By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – It was a successful Ohio Valley Conference opening day for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Saturday evening, as the Golden Eagle offense came alive in a 13-6 victory against in-state rival Austin Peay at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Backed by some timely pitching, the bats were singing for the purple and gold, all to the tune of 13 runs on 12 hits. Shining the brightest on the night was redshirt sophomore Golston Gillespie, who drove in a career-high five runs with a pair of home runs.
Tech got the scoring going right out of the chute, thanks to sophomore shortstop Ed Johnson. The Auburn transfer ripped an RBI single to left-center field after senior Cody Littlejohn led off the contest with a double.
Austin Peay answered back in the second, smacking a two-run dinger to right field to take a 2-1 lead on its home field. It wouldn't last long.
Returning freshman Brett Roberts tied the ball game up at 2-2 in the top of the third, kick-starting a huge inning with an RBI double down the left-field line. But it was Gillespie that delivered the big swing two batters later.
With the bases loaded, the first baseman cracked a shot to right field for the team's first grand slam of the season and his first round-tripper as a Golden Eagle. It also gave Tech a 6-2 lead it would never relinquish.
Catcher Will Long scored in the sixth on a passed ball to add to the advantage, but the Govs refused to go quietly, smacking another two-run home run to left field. The moon shot cut the Tech lead to 7-4, but Tech put things away for good in the eighth.
Long began the scoring in the frame with an RBI single through the left side with two outs. Right fielder Theo Bryant IV followed with an RBI double to right-center field. Freshman Hayden Gilliland kept the train rolling with an RBI single through the right side, giving Tech 10 runs on the day.
Ed Johnson made it an even dozen for the Golden Eagles, ripping a two-run single to left field to round out a five-run frame for the visitors. Austin Peay gathered its third home run of the night and scored a second a run on an error in the bottom half, but it proved too little too late.
Gillespie returned the favor in the ninth, sending his second jack job of the night to right field, giving the purple and gold a 13-6 lead.
Senior hurler Mark Leonard, who picked up his second win of the season, closed out the final two frames for the Golden Eagles, holding the home team both scoreless and hitless. He punched out five Govs with just one walk to finish things off.
Roberts led Tech with three hits in the game while Littlejohn, Johnson and Gillespie all tallied two apiece. Nine different Golden Eagles dented home plate at least once on the night while seven earned at least one hit.
The OVC series between the two in-state rivals will wrap up Sunday, with a doubleheader slated to start at 11:00 a.m. CT in Clarksville.
File photo by Robert Smith, APSU Athletics