

44:09 throughout the evening.

44:12 Thought we had our first fan caught foul

44:14 ball here in Nealon. Not to be.

44:19 A ball and two from CD.

44:22 Again, the fans have an opportunity.

44:24 Behind home plate, a sea of hands, but

44:28 none come up with the banana ball. Just

44:29 bring your glove,

44:31 please.

44:33 If somebody could possibly hit one up

44:35 here to us, I don't have a glove, but I

44:36 guarantee I'd catch it.

44:38 That would be unreal.

44:41 We seem about 5 mi in the sky here at

44:43 Nealon Stadium.

44:47 CD last Saturday night, we talked about

44:49 the historic night it was for Jonathan

44:51 Sunshine Ludders. He was almost perfect

44:53 as well.

44:56 Induced 13 trick plays across five

44:58 innings. Did not give up an earned run

44:59 as well and struck out five. Right here,

45:01 the first payoff pitch of the night to

45:03 DR Meadows.

45:07 Out to left. Net prevents it from

45:09 getting into the crowd. 50-ft nets

45:12 by [music] Netting Pros here at all of

45:13 our football stadiums and again here in

45:15 Knoxville.

45:20 Jordan Hussey, between the legs. Bucket

45:24 for out number one.

45:26 That's got to feel good if you're

45:27 Christian Davis.

45:29 He's been really strong at actually

45:32 keeping the ball on the ground in these

45:34 football stadiums and you see him start

45:35 his evening getting that one hit over to

45:38 Jordan Hussey, easy transfer between the

45:41 legs and it's Davis winning that

45:44 eight-pitch battle.

45:45 Daylon Justice, BUCKET. TALK ABOUT HIS

45:48 DEFENSE. Back-to-back out, back-to-back

45:51 pitches in back-to-back trick plays for

45:53 the Texas Tailgaters. I'm telling you,

45:55 as long as the banana ball stays on the

45:58 ground, these Texas Tailgaters are going

46:00 to rip trick plays with no problem

46:03 whatsoever.

46:06 >> [cheering]

46:09 >> Hey, KJ. As Christian Davis gets ahead

46:12 of him 0-1.

46:15 One of the faces of the sport has been

46:17 one of the best players in the sport

46:18 early on

46:20 in his sophomore campaign as he sprays

46:22 it down the right field line and foul.

46:25 Yeah, Kyle Jackson currently riding a

46:27 14-game on-base streak for the Savannah

46:29 Bananas. And we saw him on Thursday

46:31 night swipe first base for the first

46:33 time in his Banana Ball career. So, a

46:36 great IQ move from Kyle Jackson.

46:39 >> Well, they say about KJ, he's pretty and

46:41 he's gritty. And he displayed that in a

46:43 big way on Thursday night. BUT, HE COMES

46:46 UP EMPTY. A PUNCH OUT FROM CHRISTIAN

46:48 DAVIS. THREE UP AND THREE DOWN AS THE

46:51 BOYS DONNING RED, WHITE, and blue take a

46:54 one-to-nothing lead at the end of the

46:56 first frame. Trickery overload. Man, I

47:00 love Banana Ball right here on ESPN.

47:11 here because we have gone through the

47:12 audience and we have picked nine of the

47:15 biggest and baddest that Rocky Top has

47:18 to offer. They are going to run from all

47:20 the way OUT HERE IN CENTER FIELD ALL THE

47:22 WAY TOWARDS HOME PLATE WHERE THERE IS a

47:24 baby pool waiting for them. The first

47:27 one to successfully belly flop into that

47:31 pool will be the winner. This is Rocky

47:35 Flop.

47:36 Gentlemen,

47:37 oh wait. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

47:40 Gentlemen, tarps off. Tarps off, boys.

47:43 HERE WE GO.

47:45 ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, [screaming]

47:47 GO!

47:50 OH, MAN DOWN EARLY. KEEP IT GOING.

47:54 THERE THEY GO.

48:04 >> [music]

48:07 >> Josh Olefsky something that makes

48:08 national headlines every time our lovely

48:10 sport of Bananaball gets to come and

48:12 play at a football stadium are these.

48:14 And here are the Neyland Stadium

48:16 dimensions. Yeah, you see just 204 ft to

48:19 the left field foul pole. 50-ft nets

48:22 installed courtesy of Netting Pros. They

48:24 stretch all the way [music] to around

48:26 left center to center field. And then

48:28 you see deepest part of the ballpark 375

48:31 ft. So, this is certainly, you know, the

48:34 most unique ballpark that you will ever

48:36 see as far as baseball and Bananaball is

48:39 concerned. And still no home run so far,

48:43 but we'll see if Mac Danford, a powerful

48:45 bat in this Tailgaters lineup, can

48:47 change things leading off the top of the

48:50 second.

48:51 Again, originally known as

48:52 Shields-Watkins Field

48:55 here at Neyland Stadium. Renamed Neyland

48:57 Stadium in 1962

48:59 after General Robert Neyland.

49:02 But at Shields-Watkins Field,

49:04 there was a baseball game, only one of

49:06 them, and it was played back in 1921, an

49:09 exhibition between Cincinnati and

49:13 University of Tennessee. And right

49:14 there, Austin Drury says good morning,

49:17 good afternoon, and good night to Mac

49:19 Danford. Strikes him out on three

49:20 pitches. And if you want to talk about

49:22 the pace and the speed of Bananaball,

49:25 that was a 17-second

49:27 strikeout that came from Austin Drury.

49:30 An excellent way for him to start his

49:33 second inning, and he'll try and

49:34 continue the quick work here against Taj

49:36 Porter.

49:38 The biggest, the largest, going to swing

49:40 it from the right side.

49:42 Taj.

49:45 During the open was hitting a buck

49:47 eighty.

49:48 Has gotten that batting average up 60

49:50 points post open.

49:54 His lone home run came against the

49:56 Savannah Bananas in game one at the

49:58 University of North Carolina back in

50:00 early April.

50:01 >> [music]

50:05 >> The ball and a strike.

50:07 Taj has been catching the majority of

50:09 the year as well for the Tailgaters.

50:10 Something he and Bill Leroy really the

50:12 only two catchers in Banana Ball that

50:14 can empathize with.

50:16 AD

50:18 Back-to-back punch outs. It's the

50:20 beginning of the top of the second

50:21 inning for Mr. Drury.

50:23 One swinging and now one looking for

50:25 Austin Drury and we're only a minute and

50:27 a half into this inning right now.

50:30 So, AD continuing to really push the

50:33 pace there on the pitcher's mound and

50:35 get a great frame from Bill Leroy on the

50:37 inside corner against Porter hitting

50:39 from the right side. AD elevates another

50:41 fastball, gets a swing and a miss to

50:43 Indiana Stanley.

50:45 Another former CPL Banana who's falling

50:48 behind yet again in a two-strike count

50:50 to Mr. Drury.

50:55 Could have gotten the three-pitch

50:56 strikeout there. Would have been a

50:57 sub-two-minute inning as Josh Tolewski

51:00 just mentioned.

51:06 Something so cool you notice in during

51:08 every pitch, a banana painted behind the

51:11 pitching rubber. The University of

51:13 Tennessee's baseball grounds crew

51:15 painted that pregame. Something they do

51:16 over at the baseball stadium here in

51:17 Knoxville. Ooh. Bill thought he had

51:21 three straight strikeouts. Instead,

51:22 we'll move it to two balls and two

51:24 strikes.

51:29 HE'S GOT HIM RIGHT THERE. AUSTIN DRURY

51:32 STRIKES OUT THE SIDE IN order in the top

51:35 of the second. And it comes in 2 minutes

51:38 and 35 seconds.

51:43 AND GOING TO

51:46 FAST FRAME.

51:49 YOU talk about home runs.

51:52 Really close in 2026.

51:55 I pay

51:59 here. And then all tied for second is

52:01 five. Jose Gonzalez in there, Robert

52:04 Anthony Cruz, up and down in the

52:05 tailgate, Lamar Sparks, a firefighter,

52:07 Jackie Bradley Jr. Probably heard that

52:09 name before as he sits down on the

52:12 bottom of this list, former major

52:13 leaguer, now with the Indianapolis

52:15 Clowns. If you'd like to see all 10 of

52:17 those from K-Mart, well, here they are.

52:50 We figured we're playing the second

52:52 largest Banana Ball game of all time. We

52:54 have a guy who's hit this many home

52:56 runs. Why not allow America to be joined

52:58 with the option? Kyle Moore, how are

53:00 you, my friend?

53:01 >> Doing great. Doing great. This is

53:02 absolutely electric right now.

53:05 You're out in left field.

53:07 Only 204 ft out there. First start in

53:10 left field in Banana Ball. First start

53:12 in your life in left field.

53:15 Uh

53:16 no, I played in left field down in

53:17 Mexico for a little while.

53:20 What is it What is it like just playing

53:22 in these these

53:23 Playing a Banana Ball game in these

53:24 football stadiums, Kyle? Absolutely

53:26 bonkers. I mean, just trying to figure

53:29 out the whole scheme of this. I mean,

53:30 I'm playing

53:31 >> [music]

53:32 >> I don't know, left center right now. I

53:33 mean, it's a little wild. I got this

53:35 massive speaker behind me just blaring

53:37 right in my ear. I'm surprised you guys

53:38 can't hear it up there or at least

53:40 through these headphones. [music]

53:42 Now, K-Mart, you were a guy who was

53:43 playing some college ball at South

53:45 Carolina. You're familiar with playing

53:46 the Volunteers, but what is it like to

53:48 be in these dimensions?

53:51 Uh

53:52 I mean,

53:53 it's all about setting a game plan,

53:55 really.

53:56 I mean, pitchers are still going to try

53:57 and do what they got to do to try and

53:58 get you out of these short boards cuz

54:00 everybody's trying to put it up the

54:01 short fence, the short net. I mean, it's

54:03 sticking with your game plan, coming up

54:05 with that as early as possible, and

54:06 holding to it the whole game.

54:08 A couple of buckets there from Jonathan

54:10 Sunshine Looters and Jordan Hussein on

54:13 the tip drill trick play number 80 on

54:15 the year for Sunshine. How have these

54:17 guys pushed you, Kmart, when you've been

54:19 in defensively to rip those trick plays?

54:21 Uh I mean, they worked with me. I mostly

54:24 work with Indy, but these two are just

54:26 crazy to watch. So, with them being in

54:28 the top of the leaderboard, it's just

54:30 one of those things like everybody wants

54:31 to be there, so you just try and get as

54:32 many as you can possible.

54:36 Oh, man.

54:37 Phil Collins coming in hot. It's Kmart

54:40 Oh my gosh. Moving over right in front

54:42 of that speaker there, it's Dan Overs.

54:44 Comes up empty, two balls and a strike.

54:46 Cal, what's been the secret to you

54:48 hitting those 10 home runs on a historic

54:50 pace this year? Well, I'd say some Some

54:52 people say it's the dinners. Some people

54:54 say it's the uh the team bonding

54:56 experiences.

54:57 Um I'm going to attribute it to all the

54:59 above that plus a little bit of

55:01 experience.

55:03 >> [music]

55:04 >> You mentioned those dinners. For those

55:06 at home watching on this national stage

55:08 tonight, what What exactly is it that

55:10 you're referring to?

55:11 >> [cheering]

55:12 >> Oh, GET HIM. GET HIM. QUICKLY THOUGH,

55:14 JORDAN BARR. WHAT A

55:16 PLAY!

55:17 PICKING OUT NUMBER TWO. Five to two now

55:19 in the trick play category. Bucket.

55:22 Sorry, I was busy watching that amazing

55:23 play. What were you saying about the

55:25 dinners?

55:26 I was saying you you mentioned those

55:27 dinners. What What What are those

55:29 dinners that you're referring to right

55:30 now? Uh I think it started off six weeks

55:33 ago, right? Where we

55:35 uh me and Utah started going out to

55:36 dinner, and then you started inviting

55:38 more and more guys.

55:40 I think now we get up to at least 12

55:42 people every time.

55:44 It's just really getting the guys

55:45 together, having that bonding time,

55:47 having that time away from the field

55:48 together. Really having some fun,

55:50 loosening up. And when we come out here,

55:52 it's just natural.

55:54 I know you're an SEC guy at South

55:56 Carolina. How cool is it now? The

55:58 football stadiums at Texas A&M and

56:00 Tennessee. What does it mean in the SEC

56:03 Ball park sprint actually? I'll let you

56:05 run in on this one.

56:10 OH, YOU GOT [screaming] IT, K-MART.

56:14 WOO!

56:16 WOW! HOW COOL WAS THAT, K-MART? Talk to

56:19 the world on ESPN.

56:21 >> my first time doing a ball park sprint

56:23 from left field, and shallow works out

56:25 for me cuz I'm 33 years old, and my

56:27 knees don't work like they used to.

56:29 Welcome to the action. I love you so

56:31 much, K-Mart. Hey, it's all work,

56:32 K-Mart. Thank you.

56:33 >> Appreciate it, fellas. What's up next?

56:35 The tailgaters lead after two.

56:43 Really loud.

56:44 >> You got that right.

56:47 I'm up here in the upper deck, AND WE'RE

56:48 GOING TO GET crazy cuz it's now time for

56:51 the sing-off. We're going to play three

56:52 songs. When the song finishes, we're

56:54 going to finish that song lyric. But

56:56 let's make it a competition. Young

56:57 professional, who do you got? I'll tell

56:59 you what, Jesse. I'm out here in left

57:01 field. I'm going to represent all of our

57:02 fans behind third base and out in left

57:05 AND CENTER FIELD, THE BEST IN CLASS OF

57:08 ROCKY TOP. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. WELL,

57:11 I HAVE ALL OF RIGHT FIELD AND ALL OF THE

57:14 FIRST BASE SIDE, AND WE CALL THIS THE

57:16 WINNING SECTION.

57:18 FIRST SONG, SHARK.

57:22 HERE WE GO.

57:24 >> [music]

57:24 >> Come on, let's get loud.

57:27 Let's hear it.

57:39 >> [cheering]

57:47 >> And we're off and running. The first

57:49 point of tonight's sing-off goes to THE

57:51 FIRST BASE AND RIGHT FIELD SIDE.

57:54 >> [cheering]

57:57 >> WE GOT TO GET IT BACK. COME ON.

58:00 HERE WE GO.

58:20 Absolutely amazing, Nieland. THIS POINT

58:23 GOES TO

58:25 THE THIRD BASE AND THE REST OF THE

58:27 OUTFIELD.

58:36 >> [music]

58:42 >> SPLIT. TAKING A LITTLE TENNESSEE [music]

58:44 orange added to that bananas yellow.

58:47 Running it out earlier leading the

58:48 Savannah Bananas out here at Nieland

58:51 Stadium, home of the Vols, man. A

58:53 stadium that has been around for over a

58:56 century. The great people here in the

58:58 Smokey Mountains, man, I tell you what,

59:00 they love their Tennessee Volunteers and

59:02 they've showed out in a big way for

59:05 Bananaball. Second largest Bananaball

59:07 game ever. 101,000 people. Texas

59:09 Tailgaters, Savannah Bananas. And to

59:11 begin matters here in the third, Alex

59:13 Ziggy Ziegler will get a trick play

59:16 against Jordan Hosey for out number one.

59:18 Yeah, that's the name of the game. Soft

59:19 contact. And Alan Ziegler is trying to

59:21 figure out how he wanted to attack that

59:23 Bananaball. The patience there just

59:25 paying off for Ziggy fielding that one

59:27 through the legs and taking it to the

59:29 back for the third trick play of the

59:31 ball game for the Bananas trying to deny

59:33 that equalizer point. Austin Drury has

59:36 now retired five straight guys and now

59:40 he gets today.

59:52 >> [music]

1:00:04 >> Fouled into the crowd, finds an

1:00:06 opportunity

1:00:08 not to be.

1:00:10 JT, what you know about Michael Jackson?

1:00:13 You know, Beat It's an all-timer for me.

1:00:16 That Eddie Van Halen solo does it every

1:00:18 time. I went and seen Michael in

1:00:20 theaters last Monday. Highly, highly

1:00:22 recommend. Tell you what, it's one of my

1:00:24 favorite musicals I've ever seen.

1:00:26 Zack Watson ahead two balls and a

1:00:27 strike.

1:00:33 Watty, those spikes he has on tonight

1:00:36 hand painted by his wife Jess this past

1:00:39 week. Woody colors.

1:00:41 HIGH IN THE SKY, DEEP CENTER FIELD. ZACK

1:00:45 WATSON, WELCOME BACK TO THE SEC AS HE

1:00:49 goes yard for the first time in 2026.

1:00:57 Well, THAT'S GOT TO FEEL FANTASTIC FOR

1:01:00 ZACK WATSON ROUNDING the bases for the

1:01:02 first time in 2026, the former LSU

1:01:07 standout and Baltimore Orioles minor

1:01:10 leaguer leaves the yard to get the

1:01:13 Tailgaters on the board in the third

1:01:15 inning.

1:01:18 So close on Thursday night when he hit

1:01:20 that double off the fence. What he's

1:01:23 been dialed. I know we're playing in a

1:01:24 football stadium. That might be going in

1:01:26 a baseball stadium. And now we got

1:01:28 something that's cool no matter where

1:01:30 you do it.

1:01:31 Jason Aldean has a microphone.

1:01:48 Just when I thought I had him to fall in

1:01:52 love with Tennessee.

1:01:57 I should have known better than to take

1:02:00 him back [music] to Abilene.

1:02:05 I put him right back in her arms. You

1:02:10 weren't a match for that kind of spark.

1:02:13 She's from Texas, I can tell by the way

1:02:18 he's two-stepping round the

1:02:22 Judging by [music] the smile that's

1:02:24 written on his face, there's nothing

1:02:27 [music] I can do.

1:02:31 It doesn't take a crystal ball to see a

1:02:35 cowboy always finds a way to leave

1:02:39 drinking Jack all by myself.

1:02:43 He's choosing Texas, I can tell.

1:02:47 >> [music]

1:02:47 >> Escorted by THE TENNESSEE

1:02:49 >> WALKED UP HERE?

