COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech baseball team is off to
a hot start, winning five of its first seven games. Now the Golden
Eagles will look to take advantage of a long home stand, playing 12
of their next 13 games at home.
The action kicks off with a four-game series against Toledo,
beginning Friday, March 6. The Golden Eagles and Rockets will play
one game on Friday beginning at 3 p.m., followed by a double-header
on Saturday which starts at 1 p.m., and a single-game on Sunday
starting at 1 p.m.
Tech (5-2) is coming off a week of one-run games. The Golden Eagles
first lost to rival Middle Tennessee State 9-8, before beating
Conference-USA opponent Marshall 1-0 and The Citadel 7-6 in a
15-inning thriller. The Rockets (2-2) come to Cookeville after
taking two out of three games from Belmont in Nashville last
week.
Tech senior pitcher Adam Liberatore is coming off a stellar
performance, when he pitched seven shutout innings against
Marshall, allowing just four hits while striking out eight batters.
Liberatroe’s season ERA remains at 0.00, as he had a similar
seven shutout-inning performance against St. Peters College in the
season opener.
Liberatore isn’t the only hot pitcher Tech has going right
now. Junior Lee Henry went 1-0 and pitched 8.1 shutout innings out
of the bullpen for the Golden Eagles last week, including the final
6.1 innings against The Citadel in Tech’s 7-6 win in 15
innings.
After Tech’s series with Toledo, the Golden Eagles will
welcome Belmont to Cookeville for a single-game on March 11, with
Tech returning the favor on March 24. On March 13 and 14 Tech will
host Valparaiso for a four-game series, playing double-headers each
day.
Tech will then take the road for a single-game in Knoxville against
Southeastern Conference opponent Tennessee on March 18, before
opening up conference play against Southeast Missouri in a
three-game series in Cookeville March 21 and 22.