By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Not without its fair share of drama, the Tennessee Tech baseball team (24-24, 15-12) pulled out a thrilling, 11-10 victory over in-state rival Belmont (26-24, 14-12) Sunday afternoon, holding off a late rally by the visitors to take game three and the series from its Ohio Valley Conference foe.
Junior Jake Farr got things started in the first inning, plating two runs with single up the middle to give Tech an early 2-0 lead. Belmont answered quickly, putting together a four-run second inning that included one of the team's five solo home runs on the day.
That hardly seemed to matter to the home squad, as the Golden Eagles made sure that senior day would have a happy ending, recapturing the lead in the bottom of the third. Senior David Allen kick started the rally by reaching base on one of four Bruin errors on the day, advancing all the way to third after fellow senior Dylan Bosheers ripped a single to right center field.
Farr collected his third RBI of the game on the next at bat, reaching on a fielder's choice while driving in Allen from third. Yet another senior reached base when catcher Jordan Hopkins drew a four-pitch walk. A second error in the frame by the Bruins allowed designated hitter Ryan Flick to reach safely and for Farr to come around from second base and score the tying run.
Freshman Chase Chambers gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good in his turn at the dish, grounding out to shortstop, but driving in Hopkins. Fellow freshman Trevor Putzig tallied the final marker of the inning, lacing a single to left center field to put the home squad up 6-4.
Tech turned the two-run lead into a six-run advantage in the fourth, plating four more runs thanks to four doubles in the inning. After a leadoff walk by Tyler Brazelton, Allen drove in his teammate with a two-bagger to left center field. Bosheers followed suit, torching an RBI double down the left field line. Two batters later, Flick ripped his own double down the first base line, scoring Bosheers and Hopkins (who had walked in the prior at bat) before being thrown out at third base. Chambers also doubled in the frame as well and the Golden Eagles took a 10-4 advantage into the fifth.
Belmont made things interesting on the day, cracking solo home runs in the fifth and six innings to trim the Tech lead down to 10-6, but another error by the visiting squad allowed the 11th and final Golden Eagle run to cross in the bottom of the sixth, a costly run that would prove to be the difference maker.
The Bruins added three more runs in the top of the seventh trimming Tech's advantage to just 11-9, but junior Kyle Godwin took over in relief and shut down the comeback bid for good over the final two and one third innings. With runners on first and third and two outs, Godwin took the hill and struck out Nick Egli to end the threat.
The right-handed pitcher then induced three quick outs in the top of the eighth, bringing the Golden Eagles one inning away from another series victory. Once again, Godwin worked quickly, forcing a ground out on the first pitch of the ninth and making a brilliant catch on a comebacker on the third pitch of the frame.
Yet again, Belmont made sure to make things interesting as Drew Ferguson crushed his second solo home run of the game to left center field on the third pitch he saw, cutting Tech's lead to just a single run. Godwin dug deep, however, inducing a pop up to Matt Beaty to end the contest and pick up his second save of the season.
Offensively, Farr led the Golden Eagles with three RBI in the contest while Bosheers made the most of his opportunities with three hits in four at bats. He also scored two runs while drawing the 99th walk of his career. Flick went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored and Putzig also tallied two hits and two walks on the day. Allen scored three runs while Hopkins scored twice and walked twice. Freshman Travis Moths earned his fifth victory of the season after coming on in relief and tossing three and one third innings.
The Golden Eagles have now won five consecutive OVC series after taking the weekend set from the Bruins. The victory also all but clinched a spot in the OVC tournament, with the Golden Eagles needing just one more victory next weekend at Eastern Kentucky to make the field. As is it, Tech moved into fourth place in the standings, one half game ahead of the Bruins and two behind SIUE.
Just one more home contest remains on the docket for the Tennessee Tech squad as the Golden Eagles host Western Carolina regular season home finale Monday evening at 5 p.m. CT.
Photos by Jim Dillon
