By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With a number of storylines entering the ballgame Sunday, the Tennessee Tech baseball team made sure to give them all a happy ending with a 14-5 victory over in-state rival Austin Peay at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The contest represented the final home game of the 2022 campaign for the Golden Eagles (25-23, 9-12). It also marked the final contest against the Governors (19-33, 10-11) as Ohio Valley Conference rivals, with Austin Peay joining the Atlantic Sun Conference starting in the 2022-23 athletic year.
Most importantly, Sunday was Senior Day, with nine members of the purple and gold being honored prior to first pitch in a special ceremony to recognize their dedication over the years to Tennessee Tech baseball. Starting pitcher Connor Adams, designated hitter John Dyer, first baseman Golston Gillespie, right-handed pitcher Logan Hewitt, left fielder Jason Hinchman, left-handed pitcher Daniel Holley, third baseman Gabe Lacy, right-handed hurler Brock Myers, and right-handed pitcher Tyler Sylvester were all honored on the day.
Things looked a little bleak early on for the fans of the purple and gold, with Austin Peay plating five runs, including four unearned, in the top of the second inning. The Golden Eagles immediately flipped the script and never looked back, getting one back immediately in the bottom half on their way to 14 unanswered runs.
Drawing three consecutive walks to load the bases, Tech sent shortstop Ed Johnson to the dish to start the comeback. The slugger delivered, ripping a line drive off the outstretched glove of the Govs' second baseman into center field for an RBI single.
Austin Peay got out the inning, but control issues would want the visitors again in the third. Hinchman led things off with a double down the left-field line. Right fielder Ryan Guardino got plunked next and catcher Will Long followed by drawing a walk to fill the bags again.
After back-to-back punchouts, the Tech bats went to work, with second baseman Nick Spardone sparking the rally. The junior ripped a two-run double down the left-field line on a 1-2 count, his first extra-base hit of the season, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Not satisfied, center fielder Austin Turner collected a free pass to load the bases once more. With Johnson threatening at the dish, the Govs threw back-to-back wild pitches to allow Long and Spardone to score and tie the game at 5-5.
While Austin Peay was able to escape the inning from further damage, the Golden Eagles were far from done. The patience at the plate continued for Tech in the fourth, with Lacy leading things off with a single to left field. Hinchman followed with the go-ahead base knock, slapping a single through the right side as Lacy took off with the pitch and pulled the second baseman with him.
Running early, Lacy rounded second and took the send from third-base coach Todd Miller around third. The Gulfport, Miss. native dove with a headfirst slide, just beating the tag from the Gov catcher to put Tech on top for good, 6-5.
Guardino followed with a five-pitch walk, as did Long to load the bases. Austin Peay went to its bullpen, but it didn't matter, as Dyer dug in and also collected a five-pitch free trip to first, driving in a run.
After a second out, Spardone continued the trend with a walk on four pitches to score another run for an 8-5 lead. Turner came on and delivered the knock-out punch, uncorking a monster swing on a 1-0 offering. The sophomore crushed a grand slam to right-center field for his fourth round-tipper of the season and second in as many games, pushing Tech out front 12-5.
For good measure, a pair of Golden Eagles took one last trot around the bags in 2022, adding solo blasts in the seventh and eighth frames. Johnson crushed a bomb to left-center field to lead off the bottom of the seventh, his 11th jack of the year. Gillespie hammered a rainbow to right-center field in the eighth, his 11th of the year and 24th of his career, moving into a tie for 15th in program history with David Garza and Matt Attaway.
Matt Gelorme (3-2) took home the win after two-and one-third masterful innings out of the bullpen, holding the Govs to two base runners and without a hit while striking out three. An injury forced his early retirement from the contest, but righty Colt Taylor was quick to take over right where Gelorme left off.
The sophomore covered the next three and one-third innings, scattering two hits and a walk while fanning three and keeping the Govs off the scoreboard. Right-hander Frankie Cresta closed out the tilt for the purple and gold, spanning the final five outs with just one hit allowed. He struck out a trio before inducing the game-ending ground out to second.
Johnson led the way offensively in the contest, finishing 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Lacy and Hinchman each tallied a pair of hits while Gillespie, Spardone, and Turner all gathered one. Turner paced the team with four RBI while Spardone added three. As a team, the Golden Eagles drew 10 walks, the second most by the team this season. Seven different players earned a free pass for the Cookeville crew.
The win gave the Golden Eagles their second OVC series win of the season. It also pulled Tech to within a game of Eastern Illinois, Murray State, and Austin Peay for fifth place in the OVC standings. SIUE and Morehead State are both just two games ahead.
The purple and gold will spend its next two weeks visiting the Bluegrass State on three different occasions. Tech will start it with a midweek trip to Kentucky on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. CT tilt. Two days later, the Golden Eagles visit Murray State for their final series against the Racers as OVC rivals and to close out the regular season.
Following the series at Murray, Tech will head back to Lexington for the OVC Tournament May 25-28, having already clinched a berth in the postseason event last weekend.
Photos by Thomas Corhern
