COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Sophomore Chad Oberacker’s solo home
run in the bottom of the sixth could not have come at a better
time. The bomb, which gave Tech a 5-4 lead, helped the Golden
Eagles beat Georgia State 6-4, and improve to 16-0 when leading
after the sixth inning this season.
Senior pitcher Ryan Dennick also gave the Golden Eagles (19-16,
5-8) a boost Wednesday, as he pitched the final 3.2 innings against
the Panthers(26-15), striking out five batters and allowing just
two hits, in his second save of the year.
Freshman Matthew Shepherd was the winning pitcher for Tech, as he
got the start and went 5.1 innings, giving up just one earned run
and four hits, as the Golden Eagles won the second game of the
two-game series with GSU to get the split. The two pitchers
combined for only one walk in the game.
“We got two really good pitching performances, one from a
freshman, and one from a senior,” head coach Matt Bragga
said.
After Georgia State took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an
error and a two sacrifice bunts, the Golden Eagles responded with a
big four-run third inning. After a pair of walks, Tech had two on
with one out. Alex Henry hit a single, and an error in the outfield
helped him advance to second as Heath Cheverton crossed home plate
to tie the game at one.
A sacrifice fly by Chad Oberacker put Tech up 2-1, and set the
table for sophomore A.J. Kirby-Jones to hit his 13th homer of the
season putting the Golden Eagles up 4-1, as he climbed to fifth in
single-season home runs in Tech history.
“The third was a great inning for us. A.J. stayed on a
breaking ball really well, and was able to put it over the fence in
right field,” Bragga said.
The Panthers wouldn’t go away without a fight though, as they
chipped away at the lead with a run in the fourth, and two in the
sixth, to make it 4-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
But Oberackers home run in the sixth, along with singles from Evan
Webb, Chad Hayes and Alex Henry in the seventh gave Tech its
deciding 6-4 advantage.
Henry finished the day going 2-for-4 from the plate, and added an
RBI and a run scored. Oberacker and Kirby-Jones each had two RBIs,
and Hayes scored twice.
The Golden Eagles remain at home this weekend, as they welcome Ohio
Valley Conference foe UT Martin for a three-game series April 25
and 26. A double header will begin a 1 p.m. Saturday, along with a
single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. The forecast calls for warm weather
and clear skies over the weekend, and admission to all Tech home
baseball games is free of charge.
“It’ll be a great weekend, it’ll be really fun.
UT Martin always plays really hard, they’re a great club, so
it will be a lot of fun for our guys,” Bragga said.