1:02:51 ALL 101,000

1:02:53 PEOPLE INSIDE of Neyland Stadium here in

1:02:55 the great state of Tennessee. In that

1:02:57 moment right there, Josh Dobbs,

1:02:59 we're choosing Texas. Yeah, you were

1:03:01 trying to walk me through that walk-up

1:03:03 earlier. I just was not nailing the

1:03:05 spins. I I'm I'm really sorry about

1:03:08 that. You know, I'm just glad we don't

1:03:09 have replays to show anybody's.

1:03:12 Uh,

1:03:13 that was embarrassing for me.

1:03:14 >> you grew up in the mountains of Georgia.

1:03:16 You're you're a bit more of a swing

1:03:17 dancer, myself. You know, those those

1:03:19 intricate steps they were getting to you

1:03:20 a little bit. Nick Lopez, he's an Ala

1:03:23 fella. One of the hottest hits in the

1:03:25 last year plus choosing Texas by L L

1:03:27 Angler. One that the Texas Tailgaters

1:03:29 have been sitting on until they came to

1:03:31 East Tennessee. Ball and a strike for

1:03:33 Lopey.

1:03:35 He fouls another one back.

1:03:39 Guy who hit 346 last year.

1:03:42 Ball and a behind, a ball and two

1:03:44 strikes to Dalton Drury.

1:03:49 Putting up a good battle and having to

1:03:50 do so from the right side. He has not

1:03:53 been particularly strong when they've

1:03:55 switched him over and he's been facing

1:03:56 off against southpaws. Just two for 19

1:03:59 this year.

1:04:01 And it's so hard in Bananaland. Again,

1:04:02 there's not that many lefties if you're

1:04:04 not talking about the Savannah Bananas.

1:04:06 So, our switch hitters in this lineup,

1:04:07 Nick Lopez, Tash Porter, don't get that

1:04:09 many opportunities from the right side.

1:04:11 Right there, sprayed to DEEP RIGHT.

1:04:13 REESE ALEXIADES! BOOK IT in a two-piece

1:04:16 from Super Reese!

1:04:20 101,000

1:04:21 FOLKS GETTING TO SEE REESE ALEXIADES

1:04:24 SHOW OFF THE FRANKIE SUPER CELEBRATION!

1:04:28 A SWIRLING SUPERMAN SPIN FOR ALEXIADES!

1:04:33 UNBELIEVABLE!

1:04:35 AND NOW, THE Nanners just down one trick

1:04:38 play to the Tailgaters.

1:04:42 The two best trick play teams in all the

1:04:44 land of Bananaland.

1:04:47 They combined for 29 of them on Thursday

1:04:49 night. Kyle Martin, 0 for 1. Had a

1:04:52 two-bag ball for a sprint his first time

1:04:53 up. They were shifting him here. That's

1:04:55 fair!

1:04:57 And how about that? K-Mart, the

1:04:59 33-year-old, showing off the speed the

1:05:02 speed twice. A two-bag ball for a sprint

1:05:04 his first time up and an infield single

1:05:06 right here.

1:05:08 Well, K-Mart, I mean, it was such a rare

1:05:10 0 for 5 night for him on Thursday. He's

1:05:13 coming back with a little bit of a

1:05:15 vengeance. The two-base sprint has

1:05:17 already scored tonight. Now has that

1:05:19 nice little dribbler that you know, it's

1:05:21 a single in the box score regardless.

1:05:24 Good piece of two-out hitting for Kyle

1:05:26 Martin.

1:05:28 Jordan Barth.

1:05:32 This dude

1:05:34 caught a 6:00 a.m. flight yesterday

1:05:36 morning out of Knoxville, flew back to

1:05:37 St. Cloud, Minnesota, was in a wedding

1:05:39 last night. This morning, 6:00 a.m.

1:05:41 flight out of Minnesota to get back here

1:05:43 to Knoxville

1:05:44 to play in the second largest Banana

1:05:46 Ball game ever. He sent me a text this

1:05:48 morning. He said, "I wouldn't miss this

1:05:49 for the world." And I ran into him down

1:05:52 on the field earlier. The first thing he

1:05:53 was trying to do was figure out where

1:05:54 the batting cage is, where he wanted to

1:05:56 get his cuts in.

1:05:58 I seen him walk in the locker room right

1:06:00 when he got back [music]

1:06:01 off the plane and got here to Nieland

1:06:03 this morning. He looked like he was

1:06:04 coming back from a golf outing. He

1:06:06 quickly changed into his BP attire.

1:06:08 Smoked up the middle in the center field

1:06:10 off the fence.

1:06:11 K-Mart's easily going first to third.

1:06:14 Barth big round at first. OH, K-MART'S

1:06:16 COMING HOME. ZIGGY CUTS IT OFF. Bill

1:06:19 Leroy applies the tag. HOW ABOUT THAT TO

1:06:22 CONCLUDE matters on the top of the

1:06:23 third?

1:06:24 Well, HE GOT THE WINDMILL FROM ONE OF

1:06:26 THE LADY VOLUNTEERS coaching third.

1:06:30 And it winds UP NOT EXACTLY PAYING OFF

1:06:32 FOR the Texas Tailgaters. HERE YOU SEE

1:06:34 THAT big windmill. Nonetheless, a key

1:06:37 run from Zack Watson. The Tailgaters

1:06:40 will try and preserve the lead as we go

1:06:42 down to the field. Bananas Foster family

1:06:44 of the game.

1:06:46 Across the United States, there are over

1:06:49 400,000

1:06:50 children and teens in foster care

1:06:53 without a permanent home.

1:06:54 Look around. That's enough to fill

1:06:57 Neyland Stadium four times with the

1:06:59 amount of kiddos currently experiencing

1:07:01 foster care.

1:07:03 To raise awareness and help support this

1:07:05 community, we created Bananas Foster,

1:07:07 the official nonprofit of Banana Ball.

1:07:10 Our organization is dedicated to

1:07:12 celebrating those who are already making

1:07:14 a difference in the foster care world

1:07:17 while educating and inspiring others to

1:07:19 get involved.

1:07:21 Tonight, we are celebrating the Worley

1:07:23 family.

1:07:25 11 years ago, B.J. and Madeline learned

1:07:29 about the need for more safe and loving

1:07:32 homes for kiddos entering foster care.

1:07:35 >> [snorts]

1:07:35 >> Since becoming licensed, the Worleys

1:07:38 have committed their lives to being

1:07:40 foster and adoptive parents by welcoming

1:07:43 kiddos with special needs, supporting

1:07:45 biological families, and even dedicating

1:07:49 their careers to strengthening the

1:07:51 foster care community.

1:07:53 Through respite care and foster care,

1:07:56 this family has welcomed over 70

1:07:59 children into their home.

1:08:02 Fans, please help us welcome to the

1:08:04 field so that we can celebrate them, the

1:08:07 Worley family.

1:08:09 >> [cheering]

1:08:47 >> Ladies and gentlemen, one more time,

1:08:48 let's hear it for tonight's

1:08:50 BANANAS FOSTER FAMILY OF THE K.

1:09:07 >> Such a cool moment.

1:09:09 Such the same thing we seen three

1:09:12 weekends ago at College Station in such

1:09:14 a big big environment. Biggest Banana

1:09:16 Ball game ever in College Station the

1:09:18 second biggest here. A lot of things can

1:09:20 get lost upon us. But getting down to

1:09:22 the Bananas Foster family of the night,

1:09:24 that's where we're all able to come

1:09:25 together and think about why we're

1:09:27 really here Josh Sborz.

1:09:28 >> And the cool thing is whether it's in

1:09:29 front of 101,000 or in a really intimate

1:09:32 venue, every time it gives you chill

1:09:34 bumps.

1:10:17 We're plus that of our minds with

1:10:18 Michael Jackson tonight.

1:10:21 Tell you what, that's a good one too.

1:10:23 Little smooth criminal action.

1:10:25 Michael

1:10:26 again, so inspirational. Macias so

1:10:29 inspirational all these guys always

1:10:30 teaching choreography. Great entrance

1:10:32 there from the dancing first base coach.

1:10:34 >> And there's nobody that Macias taken

1:10:35 more inspiration from than Michael

1:10:38 Jackson. That has always been his guy.

1:10:41 The captain of the 9 year Banana. Got

1:10:43 all these folks here and nailing up

1:10:45 clapping Bill Leroy.

1:10:47 Again, just having another incredible

1:10:49 offensive year.

1:10:52 Had a walk-off ball four sprint on

1:10:53 Thursday night. Right here gets ahead of

1:10:55 Christian Davis 2 and 0, who has faced

1:10:58 the minimum through two innings thus

1:11:00 far.

1:11:01 BALL! DEEP CENTER! OH, that's deep at

1:11:05 the fence, INDEED! WATCHES it fly over!

1:11:09 Three home runs!

1:11:10 All three against the Tailgaters in

1:11:12 2026! The captain goes yard yet again!

1:11:17 And that was not cheap whatsoever FROM

1:11:20 BILL LEROY, testing the furthest PART OF

1:11:24 THIS MAKESHIFT BALL PARK. THE BANANAS

1:11:27 CAPTAIN GETTING THE BANANAS ON THE BOARD

1:11:29 with their very first hit tonight.

1:11:36 Start calling him Bi- Billy Barrels.

1:11:39 That one landed up at about the fifth

1:11:41 row. That's right out there next to the

1:11:43 375 sign. I had to guess that went all

1:11:45 380 ft. Yeah, that was not a cheapo.

1:11:48 >> He is a 9 for 17 now against the

1:11:51 Tailgaters, and three of those nine hits

1:11:53 have left the ballpark.

1:11:55 He sees red when he sees the blue and

1:11:57 orange.

1:11:59 And now Ryan Cox

1:12:01 represents the inning-winning run and

1:12:04 the potential first point of the night

1:12:06 for the Bananas.

1:12:09 Ball and a strike on Ryan Cox, who

1:12:11 continues to be the anchor in the bottom

1:12:13 three of this Savannah Bananas order.

1:12:16 No matter if he's hitting 10 hole,

1:12:18 hitting up in the eight hole as he is

1:12:19 tonight.

1:12:21 A guy that's always going to get on

1:12:22 base. Yeah, he might just have a 275

1:12:25 batting average, but a 441 OBP. Now he

1:12:28 skies this one in the infield, and it's

1:12:31 Hussein with the tip. Jordan Barth pulls

1:12:34 it in behind the back, and the

1:12:36 Tailgaters back out to a commanding

1:12:38 three-trick play lead in the third. Book

1:12:42 it! Book it!

1:12:44 Jordan and Jordan, Hussein and Barth

1:12:46 combined for a double trick play.

1:12:51 How poetic. The man who invented trick

1:12:53 plays

1:12:54 pops out

1:12:56 into a double trick play in his first

1:12:57 plate appearance of the ball game.

1:12:59 Now Ty Jackson

1:13:02 Bookie fouls it back up here to the

1:13:04 upper deck. It's off the ribbon board

1:13:06 though.

1:13:08 Man

1:13:09 he was a hot ball of fire on Thursday

1:13:11 night going two for three.

1:13:13 Yeah, it was great to see from Ty

1:13:14 Jackson sporting a four game on base

1:13:16 streak and two multi hit games, both of

1:13:19 which have come against the Tailgaters

1:13:20 as that ball is a laced off the 50 foot

1:13:23 netting. A barrel for Ty to fly and the

1:13:27 one out single.

1:13:29 Everyone talks about his energy as he

1:13:31 hits the thank you thank you over THERE

1:13:32 AT FIRST.

1:13:34 EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT HIS ENERGY, but

1:13:36 man, when you put that dude in the

1:13:37 lineup he gets volume ABs, he's going to

1:13:40 swing it well. It's just a matter for

1:13:42 some guys you have to start to get your

1:13:44 routine down. He's been playing in a

1:13:46 platoon with Danny Hasley which hasn't

1:13:48 exactly made things easy for him.

1:13:53 Jackson Olson

1:13:57 struck out twice on Thursday night.

1:13:59 Maceo getting active over there in the

1:14:01 first base coaching box.

1:14:03 Jackie sends that one up high in the

1:14:05 blue sky here in Knoxville. Sunshine way

1:14:08 out there in right field. BOOK IT. BOOK

1:14:10 IT. SUNSHINE AND WATTY combined for the

1:14:13 second double trick play of the inning

1:14:16 and out number two as Ty advances up 90

1:14:19 feet.

1:14:20 And the minute that banana ball touches

1:14:22 Looter's glove, that is when runners can

1:14:25 tag up. So a smart decision by Ty

1:14:27 Jackson recognizing with Looter's

1:14:30 traveling all the way out there, he was

1:14:32 thinking tip drill on the mind.

1:14:34 But now two outs, a man in scoring

1:14:36 position. A knock here could get the

1:14:38 Bananas their first point tonight.

1:14:42 But we're trying to find DR Meadows.

1:14:44 I see the University of Tennessee

1:14:46 softball team down there.

1:14:49 D.R.'s with some guys on some solo cups.

1:14:51 What you got, Mr. Meadows?

1:15:03 >> [music]

1:15:09 [music]

1:15:37 >> You know, I've often said, Josh

1:15:38 Tolewski, that D.R. Meadows is a

1:15:41 doppelganger of Morgan Wallen. And I've

1:15:43 been known to say this for years,

1:15:44 actually.

1:15:47 That is That's really fascinating. I

1:15:50 I've never really seen the comparison

1:15:52 all that much.

1:15:53 >> The stash, the new flow he's kind of got

1:15:55 going on, you know, got shaped up about

1:15:57 a week or so ago.

1:16:01 That's a walk-up, by the way. He's been

1:16:03 pitching to the Savannah Bananas

1:16:04 director of entertainment, Zack

1:16:05 Fronzino, for over 2 years.

1:16:08 He said, "I don't care whatever I get."

1:16:11 And then he found out we were coming

1:16:12 here to Tennessee. Obviously, Morgan

1:16:13 from East Tennessee. He goes, "Have to

1:16:15 get a Morgan Wallen walk-up when we play

1:16:17 at Neyland Stadium."

1:16:20 Two and one.

1:16:21 He's ahead of Christian Davis, who just

1:16:23 conceded his first run of the ball game

1:16:26 via solo shot from Bill Leroy.

1:16:30 Deuces wild yet again. Two balls, two

1:16:32 strikes, two outs.

1:16:34 And Anna's hoping Meadows can come

1:16:35 through here. A .364 average with

1:16:38 runners in scoring position this season.

1:16:40 And also two ball four sprints that have

1:16:42 driven in guys.

1:16:46 Ty getting a big lead out there in

1:16:47 second.

1:16:48 They are. Oh man, smokes it off of

1:16:51 Taylor Justice who then catches it.

1:16:53 Excuse me, Matt catches it off the

1:16:55 ricochet.

1:16:57 Such close confines of the dugouts here

1:16:59 at these football stadiums. Neylon no

1:17:00 different.

1:17:06 Ball four sprint would win the inning

1:17:08 for the Bananas. And out would push for

1:17:11 the Tailgaters.

1:17:13 BALE PITCH.

1:17:15 GOT HIM!

1:17:16 CHRISTIAN DAVIS

1:17:19 WITH JUST HIS SECOND STRIKEOUT OF THE

1:17:21 BALLGAME HOLDING A ONE-TO-NOTHING LEAD

1:17:24 FOR THE TEXAS TAILGATERS. PLAY THAT

1:17:27 SWEET MUSIC HERE IN EAST TENNESSEE, CD.

1:17:38 OKAY.

1:17:42 Now for our YouTube crowd, we give you

1:17:44 something special with Sam Bowman. Yeah,

1:17:46 guys. Uh we got the Tailgaters third

1:17:48 base coach Meredith Barnhart. Also

1:17:50 happens to be a Lady Vol. Uh talk to me

1:17:52 about the decision to send Kmart on that

1:17:55 one. Send him home. I just know his

1:17:57 elite speed. You know, push the defense.

1:18:00 See if they can make a good play, but I

1:18:01 thought we had him there. Yeah, pressure

1:18:03 bursts pipes. You just did a walk-up

1:18:05 with the Bananas though. Any truth that

1:18:06 maybe you were trying to help the

1:18:08 Bananas that inning? Absolutely not. You

1:18:10 know, all the way Tailgater, but you

1:18:12 know, it's good to have a fun time here

1:18:14 in Knoxville.

1:18:15 Meredith Barnhart, maybe we'll see her

1:18:16 on third base coach again.

1:18:18 I don't know after that one, guys.

1:18:23 Wow.

1:18:25 All the way Tailgater, Josh Leweski.

1:18:28 That's what they call me, all the way

1:18:29 Tailgater. Hey YouTube, by the way.

1:18:32 Hello YouTube. Hope you guys are having

1:18:34 a wonderful night. Josh is having a

1:18:36 great hair day. I don't know if you guys

1:18:37 seen it top of the show. Incredible hair

1:18:39 day.

1:18:40 Words of affirmation, we talked about

1:18:42 this on Elevator. I put no product in

1:18:44 it.

1:18:45 Okay, Chad Reese is telling us we must

1:18:47 go mute now.

1:18:49 Talk to you guys soon. Good night.

1:19:04 Ain't too much better than a Saturday

1:19:05 night kneeling.

1:19:07 That's what we got here tonight. Banana

1:19:09 ball. Texas Tailgaters lead the Savannah

1:19:12 Bananas one to nothing. Here as we begin

1:19:15 the top of the fourth. And now, how

1:19:17 blessed are we to get to be joined by

1:19:20 the inventor of the trick play, Ryan

1:19:23 Cox. How are you, my friend?

1:19:24 >> Fantastic, fellas. Are you on the first

1:19:26 base and third base side? I'm trying to

1:19:27 look for you. First base. Good to see

1:19:29 you, boys. There's some lights that

1:19:31 should be illuminating. Don't look up

1:19:32 here at them too much. All right, Coxy.

1:19:36 We got two for you. Bucket. We got TWO

1:19:39 FOR YOU.

1:19:42 MIGHT WE BE BLESSED enough to get a

1:19:44 bucket from you, Ryan Cox? BUCKET.

1:19:46 BUCKET. Double bucket.

1:19:49 Oh, man. How much I love you. That's

1:19:51 something you and I sitting in a coffee

1:19:54 shop that will not be named the other

1:19:55 day. And you looked at me and you said,

1:19:57 "Coming downhill to the between-the-legs

1:19:59 trick play." Something so difficult to

1:20:00 do, but something that you have

1:20:02 perfected over your years in this sport.

