By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The road stretch continues for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles head south for an Ohio Valley Conference series with rival Jacksonville State.
The three games series marks a rematch of the OVC Tournament Championship games last season that saw the Gamecocks cap a remarkable six-game win streak facing elimination to capture the league title over the Golden Eagles. Tech will take to the diamond looking to turn the tide back in the favor of the purple and gold starting with a 6 p.m. CT tilt Friday night.
Game two of the series features a 1 p.m. start Saturday afternoon with Sunday's finale also beginning with a 1 p.m. first pitch. The first two games of the series can be viewed live on the OVC Digital Network while fans can also follow all three contests via live stats at jsugamecocksports.com.
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Tennessee Tech at Jacksonville State |
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| Apr. 10-12, 2015 | Jacksonville, Ala. | Rudy Abbott Field (1,500) |
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| FRI. | 6:00 P.M. |
SAT. | 1:00 P.M. |
SUN. | 1:00 P.M. |
| Probable Starters: | Probable Starters: | Probable Starters: |
| TTU - RHP Chris Chism 5-1, 3.72 ERA, 38.2 IP, 40 K |
TTU - RHP Evan Fraliex 3-2, 4.66 ERA, 46.1 IP, 25 K |
TTU - TBA 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP, 0 K |
| JSU - RHP Zachary Fowler 5-2, 3.23 ERA, 47.1 IP, 44 K |
JSU - LHP Tony Urban 4-2, 5.45 ERA, 38.0 IP, 28 K |
JSU - RHP Jake Walsh 1-0, 5.46 ERA, 28.0 IP, 23 K |
SERIES INFO
Dates: Apr. 10-12, 2015
Times: 6 PM | 1 PM | 1 PM CT
Location: Jacksonville, Ala.
Stadium: Rudy Abbott Field
Radio: None
TV: None
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Tech leads, 25-24
Bragga vs: 13-26
First Meeting: Unknown
Last Meeting: May 25, 2014
MULTIMEDIA
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Audio: None
Video: None
Webstream: Friday | Saturday
Twitter Updates: @TNTech_Baseball
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2015 Record: 13-18
2015 OVC Record: 6-9 (8th)
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
Career: 308-324-2 (12th season)
TTU: 308-324-2 (12th season)
STAT LEADERS
AVG: Dylan Bosheers (.330)
2B: Ryan Flick/Jordan Hopkins (11)
HR: Bosheers/Flick (5)
RBI: Flick (33)
SB: Bosheers/Matt Cunningham/Anthony El Chibani (3)
JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS
2015 Record: 17-12
2015 OVC Record: 6-6 (6th)
Head Coach: Jim Case
Career: 438-363 (14th season)
JSU: 438-363 (14th season)
STAT LEADERS
AVG: Ryan Sebra (.400)
2B: Sebra (9)
HR: Taylor Hawthorne/Paschal Petrongolo/Hayden White (3)
RBI: Petrongolo (26)
SB: Gavin Golsan (20)
CLOSING IN...
All-American shortstop Dylan Bosheers has been the iron man of the Tennessee Tech baseball program his entire career, missing just three games (this season) over his four-year span in the purple and gold. Over that time period, the senior has paved his way into the top 10 career marks in several statistical categories.
After Tuesday's contest at Middle Tennessee, Bosheers passed Hall of Famer Mark Maberry to tie for ninth all time in games played with 197. He now ranks third in Tech history in runs scored with 172 and is tied for third with 49 career doubles, matching Tech legends A.J. Kirby-Jones and Chad Oberacker.
He also takes the four spot in hits (244), total bases (383) and at bats (744), as well as the the No. 5 ranking in career RBI with 155. With five home runs on the year, Bosheers has moved into ninth place all time with 26 career bombs.
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 31 games this season, Tech has mounted six 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.
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 for the Golden Eagles in the ninth.
In Nashville, 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.
The series-opener against Eastern Illinois saw the Panthers take a 6-4 lead into the fifth inning before the Tech squad tied things up in the bottom half. The Golden Eagles scored three more times in the sixth and then held off a seventh-inning rally to take down EIU 9-7.
The Golden Eagles showed more resiliency in a midweek bout with in-state rival Middle Tennessee, exploding for six runs in the seventh inning to rally from a 2-0 deficit. Tech captured the contest 6-5 behind a huge three-run RBI by senior Jordan Hopkins and big four-out save by closer Cain Sloan.
FRESHMAN FOCUS
Freshman Ryan Flick, Tech's designated hitter, has been a huge boon to the offense all season long. Number 11 leads the Golden Eagles with 33 RBI on the year (which also ranks in the top five in the OVC), thanks to a slugging percentage of .518 and 16 extra base hits. He is tied for the team-lead with five home runs.
Fellow freshman Chase Chambers ranks fifth on the TTU squad with a .274 average. He has drawn a team-high 17 walks and tallied a .443 slugging percentage and .394 on base percentage this season. The first baseman also ranks third on the squad with 20 RBI.
MR. 300
With a 14-2 win over Northern Illinois on Feb. 28, 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 Tony Marable
