By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
Tennessee Tech Baseball Midweek Preview (Apr. 18)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team kicks off a five-game road stretch Tuesday evening, traveling to Nashville and Hawkins Field for a midweek tilt with No. 5 nationally-ranked Vanderbilt.
The contest will feature a 6:00 p.m. CT first pitch and will be streamed on SEC Network+. It marks the first of five straight road games for the Golden Eagles, who will visiting UT Martin for a three-game series this weekend and visit Lipscomb next Tuesday in a 6:00 p.m. affair.
The Golden Eagles enter the Tuesday match-up with Vandy after securing their first Ohio Valley Conference series of the season, winning a pair of home contests against Southeast Missouri over the weekend. Tech also earned its first-ever victory over a No. 1 nationally-ranked opponent last Tuesday, edging in-state foe Tennessee, 3-2.
Right-hander hurler Carter Gannaway was rewarded for his heroics in the win over the Vols, collecting both OVC Pitcher and Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors after tossing the final five and two-thirds innings in the contest. He held the nation's top offense without a hit while striking out a career-high nine batters to pick up his third win of the season.
This season, the purple and gold rank 10th nationally in home runs per game (1.76), 15th in home runs (58), and 30th in both scoring (7.8 runs per game) and slugging percentage (.494). Tech leads the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average (.297), on-base percentage (.392), runs (258), sacrifice flies (18), and total bases (587).
Slugger Jason Hinchman has paced the Golden Eagle offense, ranking fourth nationally with 0.45 home runs per game and fifth with 15 total dingers. His 59 career round-trippers are just three shy of tying both the program and OVC records held by former Golden Eagles Zach Stephens and Kevin Strohschein.
Vanderbilt comes into the contest after collecting its second Southeastern Conference series win over Florida, taking the first two games before falling to the Gators, 4-3, in 10 innings on Sunday. The Commodores also took midweek victory against Western Kentucky.
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Tennessee Tech at #5 Vanderbilt | Tuesday, Apr. 19, 6:00 PM
Nashville, Tenn. | Hawkins Field (3,802)
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2022 Record: 20-13
2022 OVC Record: 4-5
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 466-405-2 (16th Season)
Career: 517-481-3 (19th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Jason Hinchman (.375)
2B: Gabe Lacy (10)
3B: Ed Johnson / Austin Turner (1)
HR: Jason Hinchman (15)
RBI: Jason Hinchman (43)
R: Ed Johnson (38)
BB: Hayden Gilliland (24)
SLG%: Jason Hinchman (.743)
OB%: Jason Hinchman (.463)
SB: Ed Johnson / Austin Turner (3)
ERA: Brock Myers (3.41)
W: Connor Adams (4)
APP: Colt Taylor (13)
IP: Peyton Calitri (57.0)
K: Peyton Calitri (42)
BAA: Peyton Calitri (.244)
SV: Jackson Berry (2)
VANDERBILT COMMODORES
2022 Record: 25-10
2022 SEC Record: 7-8
Head Coach: Tim Corbin
VU: 827-387-1 (20th Season)
Career: 933-525-1 (25th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Dominic Keegan (.411)
2B: Spencer Jones (14)
3B: Enrique Bradfield Jr. (4)
HR: Dominic Keegan (7)
RBI: Dominic Keegan (35)
R: Enrique Bradfield Jr. (35)
BB: Davis Diaz (25)
SLG%: Dominic Keegan (.690)
OB%: Dominic Keegan (.473)
SB: Enrique Bradfield Jr. (19)
ERA: Devin Futrell (2.45)
W: Devin Futrell (7)
APP: Thomas Schultz (14)
IP: Chris McElvain (46.2)
K: Carter Holton (66)
BAA: Devin Futrell (.185)
SV: Thomas Schultz (5)
Photo by Emily Armstrong