1:20:04 How? It's just one of those things where

1:20:06 at a young age they teach you to to play

1:20:08 on the run. And once you get to that

1:20:09 athletic state, kind of like basketball

1:20:11 or football, where you're playing just

1:20:12 based off athleticism, trust in the

1:20:15 transfer, just like a crossover dribble.

1:20:17 And it cuts down a lot of space. You're

1:20:19 not thinking too much about the throw,

1:20:20 cuz you just cut down 30 ft. So,

1:20:23 uh it's something that it's cool to see

1:20:24 a lot of guys in the Banana Ball take

1:20:25 advantage of it. It's something that

1:20:27 young athletes can learn from

1:20:29 how to play athletic within the rules of

1:20:30 the game. And

1:20:32 that was a cool double one with the mic

1:20:33 on.

1:20:35 What can young athletes learn from that,

1:20:37 actually, is what I would have known.

1:20:39 From the trick play itself? No, no, from

1:20:41 Vincent Chapman, actually, Coxy.

1:20:43 >> that hip mobility is crucial.

1:20:47 Another one.

1:20:49 Jay Jay between the legs. Shake it

1:20:51 between the legs.

1:20:53 Back-to-back double trick plays, Coxy.

1:20:56 Hey, we got to keep up with those

1:20:57 red-hot tailgaters, man. Zig's doing his

1:20:59 thing over there. He's got a camera on

1:21:00 his hat right now, actually.

1:21:03 And And it kind of leads ME TO MY

1:21:04 QUESTION for you, Coxy. I mean, your

1:21:06 team, you're striking out more guys than

1:21:08 anybody else at a higher rate than

1:21:10 everybody. How does that change the way

1:21:12 in which you guys have to approach

1:21:14 approach trick plays? Is the goal

1:21:16 maximizing these double trick plays?

1:21:18 >> It is, and trying to find our our

1:21:20 moments. Obviously, we got to win a ball

1:21:21 game, but our pitchers are doing such a

1:21:23 good job making it hard to hit, and

1:21:26 you know, that's what we're trying to

1:21:27 drill every day at practice is be

1:21:28 perfect and get it down what you know,

1:21:30 and especially in these situations, claw

1:21:32 back at a lead, like the Tailgaters

1:21:33 have. Matt, high in the sky, left

1:21:36 center. THE DOC, BEHIND THE BACK

1:21:40 IN A FIVE-TRICK PLAY INNING WITH THE

1:21:42 INVENTOR OF TRICK plays for the Savannah

1:21:44 BANANAS ON THE MICROPHONE. BEAUTIFUL,

1:21:46 BOYS. We needed that one. Beautiful

1:21:48 night at Neelam. So proud of you guys

1:21:51 and everything that you do to bring

1:21:52 Banana Ball to a millions of homes. I

1:21:54 love you guys. I'll see you soon.

1:21:56 In a minute and 34 SECONDS AS WELL.

1:21:58 THAT'S BANANA BALL.

1:22:04 ALL 101,000 ON YOUR FEET FOR A Banana

1:22:07 Land tradition.

1:22:09 We're going to get the biggest "Hey

1:22:11 baby" Tennessee has ever seen before.

1:22:14 So, everyone, let's get your hands up in

1:22:16 THE AIR. HANDS ALL THE WAY UP IN THE

1:22:18 AIR, ALL THE WAY AROUND THE STADIUM. GET

1:22:20 THEM UP AND FOLLOW ALONG. HERE WE GO,

1:22:23 SHARK.

1:22:25 CLAP THOSE HANDS. HERE WE GO.

1:22:36 LET'S GET THOSE ARMS WAVING. HERE WE GO.

1:22:42 >> [music]

1:22:50 >> KEEP IT GOING. GETTING THOSE HANDS UP.

1:23:04 NOW, KEEP it clapping as we shovel.

1:23:11 >> [music]

1:23:13 >> You guys look good tonight.

1:23:19 Now, LET ME HEAR YOU SING IT.

1:23:32 ONE MORE TIME, KNOXVILLE.

1:23:39 >> [music]

1:23:47 >> YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING. GIVE YOURSELVES A

1:23:49 ROUND OF APPLAUSE.

1:23:54 >> [music]

1:23:59 [music]

1:24:05 [music]

1:24:07 >> TRICKERY OVERLOAD. Anytime the Savannah

1:24:09 Bananas play the [music] Texas

1:24:11 Tailgaters. Bottom of the fourth. Both

1:24:13 of them already at nine trick plays a

1:24:15 piece.

1:24:16 >> [music]

1:24:16 >> Tailgaters ahead one point to nothing.

1:24:18 This has been the best version of Banana

1:24:19 Ball the entire year, Josh Sklarsky, and

1:24:21 it's reigned supreme through three and a

1:24:22 half innings here tonight. And I think

1:24:24 these two teams are well aware of that.

1:24:26 Again, we saw cutthroat battle on

1:24:28 Thursday night. The Bananas 15 trick

1:24:30 plays, Tailgaters 14. But, these teams

1:24:33 are moving the needle even more tonight

1:24:35 in Neyland Stadium as Christian Davis

1:24:37 goes to work against Robert Anthony Cruz

1:24:40 with four home runs since the conclusion

1:24:43 of the Banana Ball Open, tied for the

1:24:44 second most in that span.

1:24:49 And if Rack gets hold of

1:24:50 >> one, it's going a long ways. I'd say

1:24:52 80-grade Banana Ball power for any of

1:24:54 those familiar with the 20-80 grade

1:24:55 scale

1:24:56 Major League Baseball likes to use.

1:24:59 Even at two balls and two strikes,

1:25:00 perhaps the best stat for him post-open,

1:25:02 five ball four sprints, only four

1:25:04 strikeouts.

1:25:08 Fights it off. DEEP LEFT FIELD. IF IT'S

1:25:10 FAIR, IT'S GONE. AND IT'S GONE. Robert

1:25:14 Anthony Cruz puts himself alone in

1:25:16 second place IN THE BANANA BALL

1:25:18 CHAMPIONSHIP League with six dingers and

1:25:21 scores the first point of the night for

1:25:23 the Savannah Bananas. Make it three

1:25:26 straight YEARS WHERE ROBERT ANTHONY CRUZ

1:25:28 HAS HOMERED PLAYING IN THE STATE OF

1:25:31 TENNESSEE. HE IS JUST DIFFERENT WHEN HE

1:25:34 IS HERE IN THE SOUTHEAST. AND THERE'S

1:25:37 THE ACROBATIC THAT YOU ALWAYS GET FROM

1:25:39 CRUZ. A MISSILE OUT TO LEFT FIELD, AND

1:25:43 IT IS ONE ALL AFTER FOUR HERE IN

1:25:46 KNOXVILLE.

1:25:50 >> [music]

1:25:59 >> 3 2 1, let's go, Bananas.

1:26:05 >> [music]

1:26:17 >> Hey, you pack it in. I can't just stand

1:26:19 it.

1:26:21 >> [music]

1:26:27 [music]

1:26:27 [singing]

1:26:37 [music]

1:27:01 [music]

1:27:18 [music]

1:27:25 >> The ninth [music] time this year we've

1:27:27 seen the Savannah Bananas and Texas

1:27:28 Tailgaters battle it out the second time

1:27:31 in front of a 100,000 plus here in

1:27:34 Knoxville, Tennessee.

1:27:36 Bananas, Tailgaters, [music]

1:27:37 one to one after Robert Anthony Cruz

1:27:40 just launched a walk-off dinger al Bote

1:27:42 Taco style to conclude matters in the

1:27:44 fourth.

1:27:46 Tosh fouls into the crowd.

1:27:49 The biggest, the largest not caught

1:27:51 by these volunteers.

1:27:53 By the way, if you include the open

1:27:54 night match up, four and four.

1:27:57 Rubber match

1:27:58 to this point in the year between the

1:28:00 Bananas and the Tailgaters.

1:28:12 TP

1:28:14 Look at pitch number 67 for a ball

1:28:17 tonight from Austin Drury, one and two.

1:28:19 GETS HIM RIGHT THERE. ANOTHER POLCE FROM

1:28:22 AD.

1:28:24 I mean, this guy is dialed right now.

1:28:27 Brett, you mentioned some control issues

1:28:29 for Austin Drury in his last start

1:28:31 against the Tailgaters in Kyle Field,

1:28:33 but in the 12 innings that have followed

1:28:35 that start for Drury, and this includes

1:28:38 tonight, he's only issued one ball four

1:28:40 sprint in that span, and we've only seen

1:28:43 one three ball count from AD tonight.

1:28:47 Foul behind home plate yet again.

1:28:49 >> [screaming]

1:28:49 >> VOLUNTEERS, DID THEY MAKE A PLAY? YES,

1:28:52 they did!

1:28:58 And how about that?

1:29:00 THAT WAS A DQ SHAKE SHACK. THE FAN who

1:29:03 caught that foul ball WON FREE DQ FOR

1:29:06 THEIR entire row, and you guys can win

1:29:08 at home by scanning this QR code to

1:29:11 download the DQ app to earn your own

1:29:14 rewards. WHAT A PLAY, MAN.

1:29:18 39th fan caught foul ball this season,

1:29:21 the sixth that has come in a football

1:29:22 stadium. Honestly, a little lower than I

1:29:24 think we were all expecting at this

1:29:26 point in the season, but that's a rather

1:29:28 pivotal play for the Savannah Bananas

1:29:31 all of a sudden with a lot of momentum

1:29:33 going their way, and you see it already

1:29:36 here. Austin Drury has jumped ahead 0-2

1:29:38 very quickly.

1:29:40 Jordan Hussey stays alive.

1:29:43 One of the hardest guys, statistically,

1:29:45 to strike out strike out in the sport of

1:29:47 banana ball, Jordan Hussey.

1:29:50 Had a check me swing that resulted in an

1:29:52 Alex Ziegler trick play his first time

1:29:55 up.

1:30:05 Jordan, interesting story from him. He

1:30:07 was talking to me earlier today. He said

1:30:09 this playing surface is so much softer

1:30:12 than any of the other football stadiums

1:30:13 he's been in. Largely due to the inch

1:30:15 and a half of rain we've gotten in the

1:30:16 last 48 hours.

1:30:18 >> And he's he really talked about how much

1:30:20 that was going to play an impact of

1:30:22 trick plays and getting these ground

1:30:23 balls. And so far, 18 combined here

1:30:26 between the Tailgaters and Bananas.

1:30:28 >> [snorts]

1:30:32 >> Vance Chapman had his mask off. Mark him

1:30:34 out on the third base line here. Now he

1:30:36 calls time.

1:30:39 So, dust off home plate.

1:30:43 Josh, did you see something I must have

1:30:45 missed?

1:30:46 Not particularly.

1:30:50 Small stoppage in play. Nonetheless, we

1:30:52 will resume. 2-2.

1:30:55 J5 stays alive.

1:31:08 Wow.

1:31:09 After starting Jordan Hussey 0 and 2,

1:31:12 count has run full here.

1:31:15 Austin Drury, perhaps his last pitch of

1:31:17 the ballgame.

1:31:19 A broken bat. Ryan Cox charges it. Bare

1:31:22 hand, can't make the play.

1:31:25 Tough play even if Coxey would have made

1:31:27 it there for Jordan Hussey. And that

1:31:28 will be

1:31:29 >> That's an infield single.

1:31:33 Good hustle from Hussey. And this guy,

1:31:35 he gets better as the game progresses.

1:31:38 He's batting just 214 in the first three

1:31:40 innings of play this year, but he's

1:31:42 batting 300 or better the rest of the

1:31:45 way. The longer the game goes on, the

1:31:47 more comfortable Jordan Hussey gets at

1:31:49 the plate. Guy that loves to settle in.

1:31:52 This guy settling in Wells Hack Watson

1:31:54 with yard his last time up.

1:31:56 On that fastball, fouls it back for the

1:31:58 net quickly. 0 and 2 yet again. This

1:32:00 begins the third time through in the

1:32:02 Tailgaters lineup.

1:32:03 See AD throwing 80 pitches trying to get

1:32:06 out of this fifth. We'll see if he comes

1:32:07 back out in the sixth.

1:32:12 Has not been stretched out as long as

1:32:14 some other guys in the league this year.

1:32:16 Bananas lean heavily on their bullpen as

1:32:18 do these Tailgaters. Check me calling

1:32:21 and that'll be another poll check for

1:32:23 AD.

1:32:25 His fifth of the night. And if that's

1:32:28 how his night ends, that's a special way

1:32:30 to end it. Giving up just one point,

1:32:33 five strikeouts, and inducing nine trick

1:32:35 plays.

1:32:37 Wow.

1:32:38 If you love Banana Ball, you're loving

1:32:40 this game right here from Neyland

1:32:42 Stadium on ESPN.

1:32:56 >> [music]

1:33:01 [music]

1:33:10 [music]

1:33:16 [music]

1:33:21 >> Give it UP ONE MORE TIME FOR THE BANANA

1:33:24 NANAS.

1:33:25 >> [screaming]

1:33:30 >> LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, it's the Young

1:33:32 Professor out here in right field and we

1:33:34 ARE ABOUT TO GET THE BIGGEST WAVE THAT

1:33:37 KNOXVILLE HAS EVER SEEN GOING ALL AROUND

1:33:39 THE STADIUM. WE'RE GOING TO START RIGHT

1:33:41 HERE in three, TWO, ONE, WAVE.

1:33:52 Send it ALL THE WAY AROUND. UP at the

1:33:55 top.

1:34:04 We got the double wave going.

1:34:18 We mentioned trick [music] plays, but we

1:34:19 can't talk about those without talking

1:34:22 about the banana ball championship

1:34:24 leader in that category, Jonathan

1:34:26 Sunshine Looney. He and the Texas

1:34:28 Tailgaters have absolutely spammed the

1:34:31 tip drill this year. You see the first

1:34:32 two that Sunny has tonight. He has

1:34:34 [music] very much so contributed to the

1:34:36 nine trick plays that the Tailgaters

1:34:38 have this evening. And Sunny is going to

1:34:41 join us here.

1:34:43 How are you, my friend?

1:34:44 >> Oh, Brad, it's always so good to hear

1:34:45 your voice. How fantastic. How are you?

1:34:47 It's loud out here, man. Man, they got

1:34:49 the wave going on at Neyland. And this

1:34:51 is an SEC environment. I know you grew

1:34:53 up in the Northeast, but how do you like

1:34:55 playing down here in SEC country for the

1:34:57 second time in three weekends? And it's

1:34:59 so cool as Nick Lopez would say, as the

1:35:01 SEC says, it just means more. I can see

1:35:03 why. It's just incredible. Incredible.

1:35:06 Sunshine, the people want to know. Oh.

1:35:08 >> Oh, my.

1:35:10 That's right. It's all right.

1:35:13 It's going to first take him a moment to

1:35:15 pause. Kyle Jackson just took one right

1:35:17 off the helmet.

1:35:20 >> [cheering]

1:35:28 [cheering]

1:35:30 >> Great sportsmanship from Taj Porter.

1:35:33 And Christian Davis.

1:35:36 Okay, great.

1:35:37 You can hear the 101,000 faithful here

1:35:39 in Neyland happy that KJ's back up to

1:35:42 his feet.

1:35:45 And he'll walk down the first. Appears

1:35:47 that he'll stay in this ballgame. Okay,

1:35:49 great.

1:35:50 Wow, that's scary. That's scary.

1:35:53 Guys, all right.

1:35:54 He's a big deal in our sport, obviously.

1:35:56 All right, sunshine. One moment, Jesse

1:35:58 Cole.

1:35:58 >> For your Savannah Bananas, a five-time

1:36:02 Pro Bowler FROM THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

1:36:05 AND YOUR UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE

1:36:07 VOLUNTEERS, ALVIN KAMARA!

1:36:16 ALVIN KAMARA!

1:36:18 ONE OF THE greatest running backs

1:36:20 in this generation.

1:36:23 Graduate here of the University of

1:36:25 Tennessee.

1:36:26 He was a standout for 2 years in 2016

1:36:30 and 2017.

1:36:31 And now, he's going to come in the pitch

1:36:33 run as his hamstrings bothering him.

1:36:42 >> [cheering]

1:37:04 >> One more time!

1:37:05 Wow.

1:37:06 >> [cheering]

1:37:07 >> Sunny, I have a question for you. What

1:37:09 are the odds that we see Kamara

1:37:11 celebrate a touchdown like that in the

1:37:13 end zone this year? I hope 100%. I

1:37:17 certainly hope 100%. That was electric.

1:37:20 He's actually going to run, too. Oh my

1:37:21 gosh.

1:37:22 Hey, you know if he gets on second, you

1:37:23 got to go talk to him.

1:37:24 >> Absolutely. That's your task. Reese

1:37:26 Olson is at the dish. Sunny, we got to

1:37:28 do something really cool last night.

1:37:31 The Beefy Boys and the Mananas hosted a

1:37:35 wrestling event about 20 minutes away

1:37:37 here in Knoxville as Reese Olson sends

1:37:39 that one behind the fans can't catch it.

1:37:42 You you you looked at me and gave me a

1:37:44 quote during that wrestling event and it

1:37:45 was

1:37:47 It was a Tailgaters had a great week.

1:37:50 We

1:37:52 broke the team trick play record, broke

1:37:54 an individual trick play record. We won

1:37:56 two games, but yet that moment last

1:37:59 night, we watched the BB Boys and

1:38:01 Mananas wrestle, was the best moment for

1:38:03 Tailgaters that week. It was incredible.

1:38:05 Oh man. I had a Oh my Oh yeah.

1:38:07 >> We see Liano

1:38:08 swinging OUT OF THE SPIKES. His CD gets

1:38:11 his third strike out of the ball game.

1:38:13 >> Hey, for Biko and Josh up there, I it's

1:38:14 a drive Well, I looked at I looked at

1:38:17 our broadcast director

1:38:17 >> Josh Sunshine. Brett and Josh

1:38:19 >> Josh Oh my gosh, sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

1:38:20 Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. And I looked at

1:38:21 them and I said, "Hey,

1:38:23 this is the greatest thing all week.

1:38:24 This is incredible."

