By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After wrapping up its three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at UT Martin Monday afternoon, the Tennessee Tech baseball team will get right back at it Tuesday evening as the Golden Eagles will travel to Nashville for a match-up with the defending national champion and fourth-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.
With a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch scheduled, the Golden Eagles will look to pull their second upset of Vanderbilt in two years. In the 2013 campaign, the Tech squad pulled off arguable the biggest win in program history, defeating the No. 2 ranked Commodores, 10-9.
This season's dual between the two in-state programs can be view on SEC Network + and followed on live stats at vucommodores.com.
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Tennessee Tech at #4 Vanderbilt |
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| Mar. 17, 2015 | Nashville, Tenn. | Hawkins Field (3,626) | |
| TUE. | 6:30 P.M. | |
| Possible Starters: | |
| TTU - RHP Jacob Honea 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 1 K |
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| VU - RHP Jordan Sheffield 3-0, 1.75 ERA, 25.2 IP, 23 K |
SERIES INFO
Dates: Mar. 17, 2015
Times: 6:30 PM CT
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Stadium: Bush Stadium
Radio: None
TV: SEC Network +
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Vandy leads, 42-21
Bragga vs: 1-8
First Meeting: 1928
Last Meeting: March 4, 2014
MULTIMEDIA
Live Stats: Tuesday
Audio: None
Video: None
Twitter Updates: @TNTech_Baseball
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2015 Record: 8-8 (as of 3/15/15)
2015 OVC Record: 2-3 (T-6th)
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
Career: 303-314-2 (12th season)
TTU: 303-314-2 (12th season)
STAT LEADERS
AVG: Chase Chambers (.353)
2B: David Allen (7)
HR: Dylan Bosheers (4)
RBI: Ryan Flick (21)
SB: Bosheers (3)
VANDERBILT COMMODORES
2015 Record: 16-4
2015 SEC Record: 3-0 (T-1st)
Head Coach: Tim Corbin
Career: 638-392 (18th season)
VU: 532-254-0 (13th season)
STAT LEADERS
AVG: Rhett Wiseman (.444)
2B: Wiseman (8)
HR: Wiseman (4)
RBI: Zander Wiel (20)
SB: Dansby Swanson (8)
STRAIGHT UP DEALIN'
Fans at the series-opening contest against UT Martin over the weekend got the chance to witness history as senior Chris Chism unleashed the greatest performance of his career on the Skyhawks. The right-hander tossed a one-hit shutout in Martin, fanning a career-best 17 batters along the way.
After surrendering a hit to the leadoff batter of the game, Chism retired 23 straight Skyhawk players, amassing 13 strikeouts over that span. He allowed just one walk and a total of four base runners (he also hit a batter and an error allowed the other runner). With the victory, he moved to 3-0 on the year.
Just one year prior, Chism took on the Skyhawks in the friendly confines of Bush Stadium and enjoyed similar success. His first action against UT Martin resulted in a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts.
Chism's 17 strikeouts marked the most by a Golden Eagle hurler in nearly 30 years, falling just behind the program record of 19 tossed by TTU Sports Hall of Famer, Todd Kemp. The OVC-record holder for both single-season and career strikeouts, Kemp accomplished his single-game mark for Tech back in 1988 against Tennessee State.
Of his 17 K's on the night, Chism set down 10 swinging and the other seven looking.
DOWN MAYBE, BUT NEVER OUT
If there's been anything to learn about this year's version of the Golden Eagles, it's that you can knock them down, but don't you dare count them out. In just 14 games this season, Tech has already mounted four come-from-behind victories when trailing in the fifth inning or later.
In the second game of the year, the Golden Eagles headed into the bottom of the ninth, trailing 7-2 to a feisty Longwood squad. Six runs later, Tech walked off with its first victory of the year. A week later, the squad found itself trailing to a dangerous Davidson team in the fifth by two runs. Tech tied it in the bottom half before the flood gates opened up with an eight-run sixth for a 12-5 win.
Just last week, Morehead State mounted its own rally, taking a two-run lead in the top of the sixth while looking for a series sweep. Two quick runs in the bottom half of the frame led to an exhilarating 9-8, walk-off W in the ninth.
And just last week, the Golden Eagles looked sure to be done in the fifth, trailing in-state rival Lipscomb by six runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. The Golden Eagles proved they don't care, dropping a seven-spot to take the lead for good in an unreal 12-8 victory.
NO SUCH THING AS A POWER OUTAGE
One year after leading the nation with a monstrous 83 home runs, many experts believed there was just no way Tech could match the power-hitting output of the 2014 squad. Gone were the bats of Zach Stephens, Brandon Thomasson and Daniel Miles. Last year the three All-Americans combined for 52 dingers. Add Jordan Parris to the mix and there's another five long balls missing from the lineup.
But a closer look into the numbers reveals that this year's team, stock full of ultra-young talent (six freshmen have started at least three games this year), has been just potent with extra base hits as last year's.
Here's a comparison of the 2014 and 2015 squads power numbers 16 games into the season:
| 2014 Team | 2015 Team | |
| Doubles | 37 | 40 |
| Triples | 4 | 1 |
| Home Runs | 17 | 11 |
| Total | 58 | 52 |
ALREADY IN MIDSEASON FORM
Preseason All-American Dylan Bosheers is starting to show just why he was given such a high honor. For the season, the senior is batting .339 while leading the Golden Eagles with 18 runs scored and four home runs and ranking second with 17 RBI.
He is slugging .627 on the year and owns an on base percentage of .440 thanks to 10 walks and three hit-by-pitches. He has made just one error between stints at second base and shortstop, the latter of which he returned to this past week after recovering from an offseason arm injury.
He's taken his production to a new level in OVC play, batting a team-high .444 with six runs scored, three home runs and eight RBI. Bosheers is also slugging .944 with an on base percentage of .500. He has walked four times with zero strikeouts.
FRESHMAN FOCUS
Freshman Chase Chambers has really come alive after a slow start to the season, leading the Golden Eagles with a .353 average. He has drawn a team-high 12 walks and tallied a .471 slugging percentage and .492 on base percentage.
Fellow freshman Ryan Flick, Tech's designated hitter, has also been a huge boon to the offense. Number 11 leads the Golden Eagles with 21 RBI on the year, thanks to a slugging percentage of .500 and eight extra base hits. He ranks second on the squad with two dingers.
MR. 300
With a 14-2 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday, head coach Matt Bragga earned his 300th career victory, just the second coach in program history to accomplish the feat. He currently ranks second to Hall of Fame coach David Mays in total wins.
Photo by Jim Dillon
