By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – It was a tough day at the office for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Saturday, as the Golden Eagles dropped both ends of a doubleheader in Ohio Valley Conference action at Jacksonville State.
Competing at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium, the Gamecocks (11-11, 4-2) got hot early and racked up 17 hits to defeat the Golden Eagles (9-9, 4-5) 8-0. Both sides traded zeroes in the first, but Jax State got going in the second and didn't look back.
The home team scored a pair in the second, one in the third and two more in the fourth to jump out to a 5-0 lead. JSU tacked on a couple of insurance runs in the seventh and one more for good measure in the eighth.
The Golden Eagle offense, which had been red hot entering the weekend, was held to just five hits in the opening tilt. The struggles would continue for the purple and gold in the second contest of the day, as the JSU pitching staff combined to hold the visitors without a base knock.
The Gamecocks got the early lead again in game two, plating a pair in the opening frame. Jacksonville State collected three more in the fourth, rounding out the scoring for both sides the rest of the day.
Right-handed hurlers Mark Leonard and Brocks Myers combined to knock out the last out of the fourth and cover the fifth, sixth and seventh frames without allowing a hit or a run. Tossing the final inning of the contest was redshirt junior Nic Dye.
His season debut was a particularly special one for the Carrollton, Ga. native, competing in his first contest since Mar. 15, 2019. Dye made six appearances on the 2019 season before suffering a season-ending injury, the second of his career. During Tech's 2018 run to the NCAA Super Regionals, the southpaw went down with a year-ending injury in his 10th appearance of the year, a start at Tennessee.
Dye allowed one hit and a pair of walks in his return, but kept the Gamecocks off the scoreboard.
Tech will return to action with a road tilt at in-state foe Vanderbilt on Tuesday, Mar. 30. First pitch is currently slated for 6:30 p.m. CT in Nashville.
File photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