1:38:26 Now, Sunny, I am curious. I mean, we

1:38:27 could talk about your record, but I'm

1:38:30 I'm so curious. I mean, there is no team

1:38:32 like the Texas Tailgaters when it comes

1:38:34 to trick plays this year. When did you

1:38:36 guys figure out that the identity this

1:38:38 year is that you guys are the trick play

1:38:40 Tailgaters? Yeah. It It was honestly a

1:38:42 lot of Jordan Hussein. He took We were a

1:38:44 little slow in the beginning of the year

1:38:46 in terms of trick plays, but just Jordan

1:38:48 kept preaching that, "Hey, we're going

1:38:49 to do tricks. We're going to do tricks."

1:38:51 And

1:38:52 even in the ninth inning.

1:38:53 And after a bunch of games and kind of

1:38:55 understanding who we were and situations

1:38:57 we had, we just kept on doing it and

1:38:59 getting better and better and I I I

1:39:00 think we're going to only progress as

1:39:01 the season goes OH MY GOSH!

1:39:04 DANNY BARRELS

1:39:06 SENDS THIS ONE OVER THE TOP of Rocky Top

1:39:09 as the Savannah Bananas take a two to

1:39:12 one lead.

1:39:21 Danny Barrels

1:39:22 WITH THE BANANA BALL THAT GOT ABSOLUTELY

1:39:25 ANNIHILATED INTO THE SEATS IN LEFT FIELD

1:39:29 AND IT GETS THE SCORE ALVIN KAMARA AT

1:39:32 THE SAME TIME. THE BANANAS ALL OF A

1:39:35 SUDDEN ALL THE MOMENTUM ON THEIR SIDE.

1:39:38 THEY'RE UP TWO TO ONE. SUNNY, we love

1:39:41 you. Biko, I'll miss you. That banana

1:39:44 ball is sitting somewhere in the

1:39:46 Smokies. Two to one, the Savannah

1:39:48 Bananas leading here from the home of

1:39:49 the Volunteers.

1:39:59 Volunteers have no shortage of rivals.

1:40:01 So, we've decided to have these college

1:40:02 football rivals go head-to-head in a

1:40:05 game we like to call big balls.

1:40:09 Let's meet our first contestant, THE

1:40:11 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA.

1:40:19 NEXT, it is Vanderbilt University.

1:40:28 Our third school, the University

1:40:31 OF KENTUCKY.

1:40:38 And finally, THE UNIVERSITY

1:40:43 OF TENNESSEE. [screaming]

1:40:50 >> [cheering]

1:40:52 >> IN JUST A MOMENT, these four rivals WILL

1:40:55 COLLIDE UNTIL ONLY ONE REMAINS.

1:40:59 KNOXVILLE, ARE YOU READY?

1:41:05 >> [cheering and applause]

1:41:05 >> WELL, THEN IT'S TIME FOR BIG BALLS IN

1:41:08 THREE, TWO, ONE. GO!

1:41:13 OH! BAMA IS DOWN. THREE REMAIN.

1:41:23 >> [music]

1:41:27 >> For the first time this year, Allskinn

1:41:30 Drury will appear in the sixth inning of

1:41:33 a banana ball game after he's thrown

1:41:36 five gems

1:41:38 of a Banana Ball game thus far. Only

1:41:40 giving up two runs, six hits,

1:41:42 >> [music]

1:41:42 >> five strikeouts, but most importantly,

1:41:44 has induced nine trick plays behind him.

1:41:47 And Josh Celestki for the first time

1:41:48 tonight, he now pitches with a lead.

1:41:51 Again, the Bananas love what they're

1:41:52 seeing out of him. And it's been limited

1:41:54 three-ball counts. He's just continuing

1:41:57 to pound the zone very effectively,

1:41:59 getting the strikeouts, inducing the

1:42:01 trick plays, and only one home run

1:42:04 surrendered so far tonight. So, there

1:42:06 are a lot of good signs for Austin Drury

1:42:09 as YOU ARE GETTING A LOOK AT THE END OF

1:42:13 BIG BALLS. And boy, WHAT A COLLISION.

1:42:18 You hear the the rain of boos coming

1:42:20 down here from the volunteers. That's

1:42:22 because the man with the big ball that

1:42:24 had UK representing University of

1:42:26 Kentucky win. Tisk. Tisk.

1:42:28 >> Only one person in this stadium was

1:42:30 happy, and his name is Nick Lopez.

1:42:32 The only man that was happy.

1:42:34 AND THERE HE IS, LEADING OFF THE INNING

1:42:36 FOR THE TEXAS TAILGATERS.

1:42:40 Has not been able to get a hit

1:42:43 off of Austin Drury yet.

1:42:46 From every pitch forward, a new season

1:42:48 high in pitches thrown in a Banana Ball

1:42:50 game for AD. About to throw number 85

1:42:53 here on the 1-1.

1:42:57 Loopy, two home runs this year. Both

1:42:59 against the Bananas, both in football

1:43:01 stadiums, but both also coming from the

1:43:03 left side.

1:43:09 Even up at two balls and two strikes.

1:43:11 Yeah, he's been at his best against the

1:43:13 Bananas. Four of his 10 runs batted in

1:43:15 have also come against the guys in

1:43:17 yellow this year. And hoping he can

1:43:19 jump-start something here as the

1:43:21 Tailgaters finally playing from behind.

1:43:23 This one lofted into shallow center.

1:43:26 CRUZ CALLS OFF HIS TEAMMATE AND LANDS

1:43:29 THE WRECK FLIP. IT'S A ROVER RACK FLIP

1:43:33 FOR ROBERT ANTHONY CRUZ AND THE BANANAS

1:43:36 BACK OUT IN FRONT IN TRICK PLACE. IT IS

1:43:38 NOW 10 TO 9.

1:43:40 >> TRY SAYING THAT QUICK THREE TIMES. Rover

1:43:43 rack flip.

1:43:45 Bucket for out number one.

1:43:47 Rover rack up Robert Anthony Cruz.

1:43:51 >> [laughter]

1:43:51 >> OH, THAT'S FUN. OH, MAN.

1:43:55 Kyle Martin yet again steps in here

1:43:57 against Austin Jerry.

1:44:00 Nobody is even close to left field.

1:44:03 K-Mart, who's the starting left fielder

1:44:05 tonight for the Tailgaters, he's been

1:44:06 playing more of a truer

1:44:08 definition, if you will, here at this

1:44:10 204 ft out to left field. Rack is quite

1:44:13 literally playing behind the second base

1:44:15 bag. And look, both of these catches

1:44:17 we've seen him make as the rover,

1:44:19 they've come against Nick Lopez. Again,

1:44:21 he is positioning himself in the right

1:44:23 spot. They've clearly done their

1:44:25 scouting report on these Tailgaters

1:44:27 bats.

1:44:28 Fans can't make a play on that. A lot of

1:44:30 film study going in for both of these

1:44:32 two teams. You see in Andrew Bartman,

1:44:34 the Tailgaters first base coach,

1:44:35 drilling for the first time ever at a

1:44:37 nine Tailgaters headline.

1:44:42 That was something he wanted to put me

1:44:43 up to. As he gets his favorite song,

1:44:45 Love Shack.

1:44:47 Full count here to Kyle Martin goes over

1:44:48 his head. He's already got one two

1:44:51 baseball four sprint tonight. He touches

1:44:53 first when it touches the shortstop's

1:44:55 glove.

1:44:56 K-Mart

1:44:57 will now have a stand-up two baseball

1:45:00 four sprint.

1:45:03 They haven't gotten him out tonight.

1:45:06 Two of those in a single for Kyle

1:45:07 Martin. [music]

1:45:13 >> [music]

1:45:13 >> And now it's Jordan Barth, another man

1:45:16 that is yet to be retired. A couple of

1:45:18 singles on his line.

1:45:23 Mention that film study, Josh Rack has

1:45:25 moved over about 20 ft to his right

1:45:27 towards left field as a righty in the

1:45:28 box. Yeah, Jordan Barth very pull heavy

1:45:31 for the Texas Tailgaters and dribbles

1:45:33 this one to AUSTIN DRURY. GOING DOWN TO

1:45:36 HIS KNEES, HE MAKES THE PLAY AND

1:45:39 CELEBRATES WITH A COUPLE PUSH-UPS AFTER

1:45:41 THE FACT. THAT WAS INCREDIBLE.

1:45:44 AD, throw 95 pitches, SLIP AND SLIDE AND

1:45:49 GLIDES IT OVER TO first for out number

1:45:51 two.

1:45:53 And unbelievably enough, Kyle Martin

1:45:55 still at second base. Wasn't able to

1:45:57 advance on that play.

1:46:02 Taylor Justice, one and oh.

1:46:07 As Josh just mentioned, K-Barth still is

1:46:09 at second.

1:46:16 Taylor lofted out to Rick.

1:46:19 Oh, the second ruler Rick FLIP CATCHING

1:46:22 IT.

1:46:24 Book it. 11 TO 9. BANANAS LEADING IN

1:46:27 TRICK PLAYS. IT IS TWICE AS NICE FOR

1:46:30 ROBERT ANTHONY CRUZ IN THE SIXTH INNING

1:46:33 and Austin Drury masterful work all

1:46:35 night long. Still two to one, Nanners

1:46:38 up.

1:46:53 Our hometown heroes of the night, we

1:46:56 thank you for your service and

1:46:58 commitment to our great country.

1:47:02 To our police officers.

1:47:06 To our firefighters.

1:47:10 To our nurses.

1:47:13 To our EMS workers.

1:47:16 To our dispatchers.

1:47:19 AND TO OUR SCHOOL TEACHERS!

1:47:24 The tailgaters and bananas say thank

1:47:26 you.

1:47:41 All right, ladies and gentlemen, clap

1:47:43 those hands and make some NOISE FOR THE

1:47:45 BANANAS PEP BAND!

1:48:15 JIM IRSAY, which is the story of Korea

1:48:31 I hit

1:48:35 Man, Al B. Kamara looking too cool for

1:48:36 school down there. Almost as cool as Sam

1:48:39 Bowman.

1:48:40 So cool, we can't even hear him. The

1:48:42 shades is blocking out the sound from Al

1:48:45 B. Kamara, who just scored on a two-run

1:48:47 home run from Dan Overs to give the

1:48:49 bananas a two-to-nothing lead back in

1:48:51 the fifth, Josh.

1:48:52 >> You think that's something that Al B.

1:48:53 appreciates? Or you think he goes back

1:48:56 to the dugout and he's like, "Dan, why

1:48:57 why didn't you let me run a little bit

1:48:58 more, man?"

1:48:59 >> [laughter]

1:49:00 >> Oh my god.

1:49:01 >> think that conversation actually looks

1:49:02 like?

1:49:04 >> Al B. did appear to have hamstring

1:49:05 issues, and then walked it out, quite

1:49:08 literally. So, maybe Dan was just

1:49:10 helping him out a little bit. Max Schwan

1:49:12 Goldberg, a ball and two on him as

1:49:14 Christian Davis now stretching into the

1:49:16 sixth inning.

1:49:18 Has gotten walked off twice, so won't be

1:49:20 given five innings of work to this

1:49:22 point. But, this is now the fourth time

1:49:24 this year that CD has appeared in his

1:49:26 sixth inning of work in a single game.

1:49:28 And it just shows the trust that the

1:49:30 Tailgaters have. They know he induces a

1:49:31 lot of trick plays. I'm sure that's why

1:49:33 they want to keep him out there, but

1:49:35 slightly surprising considering CD has

1:49:37 allowed home runs in each of the last

1:49:39 three innings he's pitched in. Has also

1:49:41 hit a batter. It hasn't actually been

1:49:43 the most sensational stuff that we're

1:49:45 seeing from the lefty.

1:49:50 And a lot of these guys in football

1:49:52 stadiums, especially when you're

1:49:53 throwing a yellow banana ball, you're on

1:49:55 a mound, you don't necessarily know no

1:49:57 batter's eye here. That doesn't affect

1:49:59 the pitcher as much as it would affect

1:50:00 the batter. But, again, just settling in

1:50:03 with those differences, something Austin

1:50:04 Drew has done very well. This one out to

1:50:06 deep right. What he trying to track it

1:50:08 down in foul territory.

1:50:11 About 3 ft away from a sliding Zach

1:50:14 Watson grab.

1:50:16 So, he's [music] back up to his feet,

1:50:17 all good. Just a really long strike.

1:50:19 You've just got to appreciate effort

1:50:22 like that. I mean, if you want to

1:50:24 understand how badly the Tailgaters want

1:50:26 this win tonight in Neyland Stadium, all

1:50:27 you need to look at is Zach Watson

1:50:30 trying to make that play in foul

1:50:31 territory as Davis has to deliver

1:50:34 another payoff pitch, and it will miss

1:50:36 inside. So, young Goldberg draws the

1:50:39 ball four sprint, and he will be content

1:50:41 with just one base. Something the

1:50:43 Tailgaters didn't do a single time last

1:50:45 year was a mid-inning pitching change. I

1:50:48 would not be surprised here in the sixth

1:50:52 if they would potentially go to that.

1:50:54 Again, they were held scoreless in top

1:50:56 half of the inning.

1:50:58 So, a ball four sprint here would put

1:50:59 runners on the corners. Maybe we'd see a

1:51:01 different pitcher. Maybe CD's going to

1:51:03 be out there regardless as he's going to

1:51:05 face the captain Bill Leroy. Who's

1:51:06 already taken him deep here tonight, so

1:51:09 there was there's to do the pitching

1:51:11 change, it might have been right there

1:51:12 instead. Davis misses outside to Leroy

1:51:15 and you're just not seeing the finest

1:51:17 control right now.

1:51:22 CD is not a guy who issues out a lot of

1:51:23 sprints. So, when you see a hit by a

1:51:25 pitch and then [music] that sprint we

1:51:26 just seen, JT Sakalou by the way over

1:51:29 there running at first,

1:51:31 starts to make you wonder here as we get

1:51:32 into the sixth. Christian Davis trying

1:51:34 to settle back in.

1:51:37 He will right there.

1:51:48 Dan won't go biting. It's a called

1:51:50 strike anyway. Excuse me, Bill won't go

1:51:51 biting. Two balls and two strikes.

1:51:56 Dan Overstreet the one who took him deep

1:51:58 the last inning, Bill.

1:52:00 Full count yet again. Back-to-back plate

1:52:03 appearances that has been such the case.

1:52:07 Jimmy Lewis supporting the checkered

1:52:09 board overalls.

1:52:11 Payoff.

1:52:13 Poke left side, Jordan Bart. Keeps it in

1:52:15 front of him, goes between the legs FOR

1:52:17 ONE. TO FIRST!

1:52:20 >> [music]

1:52:20 >> DROPPED BY TAYLOR JUSTICE.

1:52:22 SO, one out and one trick play as Bill

1:52:25 Leroy reaches via fielder's choice.

1:52:29 Well, that is what you're going to take

1:52:30 if you're Christian Davis and the Texas

1:52:32 Tailgaters. You get your tenth trick

1:52:34 play, now only down one in this battle

1:52:36 and you get the lead guy out at second

1:52:39 base as well. Good decisions all around.

1:52:41 >> 100%.

1:52:43 I mean, that's just impressive anytime

1:52:44 you can knock down a ball and still get

1:52:46 a trick play out of it.

1:52:48 Ryan Cox.

1:52:57 Wow.

1:53:01 FULL BODY CHILLS

1:53:04 FROM THESE SHORTSTOPS, in Bad Attitude.

1:53:07 The staple, the trendsetter of trick

1:53:10 plays, of all

1:53:12 gets 101,000 people to wave their hands

1:53:15 up and down.

1:53:18 And we talk so much about how good Coxie

1:53:20 is with the glove, but in football

1:53:22 stadiums this year, he's been a star for

1:53:25 the Savannah Bananas.

1:53:27 Six for 14 with a double, a home run,

1:53:30 two runs batted in, and four ball four

1:53:33 sprints.

1:53:38 He popped it.

1:53:40 He popped out to a double trick play.

1:53:43 His lone time at the dish tonight.

1:53:47 Taj, good job of scooping that one.

1:53:52 As Bill will now have to run because JT

1:53:54 Sokolove was used in place of Ashton

1:53:56 Goldberg, something you rarely see, Bill

1:53:58 Leroy running the bases.

1:54:03 For those of those new to Banana Ball,

1:54:05 the designated runner can only be used

1:54:07 once

1:54:09 through one time through the lineup. JT

1:54:10 Sokolove, the designated runner for the

1:54:12 Bananas, already been used.

1:54:16 What?

1:54:17 Some confusion there. It's a late called

1:54:21 strike two.

1:54:22 Safe harbor rule in effect, Ryan Cox

1:54:24 returns back to left-handed batter's

1:54:25 box.

1:54:27 >> [music]

1:54:29 >> Pokes it to left.

1:54:33 Clings off the fence.

1:54:35 Jordan Burke goes all the way out to the

1:54:37 wall. Christian Davis the one covering

1:54:40 third because Jordan Hussey also out

1:54:42 there with him.

1:54:43 The fun intricacies of Banana Ball,

1:54:46 and that will be the end of the line for

1:54:48 Christian Davis.

1:54:51 As now coming in to pitch,

1:54:53 a fourth-year Banana Baller,

1:54:55 second-year Tailgater, Zack Blankenship.

1:54:59 A young man who was a party animal in

1:55:01 2023 and 2024. Was a Tailgater last

1:55:04 year, didn't throw a single pitch. And

1:55:06 now, so far this year,

1:55:08 two and two thirds innings,

1:55:10 >> [music]

1:55:10 >> has not struck anyone out, two balls,

1:55:11 four sprints. See that ERA has been very

1:55:14 low. He's usually been used in a

1:55:15 circumstance [music] to just come in and

1:55:17 get an out right here. Must get two to

1:55:20 negate another Bananas point. Standing

1:55:22 in scoring position, Bill Leroy. He

1:55:24 represents that inning winning point.

1:55:25 Yeah, you're just trying to use him as a

1:55:26 lefty specialist. You see a three and a

1:55:29 half minute MPI mark, that's how quickly

1:55:31 he's averaging three outs this season.

1:55:34 But, he's fallen behind Ty Jackson

1:55:37 already.

1:55:38 2-0 count.

1:55:43 Get Pookie to swing and miss there.

1:55:47 Double play could do wonders in the

1:55:48 trick [music] play category and the

1:55:50 points category.

1:55:51 Pookie!

1:55:53 Smokes another one off the bat. Bill's

1:55:55 on his horse.

