By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
FLORENCE, Ala. – Another monster day at the plate propelled the Tennessee Tech baseball team to a midweek victory at North Alabama Tuesday evening, as the Golden Eagles (6-5) completed the season sweep of the Lions (1-13) with an 18-4 win in Florence, Ala.
Tech hit double figures in both the hits and runs columns for the third time in four games, tallying 16 knocks on the day. Ten different Golden Eagles recorded at least one hit while five accounted for at least two.
Senior Cody Littlejohn set the tone for the purple and gold right off the bat, no pun intended, smashing the second pitch of the game out of Mike Lane Field for a lead-off home run. The Lions pushed across the tying run in the third, but Tech was quick to answer back.
In the fourth, junior center fielder Jason Hinchman led things off with a first-pitch single. The Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year promptly stole both second and third base before denting home plate on an error by the Lion catcher.
Against North Alabama responded with a tying run, but Tech put things away for good in the sixth. The Golden Eagles sent 12 batters to the plate in the frame, accounting for a whopping nine runs.
Hinchman and redshirt sophomore Golston Gillespie kicked off the inning with back-to-back walks. Freshman Hayden Gilliland followed with a free pass of his own to load the bases. Raul Ortega delivered the go-ahead run with an RBI single and Gabe Lacy followed with a two-run single of his own.
Littlejohn got plunked with a pitch to load the bases once again, setting up the biggest hit of the night. Auburn transfer Ed Johnson worked a 3-1 count before releasing a mammoth swing on a hanging breaking ball. The shortstop cleared the bags by crushing a grand slam to left field, the team's second on the year.
Later in the frame, catcher Will Long continued the scoring trend with a two-run single for the team's eighth and ninth markers of the inning. Both sides traded runs in the seventh, with Tynan Shahidi delivering the damage for Tech with a sacrifice fly.
The purple and gold struck on more time in the eighth, pouring on a six-spot that started with a Hinchman RBI single. A few batters later, Nathan McMeans watched seven pitches before drawing a bases-loaded walk for an RBI. Next up in the lineup, John Dyer blasted a double to drive in two more Tech runs.
Completing the scoring for the Golden Eagles on the night was Johnson, who added to his huge performance with a two-run single. He finished 3-for-6 with six RBI to pace the visitors from Cookeville. Brett Roberts, Hinchman, Long and Lacy each recorded multiple hits as well.
Senior hurler Jacob Parham picked up his first win of the season after completing one and two-thirds innings out of the bullpen. He made easy work of the Lions, allowing zero baserunners while striking out three.
All-in-all, the Tech pitching staff accounted for 15 punch-outs against North Alabama, with each of the five Golden Eagles striking out at least two batters.
Next on the schedule for the Tech crew is a weekend series with OVC foe Eastern Illinois. The two will square off in Cookeville at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
File photo by Robert Smith, APSU Athletics
