HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Can they make it seven in a row? How about
eight? These are the inquiries surrounding the Tennessee Tech
baseball team (13-6, 5-1) as it prepares for a road contest at
Alabama A&M (2-21, 0-5) Tuesday afternoon and a home tilt
against Berea (9-10, 1-2) Wednesday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles are currently riding high on a six-game winning streak, posting an impressive 49 runs in their last five contests. Tech owns a hot start to Ohio Valley Conference play this season, starting league play 5-1. The team is also off to its best 19-game start since the 2008 campaign.
Tech will face the Bulldogs in a 3 p.m. CDT contest Tuesday afternoon. The team will return to Cookeville for a 4:30 p.m. start against Berea the next day.
SCOUTING THE ALABAMA A&M BULLDOGS
|
LAST FIVE GAMES FOR |
||||
|
Date |
H/A/N |
Opponent |
Result |
Score |
|
March 13 |
A |
Arkansas |
L |
13-0 |
|
March 15 |
A |
New Mexico State |
L |
20-6 |
|
March 16 |
A |
New Mexico State |
L |
24-4 |
|
March 16 |
A |
New Mexico State |
L |
5-3 |
|
March 17 |
A |
New Mexico State |
L |
30-3 |
The Bulldogs boast three batters with an average above .300 in Austin Hulsey, Patrick Dodson, and T.J. Lindsey. Hulsey owns a .338 mark in 22 games this season, driving in 11 runs and slugging .429. Dodson has also recorded 11 RBI on the year, batting .329 with 28 hits and 14 runs scored.
The pitching staff for Alabama A&M owns a 10.78 ERA over 182 innings. It has 102 strikeouts and has given up 307 hits, 275 runs, and walked 140 batters this season.
Alabama A&M has struggled a bit to start the season, owning a 2-21 record this season.
SCOUTING THE BEREA MOUNTAINEERS
|
LAST FIVE GAMES FOR |
||||
|
Date |
H/A/N |
Opponent |
Result |
Score |
|
March 10 |
H |
Lindenwood-Belleville |
W |
8-7 |
|
March 14 |
H |
Notre Dame College |
W |
12-9 |
|
March 16 |
H |
Indiana Southeast |
L |
9-3 |
|
March 16 |
H |
Indiana Southeast |
L |
7-1 |
|
March 17 |
H |
Indiana Southeast |
W |
9-4 |
Berea will come into Wednesday's contest in Cookeville with a 9-10 record, including a 1-2 mark in league play. The Mountaineers are coming off a 9-4 win over Indiana Southeast on Sunday.
The Mountaineers have a slew of hot bats entering the contest including Ryan Akins, Mikey Scott, and Blake Crowe. Akins and Scott both sit above the .400 mark in batting average, combing for over 30 RBI through 18 games this season. Crowe sits at .392 in 15 games played and owns a .627 slugging percentage.
In the pitching department, the Berea squad has tossed 141.2 innings, allowing 119 runs for a 5.53 ERA with 97 strikeouts.
CATCHING UP WITH TECH
|
LAST FIVE GAMES FOR |
||||
|
Date |
H/A/N |
Opponent |
Result |
Score |
| March 12 | H | Northern Kentucky | W | 13-2 |
| March 13 | H | Northern Kentucky | W | 7-1 |
| March 15 | H | Morehead State | W | 11-4 |
| March 16 | H | Morehead State | W |
11-5 |
|
March 17 |
H |
Morehead State |
W |
5-2 |
Off the heels of a perfect 5-0 week, the Golden Eagles are looking to keep the momentum going with the two non-conference match-ups in mid-week play. If they win both contests, it would mark the best 21-game start since the turn of the century.
Tech enters the week after scoring 49 runs in just five games, a blistering pace that has been propelled by clutch hitting and overall offensive dominance. Seven different Golden Eagles own a batting average of .300 or better, including Brandon Thomasson, Zach Stephens, James Abraham, Daniel Miles, Austin Wulf, Dylan Bosheers, and Zach Zarzour.
As a team, the squad has driven in 123 RBI while posting a monstrous .297 batting average. The team is slugging .449 with 15 home runs and has drawn 97 walks on the year.
The pitching staff has also done its job, striking out 172 batters in 169 innings of work. The team owns a 4.74 ERA, led by senior ace, Tristan Archer. The right hander sits at 3-1 on the year with a 3.03 ERA and 33 Ks in 32.2 innings.