1:55:57 And that will be a ground rule single,

1:55:59 in which all runners advance up two

1:56:00 bases anyway. So, that's going TO BE A

1:56:02 TY JACKSON walk-off here in the home

1:56:05 half of the sixth. The Bananas take a

1:56:07 commanding three to one lead.

1:56:15 TY TWO PLY PLAYING HERO YET AGAIN for

1:56:19 the Savannah Bananas. BACK-TO-BACK

1:56:21 MULTI-HIT contests for the guys in

1:56:24 yellow. And now the Nanners earning

1:56:26 points in three straight innings against

1:56:30 the Texas Tailgaters.

1:56:33 Deja vu all over again.

1:56:35 These Bananas putting up three the same

1:56:38 way they did on Thursday night.

1:56:40 How possibly could the Texas Tailgaters

1:56:43 respond?

1:56:44 Well,

1:56:45 we'll have to wait a moment

1:56:47 because there is a sea of yellow

1:56:50 gathering

1:56:51 out in what is center field here, what

1:56:53 would be right about on the 50 yard line

1:56:56 if we were playing football here in

1:56:57 Nealon Stadium tonight, but we're not.

1:56:59 WE'RE PLAYING BANANA BALL. And my good

1:57:01 friend, brand new superstar of our

1:57:03 sport,

1:57:05 Derrick Kleta,

1:57:07 has a microphone.

1:57:12 LET'S DANCE!

1:57:14 >> [screaming]

1:57:23 >> BEEN WORKING SO HARD. I'm punching my

1:57:27 card.

1:57:29 Eight hours for what?

1:57:31 I'll tell you what I got.

1:57:34 I got this feeling [music]

1:57:37 like time is holding me down.

1:57:45 I'll hit the ceiling

1:57:47 >> [music]

1:57:48 >> or else I'll tear UP THIS TOWN.

1:57:53 NOW!

1:57:55 NOW I GOT TO CUT LOOSE.

1:57:57 Cut loose.

1:57:58 Kick off your Sunday shoes. [music]

1:58:01 Please, Louise.

1:58:04 Pull me off of my knees.

1:58:07 Back.

1:58:08 Get back.

1:58:09 >> [music]

1:58:09 >> Hold on before we crack.

1:58:12 YOU

1:58:13 CUT LOOSE.

1:58:15 EVERYBODY CUT. EVERYBODY CUT.

1:58:18 EVERYBODY CUT. EVERYBODY CUT.

1:58:21 EVERYBODY CUT. EVERYBODY EVERYBODY CUT

1:58:23 LOOSE.

1:58:28 COMING IN TO PITCH,

1:58:30 FOUR, DERRICK KLETA! [screaming]

1:58:34 HE'S BEEN A BROADWAY STAR. Now he's a

1:58:36 banana ball star. And that's a heck of a

1:58:39 way to enter a ball game from the man

1:58:42 that pitched at UCLA, now calls New York

1:58:45 home. Speaking of New York,

1:58:48 that's where he came from. Driving all

1:58:50 the way with shrimp throat because all

1:58:53 of his flights out of New York City got

1:58:55 cancelled. Met him and Jordan Barth

1:58:56 earlier

1:58:58 by car, 707 miles for Mr. Klenna, by

1:59:01 plane for Mr. Barth. They are both

1:59:03 making it here tonight to Knoxville.

1:59:05 Yeah, it is so cool to see how badly

1:59:07 these players want to be playing in

1:59:09 front of 101,000 folks. And Derek

1:59:13 Klenna, he already made some content

1:59:15 about his travels down here to

1:59:17 Knoxville. So, if you want to check out

1:59:20 all the high jinks and things that were

1:59:22 in store for Derek Klenna across his

1:59:24 travels, go to Derek_Klenna on

1:59:27 Instagram. You can see what his

1:59:29 McDonald's order is, too.

1:59:32 Funny story, if I may peel the curtain

1:59:33 back a little bit. We go in the locker

1:59:35 room today, Josh and myself, to get Bill

1:59:37 Leroy for our stage show. First thing

1:59:39 Josh says as he walks in the locker

1:59:40 room, "Great content out of you, Derek."

1:59:43 >> I loved it.

1:59:43 >> And man, he was fired up, as well. He's

1:59:45 like, "Man, I had to make a video or two

1:59:46 out of it." Jose Gonzalez

1:59:51 He'll lead off the inning as follows

1:59:52 behind 0 and 1.

1:59:54 Brother, as he's affectionately known

1:59:56 as, smokes it to left center.

1:59:59 Brother's going to have to get on his

2:00:00 horse if he wants to DR quickly to it.

2:00:03 And it will be a lead-off single for

2:00:04 Jose Gonzalez, his first of the night.

2:00:07 That was a friendly ricochet off the

2:00:09 wall here in Nealon Stadium. Pretty much

2:00:12 shot right to DR Meadows, and that's how

2:00:15 the Bananas were able to limit Jose

2:00:17 Gonzalez Jr. to just one base. Tuxin got

2:00:20 up there. Almost had a shot at making

2:00:23 arguably would have been the bouncy

2:00:24 bouncy play of the year. As Derek Klenna

2:00:27 will now face Mack Danford.

2:00:32 The pride of Grand Ridge, Florida.

2:00:36 You can feel

2:00:38 100

2:00:39 and two Grand Ridge, Florida's. Excuse

2:00:42 me. A lot more than that. You can feel

2:00:45 Yeah, about 102 Grand Ridge, Florida's

2:00:47 in stadium. Grand Ridge Florida

2:00:49 population about 8-900 people. So, 102

2:00:51 would be about right.

2:00:54 Is Max ahead here 3 and 0?

2:00:59 Ball four sprint.

2:01:00 Brother retreated back to first before

2:01:03 he went to second. Will still easily go

2:01:05 first to third and the Tailgaters

2:01:08 begin the seventh here with runners on

2:01:09 the corner still not away.

2:01:15 The pitch from the US Women's National

2:01:19 Baseball team and the number one draft

2:01:21 pick IN THE WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL

2:01:23 BASEBALL LEAGUE, KELSIE WHITMORE.

2:01:27 >> [screaming]

2:01:31 >> INTERCHANGE. Top of the seventh, no

2:01:34 outs, runners on the corners. [music]

2:01:36 Who else would you turn to

2:01:38 than Kelsie Whitmore who has yet to give

2:01:40 up a hit in 2026? She has still faced

2:01:43 the minimum so far in all of her

2:01:46 appearances this year for the Savannah

2:01:48 Bananas. And the last two outings really

2:01:51 stand out. It was Whitmore [music]

2:01:53 taking the mound in Savannah against the

2:01:54 Coconut last weekend and throwing her

2:01:57 first full inning of the year in just 1

2:02:00 minute and 38 seconds, the fastest of

2:02:02 the year for the Bananas. Then she

2:02:04 appeared on Thursday against the

2:02:05 Tailgaters, threw one pitch and got an

2:02:07 out in 7 seconds. Come on now. Kelsie

2:02:10 Whitmore, a star. Who else is a star?

2:02:13 Todd Porter.

2:02:18 >> [music]

2:02:29 [music]

2:02:46 [music]

2:02:57 [music]

2:03:02 >> All right, I got a story between me,

2:03:04 you, God, and America.

2:03:06 Jonathan Sunshine Looter's lovely

2:03:08 girlfriend, Abby Wingo, sent that song,

2:03:11 CeeLo Green's Bright Lights, Big City,

2:03:13 to Sunshine. This make for a great

2:03:14 walk-up. Sunny sends it to me and says,

2:03:17 "Why can't we do this?" And TP is now

2:03:19 hitting in a fur coat on ESPN. That's

2:03:22 been animal.

2:03:24 >> [music]

2:03:25 >> Ball and no strikes against Kelsey

2:03:27 Whitmore.

2:03:28 Nealon lit up with their flashlights

2:03:31 after Taj just turned the lights off.

2:03:39 Smoke. Foul.

2:03:42 TP texted this week. He said, "You mind

2:03:44 if I hit in a fur coat?" I said, "Do I

2:03:45 mind? I would love that, actually."

2:03:49 >> [music]

2:03:52 >> Imagine if he get home run here.

2:03:54 Or if Kelsey Whitmore punches it out.

2:03:57 EITHER WAY, IT'S GREAT. THE 2-2.

2:04:00 MHM.

2:04:05 Big time moment in this ball game.

2:04:07 Payoff.

2:04:08 Ball four, sprint.

2:04:10 Will bring home at least one run.

2:04:12 Macadoodles on his horse.

2:04:15 Joe Metlick will hold him up at third.

2:04:17 Taj Porter in a fur coat

2:04:20 brings in a run via ball four, sprint.

2:04:23 That is the first blemish on Kelsey

2:04:25 Whitmore's record here this season.

2:04:29 Taj, an RBI sprint, and now taken off

2:04:31 the bases. Jacob Hippersick replaces our

2:04:35 fur coat clad catcher.

2:04:37 Wow.

2:04:39 You've had some really good alliteration

2:04:40 tonight, Josh.

2:04:42 I appreciate

2:04:43 That might be the best. Rover rag flip

2:04:46 fur clad catcher, fur coat clad catcher.

2:04:48 >> Mhm, I'm not saying that more than once.

2:04:50 I didn't even get it right the first

2:04:52 time.

2:04:53 Indiana Stanley now in the driver's seat

2:04:55 to get another ball for Sprat.

2:04:59 Smoke left side. Coxy gets under his

2:05:02 glove. All the way to the fence. Pip

2:05:04 will stay at second. Big time ricochet

2:05:07 and Robert Anthony Cruz hustling able to

2:05:10 get to that. RBI single, the first hit

2:05:12 Kelsie Whitmore has given up this year.

2:05:14 And now a little shabang.

2:05:32 You might not know too much about

2:05:33 Michael Jackson Selesky, but I know you

2:05:36 know a whole lot about Aubrey Graham,

2:05:39 Drake. Little run silly after Mike

2:05:41 Danford scores run number two here in

2:05:43 the top of the seventh.

2:05:49 First and second still no away.

2:05:51 Bill trying to back PICK AT FIRST. GOT

2:05:53 HIM!

2:05:54 THE CAPTAIN STEALS out number one.

2:06:00 Well, Bill has never been shy to do that

2:06:02 across his banana ball career. And it

2:06:05 was Ziegler who also saw Indiana Stanley

2:06:08 leading a little too much off of first

2:06:11 base.

2:06:12 Now, this one hit over to Alex Ziegler.

2:06:15 He'll take it to the bag, collect a

2:06:17 trick play for the bananas.

2:06:19 And it will move Jacob Pippersick up 90

2:06:23 ft to third base. Second time Ziggy's

2:06:25 fielded one between his legs tonight.

2:06:28 Fourth time through the order is Zack

2:06:30 Watson.

2:06:33 What a ground out of strike out but most

2:06:36 importantly a home run. Fifth trick play

2:06:38 for I can Ziegler. He now puts himself

2:06:41 in a three-way tie for the most trick

2:06:43 plays ever by a first baseman in a

2:06:45 single but Anna Ball game alongside

2:06:47 Jordan Brewer and Taylor Justice.

2:06:52 One more he'd break that record.

2:06:55 What he three and out.

2:07:00 Mhm.

2:07:02 >> [music]

2:07:05 >> Could be exactly what the Tailgaters

2:07:07 need some insurance.

2:07:10 Wow.

2:07:13 What he

2:07:14 can't believe it has a little bit of a

2:07:15 conversation with Vincent Chapman.

2:07:20 Mhm. Yep.

2:07:21 Full count yet again. WHAT HE

2:07:24 NO, HE DIDN'T.

2:07:27 HIS SECOND YO-YO OF THE NIGHT.

2:07:30 AND HE'S VOLUNTEERING HIMSELF FOR THE

2:07:32 CALLS AND KNEELING.

2:07:48 My goodness. I MEAN ZACH WATSON thought

2:07:51 he had a ball force spread but I THINK

2:07:53 NOW HE'LL TAKE the two-run tater off of

2:07:57 Kelsey Whitmore. Each of his last four

2:08:00 hits for the Gators have been extra base

2:08:03 hits and that was one that WHAT HE KNEW

2:08:06 OFF THE BAT was going to conquer the

2:08:08 50-ft nets courtesy of netting pros.

2:08:13 Guy's getting a hot bat. Put him at the

2:08:15 top of the order and see see what

2:08:17 happens. Travis Monyo,

2:08:19 the lead-off hitter who was projected

2:08:20 this year gets hurt in the third weekend

2:08:23 of the year in Round Rock. We're kind of

2:08:25 all sitting around scratching our heads

2:08:27 what we're doing. This guy's hit lead

2:08:28 off a few times, Jordan Hussey as well.

2:08:30 I think it's [music] safe to say now the

2:08:31 Tailgaters have found their lead off

2:08:33 hitter in Zack Watson.

2:08:35 Nick Lopez, a ball and two strikes on

2:08:37 him. He's still hitless tonight. A

2:08:39 four-run top of the seventh

2:08:42 puts the Tailgaters in a premium

2:08:43 position to get point number two.

2:08:54 Got him.

2:08:55 Kelsey Whitmore finally able to get out

2:08:57 of a jam that she inherited.

2:09:00 Four runs in the top of the seventh,

2:09:03 including the second Watty Woba bomb of

2:09:06 the night. Tailgaters trying to get

2:09:08 point number two on the other side.

2:09:13 >> [music]

2:09:16 >> Tailgaters, we have Derek Landers of the

2:09:17 Savannah Bananas. We're going to play a

2:09:19 game called Music Roulette. We're going

2:09:20 to give them a random song in a random

2:09:23 music genre. They have to sing it and

2:09:25 you're going to vote. Jason Arndt, you

2:09:28 were on American Idol last year.

2:09:30 You're up first. Let's see what you got

2:09:31 on the big board.

2:09:37 We are going to sing

2:09:40 Sugar, We're Going Down as a country

2:09:43 song. A little Fall Out Boy. Here we go.

2:09:45 All right, Knoxville, give me a yeehaw

2:09:46 now.

2:09:52 In four, yeah. I'm dying to tell you

2:09:56 anything you want to hear cuz that's

2:10:00 just who I am this week, a lie in the

2:10:03 grass next to the Maserati.

2:10:08 I'm just a notch in your bedpost and

2:10:10 you're just a line in a song. [music]

2:10:12 [singing]

2:10:14 I'M GOING DOWN, down in a really round.

2:10:17 And Sugar, we're going down swinging.

2:10:20 I'll be a number one with a bullet.

2:10:23 I'm not A GANGSTER [music]

2:10:37 >> [music]

2:10:44 >> YOU WANT THAT?

2:10:46 BRETT ALLEN

2:10:47 pinstripe Texas tailgate jersey. Maybe

2:10:51 you want any of those popping up on your

2:10:52 screen. [music] Well, you can scan that

2:10:54 QR code right now or go to

2:10:56 shop.thesavannahbananas.com

2:10:58 and get yourself a player choice jersey

2:11:01 or any of the mascot jerseys as well.

2:11:03 However, it ends tomorrow. So, act quick

2:11:06 if you want a Banana Ball player jersey.

2:11:09 And a quick disclaimer, uh crocodile

2:11:11 friend not included [music] with the

2:11:13 jersey, unfortunately. I I am sorry

2:11:15 about that. But, the mascot jerseys, I

2:11:18 mean, it's pretty good sell. Let's go

2:11:20 from Mr. One Brett Allen to his roommate

2:11:23 and Mr. Brett Sanchez. He has been one

2:11:26 of the best pitchers in the entire sport

2:11:28 over his last four outings, [music]

2:11:30 sub-1 ERA, has earned nine points, only

2:11:33 lost two of them, Josh, and most

2:11:34 importantly on that, has only issued out

2:11:37 three ball four sprints. Yeah, and he

2:11:38 has just a 4.8% ball four sprint rate

2:11:42 this season, one of the lowest in our

2:11:44 sport. Opponents were only batting .206

2:11:47 against him this year. That is the third

2:11:48 lowest mark in Banana Ball entering play

2:11:50 tonight. And what really stands out,

2:11:53 this is flying under the radar, but in

2:11:55 terms of value over replacement pitchers

2:11:58 this season, Brett Sanchez has been 29.4

2:12:02 runs better than a replacement level

2:12:05 pitcher. That is tops in Banana Ball

2:12:07 overall.

2:12:09 To those who love to talk about WAR,

2:12:11 Blake Tolewski, that can almost be

2:12:13 equated to WAR,

2:12:15 which is wins above replacement in your

2:12:17 regular game of baseball. It's funny you

2:12:18 bring that up because Sanchez loves to

2:12:21 tell me all the time

2:12:23 that if you had pitching war, a true

2:12:25 pitching war in our great sport of

2:12:26 bananaball,

2:12:27 that

2:12:28 Christian Davis and himself would be

2:12:30 towards the top cuz how many trick plays

2:12:32 they induce, how many trick pitches they

2:12:34 have.

2:12:34 >> the top three.

2:12:35 >> Correct. Thank you so much, Josh Slezak.

2:12:39 Sanchie trying to earn the second point

2:12:41 of the night for the Tailgaters. A

2:12:43 four-run top half. Sanchie

2:12:46 behind-the-back trick pitch misses up.

2:12:50 Be one of his shorter outings of the

2:12:51 year. Even if he were to finish the

2:12:53 ballgame, it'd be one of the shorter

2:12:54 outings of the year for Sanchie. Right

2:12:56 side and into right field. Jackson Olson

2:13:01 gets a lead-off single.

2:13:03 Good piece by Jackson Olson just sitting

2:13:05 back on that pitch from Brett Sanchez.

2:13:08 Took Sanchie deep on opening night in

2:13:10 Tallahassee and now collects the clean

2:13:13 single into right field here in the

2:13:15 bottom of THE SEVENTH.

2:13:17 LOOK AT THAT!

2:13:18 THE DUCK GOES DEEP!

2:13:23 HIS SECOND home run of the year makes it

2:13:26 a two-run bottom half and two away now

2:13:29 from tying it for the Bananas.

2:13:33 D.R. Meadows is not known for prolific

2:13:36 power, but he comes up clutch when he

2:13:38 needs to for the Savannah Bananas and

2:13:41 they're facing a four-run deficit here

2:13:43 in the seventh. That is all of a sudden

2:13:45 been cut in half. Meadows first-pitch

2:13:49 hacking and that is another Bananas home

2:13:53 run tonight.

