By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was a happy home opener for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Tuesday evening, as the Golden Eagles defeated visiting North Alabama by a final score of 7-2 in the team's first midweek action of the year.
After seeing each of its first two weekends of play pushed to the road due to inclement weather in the Cookeville area, Tech (3-4) successfully defended its home field at Quillen and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex. Great pitching and patience on offense were the keys to the night for the purple and gold, starting on the mound.
A returning freshman to the Golden Eagle pitching staff, southpaw Ty Fisher earned his first collegiate win on the night. It seemed only fitting the youngster gathered a win two days before the Tech women's basketball team competes in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Evansville, Ind., what with his mother, Cecilia Ramsey Fisher, a TTU Sports Hall of Famer and All-American, having won three league titles from 1988-91.
Fisher tossed five dominant innings for the purple and gold on Tuesday, scattering four hits and one walk while striking out a career-high six batters. Senior righty Jacob Parham backed him up with three more shutout frames and a pair punch-outs.
The two sides traded zeroes on the scoreboard through the first three frames, but it was the patience of the Tech offense that finally gave way to some runs. The Lions (0-6) gained a pair of quick outs to open the inning, but it was far from over.
The OVC's Preseason Player of the Year, Jason Hinchman drew a five-pitch walk and went on to steal second base. First baseman Golston Gillespie followed with a five-pitch free pass of his own, prompting a UNA pitching change.
Tech's patience continued to pay off as Gavin Johns saw just five pitches himself before taking a walk to load the bases. Next in line, freshman catcher Hayden Gilliland turned in a phenomenal at-bat seeing four straight offerings miss the zone after starting the count 0-2. He collected an RBI for the free pass and gave Tech a 1-0 lead.
That lead doubled in short time, as sophomore John Dyer worked a full count before earning his own bases-loaded walk and RBI. Serving as the team's designated hitter, returning freshman Luke Jones broke the game wide open, clearing the bases with a perfectly placed double to right-center field for a 5-0 lead.
Hinchman delivered another run for the Golden Eagles in the fifth, ripping his first double of the season down the third-base line to drive in senior Cody Littlejohn all the way from first base. Two innings later, Littlejohn drove in a run of his own with a single to left-center field after a one-out double up the middle by Brett Roberts.
The Lions collected a pair of runs in the ninth, but senior hurler Mark Leonard finished things off with his third strikeout in the frame.
Both Littlejohn and Jones tallied multiple hits on the day while seven different Golden Eagles dented home plate.
The Golden Eagles will gas up the transportation for an extended stretch, kicking off a seven-game road swing over the next two-and-a-half weeks. Tech will start things with a test at No. 2 Mississippi State, visiting Starkville, Miss. for a three-game series from Friday, Mar. 5 through Sunday, Mar. 7.
Photo by Thomas J. Corhern, TTU Sports Information