2:13:54 Make it four now.

2:13:57 This guy has one.

2:13:58 Walked off

2:14:00 the fifth inning with it. Robert Anthony

2:14:02 Cruz falls behind 0-2.

2:14:09 You know, Josh, that's It's we talk

2:14:10 about all the time. Points versus runs

2:14:12 in Banana Ball. Therefore, when you

2:14:14 start scoring in the top half of the

2:14:16 away team, you need some insurance.

2:14:18 That's been proven to be obviously

2:14:19 correct here in the seventh inning.

2:14:28 Smoke right side. Taylor Justice knocks

2:14:30 it down. Between the legs, flip to

2:14:32 first. JUST IN TIME. BOOK IT. The

2:14:35 Tailgaters get out number one, but most

2:14:38 importantly, draw within one in the

2:14:39 trick play battle.

2:14:41 Wow, and Taylor Justice, I mean, you see

2:14:43 him shaking his head. Who is the not

2:14:45 expecting the Banana Ball to

2:14:47 kind of

2:14:49 kick off of the dirt in the way that it

2:14:51 did. Again, a lot of rain has been

2:14:53 hitting this field over the past couple

2:14:55 days. Doesn't exactly make it easy. You

2:14:57 see Justice slipping in the grass as

2:14:59 well, but he didn't rush himself. Great

2:15:02 play by T.J.

2:15:10 Our bat boy

2:15:14 strikes kneeling and strikes a pose.

2:15:23 Hey, K.J.

2:15:26 Third time we've seen Mr. Jackson

2:15:28 tonight. He struck out and was hit in

2:15:30 the head by Christian Davis fast balls

2:15:33 last time up.

2:15:34 Alvin Kamara came in and ran for him.

2:15:36 Yes, that's correct. K.J. TO CENTER.

2:15:39 INDIANA STANLEY, BOOK IT.

2:15:45 WOW.

2:15:46 12 UP IN THE TRICK PLAY BATTLE.

2:15:49 And when you're up a couple runs in the

2:15:51 inning, it's easier for Stanley to make

2:15:54 those plays. You still have a little

2:15:56 room for air, but he NAILED THAT.

2:15:58 >> OH,

2:16:00 BRITAIN.

2:16:08 TRYING TO continue

2:16:11 a rally here in this bottom of the

2:16:13 seventh. DR Meadows goes yard. Then

2:16:16 back-to-back trick plays for the Texas

2:16:18 Tailgaters and with two outs,

2:16:21 the Bananas turn to Stilts. Dakota

2:16:23 Stilts Allbriton

2:16:26 falls behind 0 and 1.

2:16:32 Pokes it! Shallow right! WATTY!

2:16:35 WOW!

2:16:36 A BACKFLIP CATCH! BUCKETS TO GEPPO FOR

2:16:39 THREE TRICK PLAY INNING.

2:16:42 THE TAILGATERS SCORE A POINT MAKING IT 3

2:16:44 TO 2 AND THEY RETAKE THE LEAD in the

2:16:47 trick play battle at 13 to 12. ALL OF A

2:16:50 SUDDEN IN LINE FOR THAT EQUALIZER POINT

2:16:52 AND THE OUTFIELDERS DAZZLING THE FOLKS

2:16:55 IN NEELANDS. STANLEY behind-the-back

2:16:57 grab and THE BACKFLIP FROM WATTY. WHAT A

2:17:01 PERFORMANCE. NOW, let's take a look at

2:17:03 tonight's smooth plays brought to you by

2:17:06 Tropical Smoothie

2:17:08 Cafe.

2:17:09 We just mentioned it there.

2:17:12 13 to 12 the Tailgaters lead it in the

2:17:14 trick play battle, but yet again,

2:17:16 [music]

2:17:17 all the time Josh Telewski in this life.

2:17:20 This is a life and a sports [music]

2:17:22 quote, "Iron sharpens iron." And with

2:17:24 these Savannah Bananas play these Texas

2:17:26 Tailgaters, iron sharpens iron when it

2:17:28 comes to trick plays. Again, these guys

2:17:31 are just too competitive. Not only

2:17:33 [music] do they want to win the ball

2:17:34 game outright, but they want to win when

2:17:36 it comes to these trick plays and they

2:17:38 also want to be showing off the level of

2:17:41 difficulty that they take. You've seen

2:17:43 the Bananas with a plethora of really

2:17:46 great plays, but all of a sudden, you

2:17:48 see Stanley grabbing [music] it behind

2:17:50 his back, Watson hitting the backflips

2:17:52 as well. All in all, this has been one

2:17:55 of the more electric trick play games

2:17:57 out of any 2026 [music] Banana Ball

2:18:01 Championship League contest.

2:18:06 Folks here in Neyland getting hyped.

2:18:11 That's Kyle Harris.

2:18:14 The biggest Yankee fan I know besides

2:18:16 Biko Skalla that's going to come over

2:18:18 the wall for the Savannah Bananas. And

2:18:20 Josh, his ERA is a little inflated.

2:18:24 But this is a guy that the Bananas have

2:18:26 turned to in some pretty crucial

2:18:27 situations this year, including tonight.

2:18:29 And it's a test in certain ways. Harris

2:18:32 trying to protect a lead right now for

2:18:34 the Savannah Bananas. Trying to induce

2:18:36 some trick plays as well. So he's likely

2:18:39 going to try to pitch to a little bit of

2:18:41 contact here in this eighth inning. And

2:18:43 Harris retired two Tailgaters very

2:18:46 quickly on Thursday night. It included a

2:18:48 strikeout. We'll see what happens for

2:18:51 this rookie right-hander standing at 6

2:18:53 ft 8 in. inches.

2:18:56 Kyle Martin.

2:19:01 Has not been retired tonight. You see

2:19:03 his line there.

2:19:04 Two sprints and a single.

2:19:07 K-MART!

2:19:09 WELCOMES EAST TENNESSEE TO THE ACTION!

2:19:14 HIS 11TH long ball of [screaming] the

2:19:16 year pacing the Banana Ball CHAMPIONSHIP

2:19:18 LEAGUE.

2:19:21 THERE IS NOBODY LIKE HIM. HE IS THE

2:19:24 MOUNTAINEER MUTALATOR. KYLE MARTIN.

2:19:28 UNBELIEVABLE THIS SEASON. MCGUIRE-ESQUE

2:19:31 BOMB TEST, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.

2:19:34 THAT IS WHAT HE HAS BECOME IN THE SPORT

2:19:36 OF BANANA BALL.

2:19:43 And for what it's worth, 11 home runs

2:19:46 this year.

2:19:47 That was his fourth one in a football

2:19:49 stadium. The other seven have come in

2:19:51 typical baseball stadiums. So he's

2:19:53 swatting them no matter where you're

2:19:54 playing at. No matter if it's 400 to

2:19:56 dead center, or 274 to dead center.

2:20:00 Now it's Jordan Barth.

2:20:05 Home runs galore, Josh Tevlewski. Zack

2:20:08 Watson has two. Kyle Martin has one.

2:20:10 That makes it three for the Tailgaters,

2:20:12 four for the Savannah Bananas. Seven

2:20:14 here tonight.

2:20:16 The most home runs we've seen in this

2:20:17 match-up this year between the Bananas

2:20:19 and Tailgaters in a single game.

2:20:22 >> [music]

2:20:25 >> Jordan Barth.

2:20:27 Oh man.

2:20:28 Watch out down that left field line.

2:20:31 Some security folks not protected by

2:20:33 that netting. Neither was the Texas

2:20:35 Tailgaters mascot, Grub the Gator.

2:20:41 >> [music]

2:20:44 >> Foul back. Fans get another opportunity.

2:20:47 They've already gotten one.

2:20:49 Cannot make it two fan-caught foul balls

2:20:51 tonight.

2:21:03 Got him.

2:21:04 High fastball. Mr. Harris blows the

2:21:07 cheese right by him for out number one.

2:21:09 Yeah, that's a swing where Jordan

2:21:11 Barth's trying to do the exact same

2:21:13 thing as Kyle Martin. Getting that

2:21:15 elevated heater and driving it over the

2:21:17 netting. Instead, it turns into another

2:21:19 one of those funky strikeout

2:21:21 celebrations from the Nanners rookie.

2:21:28 Also important to note here, Josh.

2:21:32 13 to 12, Tailgaters lead the trick play

2:21:34 battle.

2:21:34 Bananas needing two outs here.

2:21:39 The secure double trick play. Instead,

2:21:41 SKY HIGH. DEEP LEFT FIELD. ROBERT

2:21:44 ANTHONY CRUZ WATCHES IT FLY. AS IT'S HIS

2:21:47 COLLEGE TEAMMATE, TAYLOR JUSTICE, WHO

2:21:50 HITS

2:21:53 TAILGATERS.

2:21:57 >> [music]

2:21:59 >> And you see just why this Texas

2:22:01 Tailgaters lineup is so potent.

2:22:05 Martin and Justice, two of the top guys

2:22:08 when it comes to slugging percentage

2:22:10 this season, and they leave the yard

2:22:12 here in the eighth inning. Tailgaters

2:22:15 rallying in a massive way right now.

2:22:22 The boys in blue and orange, or in this

2:22:24 case up tonight, red, white, and blue,

2:22:27 have not hit it the best in the last

2:22:28 three innings. They rank last in points

2:22:31 earned in the back three innings this

2:22:33 year of any team in Banana Ball.

2:22:35 Tonight,

2:22:37 they've already earned one in the

2:22:38 seventh.

2:22:40 Look to be well on their way to

2:22:41 potentially earning one here in the

2:22:43 eighth,

2:22:45 and could just earn that equalizer

2:22:47 point, up by one in the trick play

2:22:49 battle.

2:22:50 How beautiful is our sport? A game in

2:22:52 which the Savannah Bananas were

2:22:53 dominating three to one about 15 minutes

2:22:56 ago, could be Texas Tailgaters leading

2:22:58 it four to three heading to the night.

2:23:00 Still long ways to go. Connor Harris has

2:23:03 it 0 and 2 against Jose Gonzalez.

2:23:07 Got him.

2:23:11 Pardon me, it was a ball and a strike.

2:23:14 Had it at 0 and 2.

2:23:17 Now we'll do a two-strike pitch here

2:23:18 from Connor Harris.

2:23:26 101,000 people here at NailedIt.

2:23:28 Nobody's gotten up and moved yet.

2:23:47 >> [music]

2:23:49 >> Wow, brother staying alive with the fans

2:23:52 an opportunity.

2:23:53 And it's caught! The second CAUGHT FOUL

2:23:57 BALL by a fan tonight. Both in favor of

2:24:00 the SAVANNAH BANANAS.

2:24:02 SECOND TIME CONNOR HARRIS IS INDUCED TO

2:24:05 FOUL OUT TO a fan this season. The first

2:24:07 one coming in Yankee Stadium.

2:24:11 It's a big play for the Savannah

2:24:13 Bananas, but now they're really going to

2:24:15 desperately need a trick play on this

2:24:17 final out or the Tailgaters will have

2:24:19 secured the equalizer point.

2:24:23 Jonathan "Sunshine" Lutters

2:24:26 will hit on his unicycle.

2:24:28 He has never

2:24:29 struck out on that thing.

2:24:32 Facing his roommate back in Savannah,

2:24:34 Connor Harris.

2:24:36 Sunny so far this year is hitting four

2:24:37 for eight on the unicycle and has also

2:24:39 reached once via air.

2:24:48 Fouled that one off down the third base

2:24:49 line.

2:24:59 Left side, Ryan Cox goes between the

2:25:02 legs. ZIGGY BETWEEN THE LEGS! BOOK IT!

2:25:05 Book it! AS THE SAVANNAH BANANAS RETAKE

2:25:08 the trick PLAY LEAD, 14 TO 13.

2:25:11 >> OH, YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT CLUTCH? HOW

2:25:14 ABOUT THAT KEYSTONE STATE CONNECTION?

2:25:16 COX AND ZIG, ANOTHER DOUBLE TRICK PLAY,

2:25:20 AND THAT IS A NEW SINGLE game record for

2:25:23 a first baseman. Six for Zig, and the

2:25:26 Nanners trying to hold off the Gators in

2:25:28 the bottom half.

2:26:35 >> Keep it going.

2:26:40 >> [music]

2:26:54 [music]

2:26:56 >> We love you so much, Banana Nation. NOW,

2:26:59 LET'S GO BANANAS!

2:27:14 >> [cheering]

2:27:25 [music]

2:27:33 [music]

2:27:36 >> ABSOLUTE CHILLS.

2:27:39 From animal tradition in yellow.

2:27:41 But then right now

2:27:43 Rocky Top

2:27:46 blaring through the speaker systems here

2:27:48 at Neyland Stadium.

2:27:50 And all 101,000 people here, you can

2:27:52 hear them.

2:28:00 Man,

2:28:02 sometimes you just got to smile from

2:28:04 crying. And that's good.

2:28:06 How blessed are we, man? He's Justin

2:28:09 Lesky. I'm Brett Loftis. This has been

2:28:11 Autonation on ESPN. The Texas Tailgaters

2:28:14 trailing three points to two.

2:28:17 In what has quickly become yet again a

2:28:20 classic between these two teams.

2:28:22 Tailgaters score two in the top of the

2:28:24 eighth.

2:28:25 That holds on, it'd be three points to

2:28:27 three.

2:28:30 Fouled into the sky, right side, out of

2:28:32 play.

2:28:35 THE FANS CATCH IT THIS TIME IN FAVOR of

2:28:38 the Texas Tailgaters. AND FOR THE FOURTH

2:28:41 TIME THIS YEAR, Brett Sanchez HAS

2:28:43 INDUCED THE FAN CAUGHT FOUL BALL.

2:28:47 I MEAN, THAT'S JUST becoming business as

2:28:49 usual for Brett Sanchez. And the fans

2:28:52 really coming out and showing their

2:28:54 glove work here tonight. THIRD FOUL BALL

2:28:57 CAUGHT BY THE FANS.

2:28:59 >> That's why you bring your glove.

2:29:02 By the way, the other three for Brett

2:29:03 Sanchez came over in the span of two

2:29:05 innings back earlier this year in

2:29:07 Sacramento, California.

2:29:10 Right there gets that one. That's the

2:29:12 first time the Tailgaters have induced a

2:29:14 fan caught foul ball since then.

2:29:17 Max Schon Goldberg Mhm. Takes one that

2:29:21 misses at the belt.

2:29:23 Three balls and no strikes.

2:29:29 Again, two trick plays here from the

2:29:31 Tailgaters would also secure them the

2:29:33 equalizer point.

2:29:35 In Banana Ball,

2:29:38 if the away team has more trick plays

2:29:40 than the home team, that secures them an

2:29:42 extra point heading into the final

2:29:43 inning.

2:29:50 Brett Sanchez, will he go to a trick

2:29:52 pitch here on 3-2? He won't.

2:29:55 Max John Goldberg

2:29:56 out to RIGHT FIELD, ZACH WATSON! ANOTHER

2:29:59 ONE! WOW!

2:30:01 HIS SECOND BACKFLIP CATCH OF THE

2:30:03 BALLGAME! BUCKET! AND IT'S 14 UP IN THE

2:30:07 TRICK PLAY BATTLE.

2:30:09 BOY, YOU THINK THAT GUY'S HAVING FUN

2:30:11 RIGHT NOW? ZACH WATSON ABSOLUTELY

2:30:14 FEELING HIMSELF. HE'S FANNING HIMSELF.

2:30:17 HE'S SO HOT RIGHT NOW FOR THE TEXAS

2:30:19 TAILGATERS OFFENSIVELY AND WITH THE

2:30:21 GLOVE.

2:30:23 Two home runs, two backflip flip catches

2:30:25 in the same night

2:30:27 for Mr. Watson. By the way,

2:30:30 he's the only D1 baseball player in

2:30:32 LSU's history

2:30:34 to record two gold gloves.

2:30:37 You just seen that on display for a

2:30:38 reason.

2:30:40 Big AB here from Bill Leroy.

2:30:42 Who sends it? DEEP LEFT FIELD!

2:30:45 IS IT FAIR? NO, just foul.

2:30:48 Bill almost had his second ya-ya of the

2:30:50 ballgame. Instead, it's just a really

2:30:53 long strike number one.

2:31:02 Tailgaters trying to win the equalizer

2:31:04 point and protect the two-run inning

2:31:06 lead.

2:31:09 >> [music]

2:31:10 >> Mhm.

2:31:14 Seeing Joe Mickolic making his feelings

2:31:16 known towards Vincent Chapman on that

2:31:18 one.

2:31:19 And a ball four for Brett.

2:31:21 How far will Bill go?

2:31:24 >> [music]

2:31:25 >> Oh, it's dropped. Bill was halfway to

2:31:27 second, but instead will stay over at

2:31:30 first on that two-out ball four sprint.

2:31:35 Well, now it's the tying run up at the

2:31:38 plate here in the eighth inning for the

2:31:39 Bananas.

2:31:40 One big swing for Ryan Cox. And that

2:31:44 potentially negates that third point

2:31:46 coming for the Texas Tailgaters.

2:31:51 Perhaps the most monumental plate

2:31:53 appearance of the ballgame to this

2:31:55 point.

2:31:58 A plethora

2:31:59 of different outcomes

2:32:01 ranging from very, very positive for the

2:32:03 Tailgaters

2:32:04 to ranging very, very good for those

2:32:06 Savannah Bananas.

2:32:09 A trick play out would give the

2:32:11 Tailgaters the inning win

2:32:13 and

2:32:15 would give them the equalizer point.

2:32:17 JORDAN WHO'S SAFE? BETWEEN THE LEGS!

2:32:19 BOOK IT! FALLING AWAY! THAT'S YOUR

2:32:22 CAPTAIN!

2:32:24 15 TO 14 IN A TRICK PLAY. TWO TO NOTHING

2:32:27 IN THE INNING. THE TEXAS TAILGATERS

2:32:30 LEADING FOUR TO THREE HEADING TO THE

2:32:32 FINAL FRAME.

2:32:34 OH MY GOODNESS! THE CAPTAIN OF THE TEXAS

2:32:38 TAILGATERS, WHO HAS PUSHED THIS TEAM ALL

2:32:41 SEASON LONG, PLAYS HERO IN THE EIGHTH.

2:32:44 AND IN THIS BACK-AND-FORTH CONTEST, THE

2:32:46 GATORS ARE IN THE LEAD!

2:32:50 BEATING THE BANANAS ON TRICK PLAYS,

2:32:52 receiving an equalizer point, the score

2:32:55 sits as follows. Four points for the

2:32:58 Texas Tailgaters to three points for the

2:33:00 Savannah Bananas. But here's the thing

2:33:02 about the game of Banana Ball. In the

2:33:04 final inning, every run counts for a

2:33:08 point. These two teams have been

2:33:11 battling all season. They are as evenly

2:33:14 matched as it gets, and this IS AS HIGH

2:33:17 STAKES AS IT GETS IN FRONT OF 101,000

2:33:21 PEOPLE. SO, KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, WE

2:33:25 NEED YOU TO GET LOUD RIGHT HERE BECAUSE

2:33:29 THIS IS THE FINAL INNING. [screaming]

2:33:35 >> [cheering]

2:33:38 >> IN THE SECOND largest Banana Ball game

2:33:41 of all time here at Grayson Stadium,

2:33:45 these faithful folks

2:33:47 here in East Tennessee

2:33:50 are about to witness the greatest closer

2:33:53 that this sport has ever seen.

2:33:56 His name is Danny

2:33:59 Hasley.

2:34:02 This year, he has somehow put together a

2:34:06 first third campaign that's even more

2:34:08 impressive than what he's done his

2:34:10 entire career. 21 strikeouts, only two

2:34:13 ball fours, Sprint Car Selewski, and a

2:34:15 .6 ERA. Yeah, and that .6 ERA average

2:34:20 leading the Banana Ball World Tour, his

2:34:22 ERA plus right now, 100 is league

2:34:25 average, Hasley's is over 1,000. He has

2:34:28 been more than 10 times better than the

2:34:31 tour average pitcher. It's honestly

2:34:34 mind-boggling, very hard to comprehend,

2:34:37 and he's striking out 33.3%

2:34:40 of the total batters he's faced this

2:34:41 season, also a tour leading mark, and

2:34:44 chasing his nearly 37%

2:34:47 strikeout rate that he posted in 2023 as

2:34:50 a rookie, trying to see if he can best

2:34:53 that here in his fourth campaign. You

2:34:54 know why I really love Danny Hasley? We

2:34:56 call him Danny Do-It-All because he's a

2:34:58 truly a two-way player at his core. He

2:35:00 was talking to us at Navasota High

2:35:01 School after the Pop-It game when the

2:35:03 Tailgaters beat the Bananas, and he

2:35:05 said, "Truthfully, I haven't been as

2:35:06 good as an offensive player as I want to

2:35:08 be this year." Obviously hitting below

2:35:10 the Mendoza Line and everything else. He

2:35:11 said, "But I just have to step it up in

2:35:13 other ways." And he is having a pitching

2:35:15 season for the ages to this point, Josh

2:35:18 Tolewski. I mean, the only thing that

2:35:20 you can argue about on Danny Hasley is

2:35:23 just the lack of volume that he's had

2:35:25 because he's not a starting pitcher, but

2:35:28 he is pitching in the most important

2:35:30 inning in Banana Ball just about every

2:35:33 single game for these guys.

2:35:36 Taj Porter

2:35:38 leads off this inning for the Tailgaters

2:35:40 as 8, 9, and 10.

2:35:42 If I know Joe McCalick and I do, a

2:35:44 golden batter is sitting in the hole in

2:35:47 spot of Jordan Hussey.

2:35:54 Danny gets in the zone for the first

2:35:55 time, two balls and no strikes.

2:35:58 Taj an RBI ball for a spread

2:36:02 comes up empty.

2:36:04 He struck out his other two times

2:36:05 tonight.

2:36:09 Taj swats it in the right field for a

2:36:12 lead-off single.

2:36:15 Jacob Peppersick will come in and run

2:36:17 for the Quad Father.

2:36:24 Jacob Peppersick 11 for 12 in stolen

2:36:27 bases this year.

2:36:28 See if he'll try to get active over

2:36:30 there as Indiana Stanley steps in the

2:36:31 box.

2:36:33 Called strike number one.

2:36:36 Indian RBI single his last time up and

2:36:38 then was picked off by Bill Leroy at

2:36:39 first.

2:36:43 A humongous moment

2:36:46 in this 2026 BBCL season.

2:36:49 The inaugural season in which Banana

2:36:51 Ball is a league. Six teams, these the

2:36:54 top two, the Texas Tailgaters and the

2:36:57 Savannah Bananas.

2:36:58 The only two teams coming into tonight

2:37:01 with a record over 500.

2:37:03 The Tailgaters already have clinched

2:37:05 themselves a playoff spot in October.

2:37:08 Fouled back into to crowd yet again.

2:37:12 Cannot be caught.

2:37:18 Eight times they've met this year and

2:37:20 four and four is the record thus far

2:37:22 including the open.

2:37:29 Jacob Peppersec, a conservative lead.

2:37:32 The one-two from Danny.

2:37:34 Got him.

2:37:42 And as Danny records out number one via

2:37:44 strikeout, the Tailgaters rally around

2:37:47 the dugout and there's a golden hood.

2:37:55 The Texas TAILGATERS ARE INVOKING THE

2:37:58 golden batter rule. NOW BATTING IN PLACE

2:38:02 OF JORDAN HUSSEY IS THE TAILGATERS

2:38:05 golden batter. PLEASE WELCOME KYLE

2:38:09 K-MART.

2:38:10 MARTIN.

2:38:12 GET READY.

2:38:13 This is what you live for.

2:38:16 The Banana Ball CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER IN

2:38:18 GOLDEN BAT APPEARANCES AND HOME RUNS,

2:38:21 both at 11, steps into the left-handed

2:38:24 batter's box. He has not been retired

2:38:26 tonight.

2:38:28 Two ball four sprints, a single,

2:38:31 and his staple,

2:38:32 dinger.

2:38:34 And two for nine as the golden batter

2:38:36 this season with two ball four sprints.

2:38:40 K-Mart though still looking to get a

2:38:42 knock against Danny Hasley.

2:38:47 That's something he's been very open

2:38:48 about.

2:38:50 He tells me all the time, "I got to get

2:38:51 that first one off of Has."

2:38:54 Can it come right here?

2:38:55 Fouls it off. Had him way out on his

2:38:58 front foot.

2:39:01 Danny Hasley's Vulcan changeup, one of

2:39:03 the nastiest pitches you'll ever see in

2:39:05 Banana Ball or otherwise.

2:39:08 He's got one of the best hitters in the

2:39:09 sport behind 0 and 2.

2:39:13 Jacob Peppersack still hasn't been in

2:39:15 motion over there at first.

2:39:19 >> [music]

2:39:21 >> K Mart

2:39:23 one hops the wall in left.

2:39:25 He'll

2:39:27 will turn back and revert to second.

2:39:30 Man,

2:39:31 Robert Anthony Cruz being that rover

2:39:33 tied, he is displaying hustle in a big

2:39:35 way. But Kyle Martin

2:39:38 gets his third hit of the ballgame.

2:39:40 As Jordan Hussein will hustle over to

2:39:42 first because Kyle Martin is right back

2:39:44 in the hole. As here's the top of the

2:39:45 lineup in Zack Watts.

2:39:53 Vincent Chapman stopped the ballgame for

2:39:55 a moment. Everything's legal again.

2:39:57 Jordan Hussein, as he was golden batted

2:39:59 for, he will now be running at first.

2:40:04 Just joining us, Zack Watson is having a

2:40:06 ballgame for the ages. Two backflip

2:40:08 catches defensively, two long balls at

2:40:10 the plate.

2:40:14 Watty

2:40:15 Oh, over Ryan Cox.

2:40:17 Goes to third.

2:40:20 Off the bag.

2:40:22 What's Excuse me, Jacob Peppersack.

2:40:24 He and KJ made some contact there.

2:40:30 Oh. He He didn't come anywhere even

2:40:32 close to that bag, but you see Jacob

2:40:34 Peppersack. Looks like he immediately

2:40:36 said, "My bad, and are you okay?"

2:40:40 So, it wasn't exactly the intention, but

2:40:43 really kind of confusing to see why

2:40:46 Peppersack would be so far off of

2:40:49 or far away from third base.

2:40:51 Yeah, that was

2:40:52 very odd. I think he was thinking

2:40:55 >> And it's odder because he goes, "My bad.

2:40:57 Are you okay?" I think he was thinking

2:40:59 about rounding third there, potentially

2:41:01 seeing that ball go to left So he's

2:41:03 taking a wider arc there instead you see

2:41:06 Brandon Pennington the third base coach

2:41:08 for the tailgaters quickly telling HIM

2:41:09 TO SLIDE.

2:41:12 LOBBY [screaming]

2:41:14 DEEP LEFT FIELD RACK BACK IT UP ON IT

2:41:17 HAS IT AT THE FENCE for out number three

2:41:21 the Savannah Bananas

2:41:23 heart skip a bit of a BEAT BUT NEVER

2:41:26 DOUBT DANNY DO IT ALL

2:41:42 Four points for the tailgaters to three

2:41:44 points for the Savannah Bananas. This is

2:41:47 where the rubber hits the road. The

2:41:49 Savannah Bananas must score one point in

2:41:52 order to force a one-on-one showdown

2:41:55 tiebreaker BUT KNOXVILLE WHY SETTLE for

2:41:58 one when THEY CAN GET TWO AND WALK IT

2:42:01 OFF IN ROCKY TOP. One way or another

2:42:05 ladies AND GENTLEMEN THINGS ARE ABOUT TO

2:42:07 GET INTERESTING. KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

2:42:10 LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE ONE MORE TIME

2:42:13 BECAUSE IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS.

2:42:16 >> [screaming]

2:42:20 >> WHERE ELSE WOULD YOU RATHER be

2:42:23 than watching but out of all of the ESPN

2:42:25 tonight?

2:42:26 The Texas Tailgaters

2:42:28 in front of 101,000 people leads the

2:42:31 Savannah Bananas four to three NEEDING

2:42:33 THREE OUTS FROM THAT MAN THE PRIDE of

2:42:36 Slidell, LOUISIANA Brent Sanchez

2:42:41 He's already earned two points tonight

2:42:43 in the seventh and eighth innings.

2:42:47 Gave up a two-run bomb to DR Meadows the

2:42:49 only blemish on his line thus far.

2:42:52 It's 9-10-1 for the Savannah Bananas Ty

2:42:55 Jackson, Jackson Olson, and DR Meadows.

2:43:01 Taj

2:43:02 hit way up the elevator shaft.

2:43:04 Jordan Barn

2:43:07 out number one.

2:43:10 And just as the Tailgaters did for their

2:43:12 10-hole header, the Savannah Bananas are

2:43:14 going to send a golden batter to the

2:43:16 plate.

2:43:19 Knoxville,

2:43:20 the Savannah Bananas are invoking the

2:43:23 golden batter rule. Hitting in the place

2:43:27 of Jackson Olson is THE SAVANNAH BANANAS

2:43:29 GOLDEN BATTER. PLEASE WELCOME DAN

2:43:34 OBERS. [screaming]

2:43:36 >> [groaning]

2:43:38 >> A legend of Banana Ball.

2:43:41 Daniel, his fifth golden batter

2:43:43 appearance this year.

2:43:45 Let me take you back to Yankee Stadium a

2:43:48 few weekends ago,

2:43:50 where Dan Obers hit an oppo taco in the

2:43:53 ninth inning as the golden batter,

2:43:55 en route to a Bananas victory.

2:43:58 Brett Sanchez falls behind one and oh.

2:44:03 Danny O's tonight has fouled out to a

2:44:05 fan and hit a two-run walk-off home run.

2:44:11 He's in the driver seat here.

2:44:16 Clips the glove of Taj and goes to the

2:44:18 back backstop.

2:44:22 As Dan chose not to try and steal first.

2:44:25 Yeah, he's just trying to tap into that

2:44:26 poolside power right now and potentially

2:44:29 get as many pitches as he can see

2:44:31 against Brett Sanchez in the event that

2:44:33 he does get to face him again here in

2:44:34 the ninth. As Sanchez's 3-0 pitch is

2:44:37 poured in a strike.

2:44:44 Full count.

2:44:49 Brett Sanchez

2:44:52 Dan Obers

2:44:54 HIT

2:44:56 GET [screaming] HIM!

2:45:00 THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

2:45:04 THE TEXAS TAILGATERS ARE ONE OUT AWAY.

2:45:10 BRET SANCHEZ CHALLENGING Dan Oberst.

2:45:13 You see a two-seamer running inside.

2:45:16 OBERST TRYING TO put everything he had

2:45:19 IN THE PUNISHING THAT BANANA BALL.

2:45:21 INSTEAD, BRET SANCHEZ now an out away

2:45:24 from securing a come-from-behind win for

2:45:27 the Texas Tailgaters. But, it's D.R.

2:45:30 Meadows, the man who homered against him

2:45:32 in the seventh,

2:45:33 up here.

2:45:34 D.R.

2:45:36 High off that 50-ft net.

2:45:38 Almost did it again.

2:45:40 Instead of two out singles.

2:45:44 And now it brings the game-winning point

2:45:48 to the dish in form of Robert Anthony

2:45:51 Cruz.

2:45:53 How poetic is this?

2:45:56 As Reese Miller is going to come into

2:45:59 the ballgame to pitch.

2:46:01 The University of North Carolina, early

2:46:03 April. Reese Miller, Robert Anthony

2:46:06 Cruz. Rack hits a game-time two-run

2:46:10 homer to make it five points to five.

2:46:14 A week later in the Banana Ball Open,

2:46:16 it's the [snorts] championship game on

2:46:18 Sunday. Rack hits a home run that tied

2:46:21 it up, sent it to showdowns, in which

2:46:23 Reese Miller struck out Rack in route to

2:46:25 the Tailgaters winning the Open. Now,

2:46:29 it's Reese Miller

2:46:31 against his kryptonite, Coach Rack,

2:46:34 as the Savannah Bananas are down to

2:46:36 their final out

2:46:39 here in Neilland Stadium.

2:46:55 >> Mhm, just a hair low, two balls and no

2:46:58 strikes.

2:47:00 A home run here would send this place

2:47:01 into a walk-off frenzy.

2:47:03 A strikeout would send the Tailgaters to

2:47:06 win number 13.

2:47:09 Wow.

2:47:13 The zone has struck an awful lot here in

2:47:15 the last couple innings.

2:47:17 The 3-0.

2:47:19 D.R. has got great wheels. Would he

2:47:21 think about going home? He's quickly

2:47:23 around second. Bryce Stoneburner gives

2:47:26 him the stop sign. And right, a

2:47:28 four-pitch ball for a spread. As now,

2:47:31 the game-tying and winning runs stand

2:47:35 aboard.

2:47:36 As it's the superstar here in the sport

2:47:38 of an animal, Kyle Jackson, who walked

2:47:41 it off a week ago in Savannah against

2:47:44 the Loco Nuts Coconuts via walk-off

2:47:46 spread.

2:47:49 Five straight balls from Reese Miller to

2:47:51 begin his outing. Yeah, this is what you

2:47:53 do not want to see if you're Reese

2:47:54 Miller.

2:47:56 Wanted that personal battle against

2:47:57 Robert Anthony Cruz, but now struggling

2:48:00 to find the zone as that one

2:48:02 will clip Kyle Jackson and load the

2:48:06 bases for Super Reese Alexiades.

2:48:12 The man who broke the single-season

2:48:15 record for home runs by Savannah Bananas

2:48:17 in 2025 with 12. The man who led Banana

2:48:21 Ball last year on the world tour in 2025

2:48:23 in walk-offs.

2:48:25 He was our showman of the night Thursday

2:48:28 in the Bananas win at Grayson Stadium

2:48:29 Park. And he's batting over 500 with

2:48:32 three homers and 10 runs BATTED IN IN

2:48:35 FOOTBALL STADIUMS.

2:48:37 He is the guy you think about when you

2:48:39 think of football stadiums in Banana

2:48:40 Ball.

2:48:42 juiced two outs.

2:48:44 One point ball game, the 01.

2:48:47 Now, down to their final strike tonight.

2:48:52 It's Reese Selects the Yacht. It's Reese

2:48:55 Miller.

2:48:56 It's Neyland Stadium, 101,000 people.

2:49:03 The 02.

2:49:07 A waste pitch that Tyler's Porter does a

2:49:09 great job of just keeping in front of.

2:49:14 There you see in football stadiums this

2:49:16 year hitting over 500.

2:49:19 >> [music]

2:49:20 >> The 12.

2:49:23 Hit in the sky!

2:49:24 Over the infield!

2:49:26 Sunshine!

2:49:27 Gives Roof to himself!

2:49:29 Bucket! And the Tailgaters

2:49:32 have won the two biggest games in the

2:49:34 history of Banana Ball!

2:49:40 I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, IF YOUR HEART WASN'T

2:49:43 PUMPING, YOU DO NOT KNOW THE DRAMATICS,

2:49:45 AND YOU DO NOT KNOW THE FINAL INNING OF

2:49:48 BANANA BALL.

2:49:50 THE TAILGATERS, EVEN WITH THE BASES FULL

2:49:53 OF BANANAS, SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY HANG ON,

2:49:57 AND IT'S THE TRICK PLAY TAILGATERS WITH

2:49:59 HELP FROM THE EQUALIZER POINT, and that

2:50:02 TRICK PLAY FROM JONATHAN LUTHERS

2:50:04 EMERGING VICTORIOUS BY A 4-3 SCORE. If

2:50:08 you don't feel something right now, your

2:50:10 something feeler is broken.

2:50:13 Three weeks ago tonight, the Texas

2:50:15 Tailgaters won the biggest Banana Ball

2:50:17 game of all time

2:50:19 at Kyle Field. Tonight, they win the

2:50:21 second largest Banana Ball game of all

2:50:23 time here at Neyland Stadium

2:50:25 in front of 203

2:50:27 combined thousand people.

2:50:31 What a night. Thank you guys so much

2:50:35 for joining us for our lovely sport of

2:50:37 Banana Ball. For entire crew back in

2:50:38 Savannah, Keegan Woods, our wonderful

2:50:40 producer Josh

2:50:42 Chad Reese, Josh Hollingsworth [music]

2:50:44 who I love. I'm Brett Loftis thanking

2:50:46 all of you

2:50:47 and we will see you next time as this

2:50:49 was Bananaball on ESPN.

2:50:54 >> [music]

2:51:00 >> Hey [cheering] YouTube.

2:51:01 >> ONE OF THE TRUE GREATEST BANANABALL

2:51:03 GAMES 29 TRICK PLAYS, SIX HOME RUNS,

2:51:08 THREE FAN CAUGHT FOUL BALLS BY YOU GUYS.

2:51:13 >> [cheering]

2:51:13 >> AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING HISTORY

2:51:16 WITH US here tonight. I'll tell you

2:51:18 we're not done yet. We're going to

2:51:20 finish strong here but thank you so much

2:51:22 for making all our dreams come true.

2:51:24 When we started this we never imagined

2:51:26 we could play in front of this many fans

2:51:28 and YOU BROUGHT SO MUCH ENERGY, SO MUCH

2:51:30 PASSION AND SO MUCH ELECTRICITY to this

2:51:32 stadium tonight. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.

2:51:35 WE LOVE YOU GUYS AND NOW LET'S GO TO THE

2:51:38 CAPTAIN OF THE BANANAS, BILL LEROY.

2:51:47 WHAT'S UP, KNOXVILLE?

2:51:53 MAN, THAT WAS A TOUGH LOSS but did you

2:51:55 guys have fun tonight?

2:52:01 Honestly, that's what it's all about.

2:52:03 Sometimes it's really difficult to come

2:52:05 out here and speak after the game, after

2:52:07 you get out here and compete just like

2:52:09 that. The Tailgaters brought their

2:52:10 A-game tonight. We brought our A-game

2:52:12 tonight and it really sucks to lose but

2:52:14 I'll tell you what, there's something

2:52:15 really cool going on here.

2:52:17 100,000 people plus of you guys believed

2:52:20 in us tonight and showed up in this

2:52:21 ballpark and everybody here experienced

2:52:23 joy and had smiles on their faces and

2:52:26 that's way more important than a

2:52:27 baseball game or any sporting event. So

2:52:29 thank you guys for showing up and

2:52:31 spreading joy with us tonight.

2:52:34 >> [cheering]

2:52:39 >> We truly feel loved by you guys and it

2:52:41 was really really loud, especially when

2:52:43 Rocky Top played. That was pretty cool,

2:52:44 huh?

2:52:48 We are one big family here tonight. So,

2:52:49 everybody around the stadium before we

2:52:51 go home, I want you to put your hands up

2:52:52 high.

2:52:56 We're going to break it down tonight as

2:52:57 one big Banana Ball family cuz that's

2:52:58 what we are. We're going to say fans

2:53:00 first on three, loud and proud.

2:53:03 But, I need TO KNOW.

2:53:05 ARE YOU READY?

2:53:11 >> [cheering]

2:53:11 >> WHAT DO YOU SAY, TY?

2:53:13 THEY'RE NOT READY.

2:53:16 I SAID, "ARE YOU [screaming] READY?"

2:53:21 HANDS UP.

2:53:23 FANS FIRST ON THREE. 1 2 3

2:53:28 >> [cheering]

2:53:28 >> WE LOVE YOU, KNOXVILLE. TILL NEXT TIME.

2:53:34 Not a single out, a single pitch, a

2:53:35 single at bat. That is one of the single

2:53:38 greatest Banana Ball games I think we've

2:53:40 ever watched in the history of our young

2:53:43 sport. Who could possibly have been the

2:53:46 best player in this ball game tonight?

2:53:48 Well, I think it's pretty simple. He

2:53:50 played in the SEC, but he didn't wear

2:53:52 orange. He [music] wore yellow and

2:53:54 purple. Now, he's wearing blue and

2:53:56 orange. His name is Zach Watson. Two

2:53:58 backflip catches.

2:54:00 Two long balls tonight. Zach [music]

2:54:02 Watson was by far the best player on the

2:54:05 field tonight for the Texas Tailgaters.

2:54:07 Yeah, it was unbelievable to see from

2:54:10 Waddy and you know he showed signs of

2:54:12 good things to come on [music] Thursday

2:54:14 night. A pair of doubles for the Texas

2:54:16 Tailgaters. But, this guy, like you said

2:54:19 earlier in the show, Brett, he has

2:54:21 firmly entrenched himself in this

2:54:23 lead-off [music] spot for the Texas

2:54:25 Tailgaters. You talk about a guy who you

2:54:27 needed to get a jump start from tonight.

2:54:29 Zack Watson was him. Pair of home runs,

2:54:32 the back flips in right field that had

2:54:35 Neilan Stadium going crazy. This was an

2:54:38 all around incredible game and he has

2:54:41 been in this sport since 2024. [music]

2:54:44 I think it's safe to say this was the

2:54:45 game of his career.

2:54:48 Sam

2:54:49 one more Watty Woah for us tonight.

2:54:51 Let's yap with him, Mr. Bierman. Yeah,

2:54:53 hey guys. We didn't want Zack Watson to

2:54:55 miss this historic moment. Watty,

2:54:56 showman of the game.

2:54:58 Two bombs, two back flips, one big WIN

2:55:01 FOR THE TAILGATERS. BREAK it down.

2:55:03 >> Hey, the boys needed a CD. Went out

2:55:04 there and pitched his freaking butt off.

2:55:07 I wasn't meaning you. I was meaning CD.

2:55:10 Todd called a freaking great game behind

2:55:12 the plate.

2:55:13 Man, it was awesome. We needed that win

2:55:14 coming off a loss from the Bananas the

2:55:16 other day and the boys were fired up and

2:55:19 won the trick plays, too. Hey, a lot of

2:55:21 homers today and that was awesome.

2:55:23 The two biggest games in Banana Ball

2:55:25 history, the Texas Tailgaters have their

2:55:28 name in the win column next to it. Oh,

2:55:31 yeah. The boys are hot. The boys are

2:55:32 hot. Watch out, everybody.

2:55:34 Zack, final question here Banana Ball

2:55:36 Backstage. 11-year-old Isaiah wants to

2:55:38 know, this might be your toughest

2:55:39 question yet.

2:55:40 Who got the best drip on the team?

2:55:46 I'm going to say Sanchez. You see this

2:55:47 guy? Look at him. Look at the mustache.

2:55:49 Just look at him.

2:55:51 The belt, the high the high pants, the

2:55:53 shoes, the hat,

2:55:55 the thank yous.

2:55:58 Zack Watson, HE'S THE SHOWMAN BUT HE'S

2:56:00 GIVING ALL THE CREDIT TO THE OTHER GUYS.

2:56:03 But

2:56:04 Josh, back to you. Hey, Sanchez got some

2:56:07 good drip. Don't sleep on Mr. Thank you,

2:56:09 thank you, thank you. Don't sleep on

2:56:11 Zack Watson, either, man.

2:56:12 He was a third round pick out of LSU for

2:56:14 a reason. He won two gold gloves at LSU

2:56:16 for a reason and it's just so poetic

2:56:19 that he's finally coming into his own at

2:56:21 this point in time. Now, as we have

2:56:23 concluded the year for football stadiums

2:56:25 in the match up that is the Texas

2:56:27 Tailgaters Savannah Bananas, how could

2:56:28 we possibly move forward?

2:56:31 Well, that's simple. Here's next weekend

2:56:32 Banana Ball. Firefighters Tailgaters

2:56:34 will be in Corpus Christi beginning

2:56:36 their three-game series at 8:00 Eastern

2:56:38 time on Thursday night on the Tailgaters

2:56:40 YouTube channel.

2:56:42 The Party Animals and Coconuts, we're

2:56:44 going TO DISNEY WORLD!

2:56:46 AS THEY'LL BE HEADING to Orlando Friday

2:56:48 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Coconuts YouTube

2:56:50 channel. And then you guys, Josh, get to

2:56:53 be part of a pretty historic weekend in

2:56:54 Kansas City. Yeah, it's going to be

2:56:56 really exciting to see the Clowns

2:56:57 continue their headline shows in Kansas

2:56:59 City. Can't wait to see what that looks

2:57:01 like and do not sleep on the Coconuts

2:57:04 headliner at the Wide World of Sports.

2:57:06 They're going to have a lot of fun

2:57:07 things in store throughout that entire

2:57:10 weekend. We got more in store for you

2:57:12 here tonight as Sam Bowman now has

2:57:14 grabbed the owner and creator of our

2:57:16 great sport of Banana Ball, Jesse Cole.

2:57:18 Yeah, thanks, Brad. Of course, I had to

2:57:20 talk to Jesse after you had another

2:57:22 historic game of Banana Ball. Jesse, you

2:57:24 grabbed me in the fifth, sixth inning

2:57:25 you said, "I'm having a lot of fun,

2:57:27 Sam." What was so fun about what we just

2:57:31 did? Well, that's Banana Ball at its

2:57:32 best. You know, we've had these

2:57:34 challenges of these big stadiums. It's

2:57:35 hard. Sometimes you try to do a lot of

2:57:37 things and try to make it a great show

2:57:39 and you know, at Texas A&M we tried to

2:57:40 do a lot and we didn't deliver at the

2:57:42 best of our ability. Then we came here

2:57:43 and to watch the way these these group

2:57:45 of players played, 29 trick plays, watch

2:57:47 the entertainment and the crowd just so

2:57:49 energized. This was special, man. We

2:57:52 have so many nights out here and you

2:57:53 never know how it's going to go, but

2:57:55 this was like a redemption. 100,000 we

2:57:57 showed that we can put on a heck of a

2:57:58 show and play Banana Ball at the highest

2:58:00 level. And if you're not a Banana Ball

2:58:02 fan after watching this, I don't know

2:58:03 what's going on because this is special.

2:58:05 Jesse, what was it that you saw early on

2:58:07 where you already felt I felt like from

2:58:10 1 2 3 start the clock, there was an

2:58:12 energy in here that you were just

2:58:13 latched on to. We'll talk about the

2:58:15 first play of the game, a double trick

2:58:16 play. I mean, you just kick it off right

2:58:18 away and you know, obviously having the

2:58:20 Tennessee softball team out here is

2:58:21 going to the college world series, you

2:58:23 know, you feel the love out here for

2:58:24 everything. There's a lot of pride in

2:58:26 this community and we felt it. But then

2:58:28 immediately you go into great

2:58:29 promotions, great trick plays, great

2:58:31 performances, great singing. Everything

2:58:32 was clicking and that very rarely

2:58:35 happens in Banana Ball everything cuz we

2:58:37 do so much, it's so hard. But it was

2:58:39 clicking and I was having the time of my

2:58:41 life. We went up to the upper deck and

2:58:42 I'll tell you the fans were just jumping

2:58:44 up and down and dancing and singing and

2:58:46 they were so far away but they were into

2:58:48 it. And when you can feel that when

2:58:49 people 100,000 people are into our show,

2:58:51 wow, there's nothing like it in the

2:58:52 world. So I I I haven't had this much

2:58:54 fun. This reminded me of Clemson last

2:58:56 year. You know, we played an hour and

2:58:57 43-minute game with all the trick plays

2:58:59 and the home runs. That's what this felt

2:59:01 by like and I'll tell you

2:59:03 I can't wait till the next one because I

2:59:04 know we're going to continue to get

2:59:05 better and and make put on a great show.

2:59:08 Jesse, you talk about taking Banana Ball

2:59:09 to the moon. We got pretty dang close

2:59:13 tonight.

2:59:14 Are you going to be able to rest after

2:59:15 this one?

2:59:17 I'm excited to get with the fans. When

2:59:18 you look about all these people that

2:59:19 came from all over the country to be

2:59:21 here and I'm proud. We put on a show.

2:59:23 They played their hearts out and this

2:59:25 was worthy of what Banana Ball's all

2:59:26 about. So I can't wait to go celebrate

2:59:28 with them, spend time with the fans.

2:59:29 People that have given us a chance since

2:59:31 day one and now we're showing, "Hey,

2:59:33 this is worth it. We're going to keep

2:59:34 going and we're just getting started."

2:59:35 Well, let's not keep him any longer.

2:59:37 He's got 100,000 fans to get out to,

2:59:39 sign some autographs, take some

2:59:40 pictures.

2:59:42 Brett, Josh, put a bow on this one for

2:59:44 us, will you?

2:59:45 Thank you so much, Sam. Yeah, I think

2:59:47 our owner and creator of our sport and

2:59:50 and of Banana Ball or six our teams,

2:59:52 Jesse Cole, just put it so poetically.

2:59:54 Uh Josh, listen, I know I'm the Texas

2:59:56 Tailgaters guy. I know it's good night

2:59:58 for all of those that support the Texas

3:00:00 Tailgaters winning 4-3. Beyond the

3:00:02 result though, beyond the the wins and

3:00:04 losses, this was a truly, truly special

3:00:06 night. When you play in front of

3:00:08 100-plus thousand people three weekends

3:00:10 apart, you don't think that the product

3:00:12 could get much better than what we had

3:00:13 at College Station, and then you see

3:00:15 what you had here tonight. Eight

3:00:17 combined home runs, 30 combined trick

3:00:20 plays, but still incredible pitching.

3:00:23 The entertainment was great, as Jesse

3:00:24 put it. The crowd was so heavily

3:00:26 involved, all 101,000 people, and all of

3:00:29 those that we were able to service in

3:00:31 virtual Banana Land tonight got such a

3:00:33 treat, but truthfully, we did here in

3:00:35 the booth as well. I I can't find a

3:00:37 single thing to argue with any of

3:00:39 Jesse's statements down there on the

3:00:40 field. I mean, you mentioned some of the

3:00:42 numbers, but you also saw a

3:00:44 sub-two-minute inning in this ball game.

3:00:46 You saw special guest appearances

3:00:48 getting the volunteer softball team out

3:00:50 here. Albin Kamara pinch running for the

3:00:52 Savannah Bananas, and then you consider

3:00:54 Derek Lena with a really great

3:00:56 performance coming in to pitch. Some

3:00:58 great walk-ups from Nick Lopez and Taj

3:01:01 Porter. The play on the field, the

3:01:03 entertainment, the trick plays,

3:01:05 everything was so great tonight. I mean,

3:01:08 fantastic. It was like everybody came

3:01:11 together and was just very much dialed

3:01:13 in on delivering the best possible

3:01:15 Banana Ball product in this game. And by

3:01:18 the way, a really gritty win for your

3:01:21 guys as well. I mean, we've talked about

3:01:23 Zack Watson, what a great game it was

3:01:25 for him. Kyle Martin having a big game

3:01:28 as well. But you can't forget Brett

3:01:30 Sanchez coming into this game and the

3:01:32 Texas Tailgaters knowing across those

3:01:34 last four outings, this guy sporting an

3:01:36 earned run average below one for them

3:01:38 and inducing over 50% of his outs that

3:01:41 are trick plays. It was the right

3:01:43 decision. It led them to that equalizer

3:01:45 point. It kept the Bananas off the

3:01:47 scoreboard, and it wound up leading the

3:01:50 Texas Tailgaters to victory yet again

3:01:52 here tonight kneeling in front of the

3:01:54 second largest crowd in Banana Ball

3:01:56 history. Uh to virtual Banana Land,

3:01:58 thank you guys so much for joining us

3:02:00 here tonight. You know, Biko Skala, the

3:02:02 voice of our sport, always has the

3:02:03 pleasure of getting and sitting in this

3:02:05 seat next to my good friend, one of my

3:02:06 best friends in this life, really, in

3:02:07 Josh Sklarsky. But, I'm so thankful I

3:02:10 was able to be here tonight. Uh it's

3:02:12 such a blessing and and truthfully, just

3:02:14 just on a personal note for a moment,

3:02:15 one of the most special nights and and

3:02:17 something I've been looking forward to

3:02:18 my entire life. So, thank you guys so

3:02:20 much. But, on a much bigger level, two

3:02:22 games back now, the Tailgaters are off

3:02:24 the bananas as we move into another

3:02:25 three-game weekend for the Tailgaters

3:02:27 and into a historic weekend as the

3:02:30 Bananas play the Clowns in their

3:02:32 first-ever major league headliner in

3:02:34 Kansas City. The pressure, perhaps,

3:02:36 coming off this weekend, the momentum,

3:02:38 perhaps. What do you see to expect going

3:02:40 into next weekend, Josh?

3:02:41 >> I I just think that both of these teams

3:02:44 very much know that they're the cream of

3:02:46 the crop in Banana Ball this season. And

3:02:48 I'm not trying to take anything away

3:02:50 from the other four teams in this sport,

3:02:52 but they're just trying to sharpen

3:02:54 themselves for the next time in which

3:02:56 they face each other. I mean, the

3:02:57 Bananas and Tailgaters have just been

3:03:00 these unreal games all season long. Not

3:03:02 that Tailgaters, Firefighters won't be

3:03:04 next weekend and the Bananas and Clowns

3:03:06 won't play excellent games as well, but

3:03:09 these teams know that this is the

3:03:11 premier rivalry in 2026. And there's a

3:03:15 very strong chance at the end of this

3:03:17 season one of these two teams winds up

3:03:20 the championship the champion in 2026.

3:03:23 Quite quite insane what we just seen.

3:03:25 Tailgaters win it 4 to 3, move within

3:03:28 two games now of the Savannah Bananas in

3:03:30 the Banana Ball Championship League

3:03:31 standings. What an incredible night.

3:03:33 Keegan Woods back in Savannah, leading

3:03:35 our incredible crew. Chad Reese, our

3:03:37 producer, sitting to our left as we sit

3:03:40 here, did a great job tonight. Josh

3:03:42 Tolewski, one of the brightest minds and

3:03:44 bre- best broadcasters you will ever

3:03:46 ever hear. I'm Brett Loftis, really want

3:03:49 to thank you for making 4-year-old Brett

3:03:51 dreams come true tonight. Getting to do

3:03:53 play-by-play in a sellout football

3:03:55 stadium on ESPN where the Texas

3:03:58 Tailgaters

3:03:58 >> [music]

3:03:59 >> were the victors. Thank you to everybody

3:04:01 who also watched us on the Savannah

3:04:02 Bananas YouTube channel. [music] I must

3:04:04 tell you to Gator up.

3:04:06 BUT UNTIL NEXT WEEKEND, WE WILL SEE YOU

3:04:09 LATER.