By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MURRAY, Ky. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team closed out the 2022 regular season in style Saturday afternoon, claiming its second Ohio Valley Conference series in a row with a decisive, 15-3 victory at Murray State at Reagan Field.
After exploding for 15 runs and 21 hits in Friday's huge victory, the Golden Eagles (27-25, 11-13) nearly duplicated the effort, dropping 15 scores and 19 more hits on the Racers (30-24, 11-13) in the final series meeting between the two programs as OVC rivals.
With the win, Tech clinched the No. 6 seed in the upcoming OVC Tournament in Lexington next week. The purple and gold will now square off with Murray State one last time in an elimination game Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. CT.
Unlike the first two contests, it was the Golden Eagles touching the scoreboard first Saturday, using the long ball to do the early damage. Working a 3-1 count, first baseman John Dyer smashed a lead-off blast to center field to get things going, his 11th of the year and 23rd of his career.
Catcher Will Long made it back-to-back jacks three pitches later, doubling the lead with a solo shot to left field, his fourth of the year. Left fielder Jason Hinchman drove in another Tech marker with a single to left-center field while catcher Hayden Gilliland made it a 4-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Golden Eagles continued to roll into the third, doubling the advantage to 8-0. Center fielder Austin Turner ripped a triple down the left-field line to plate a pair and shortstop Ed Johnson followed with a run-scoring knock to center field. Gilliland made it one more later in the frame, peppering an RBI single of his own to center field.
The Racers showed signs of life in the third, scoring twice to finally cut into the lead, but Tech pushed things back out in the fifth. With a pair of outs and two on, Gilliland kept his great contest rolling, crushing a three-run tank to left-center field for an 11-2 lead. It marked his fifth round-tripper of the year.
Murray got one more on the board in the seventh inning, making it an eight-run ball game, but the Golden Eagles put things out of reach for good in the eighth with four more runs. After a walk, double, and another walk, Johnson cleared the bases with a three-run double. Two batters later, Hinchman made it a 15-3 ballgame with a sac fly to left field.
Johnson paced the Golden Eagle offense with a 5-for-6 showing, four RBI, and three runs scored while Gilliland added five RBI on a pair of hits. Hattier finished with three hits and three runs scored while Turner scored three times with one hit and a pair of walks.
Travis Odom (2-3) picked up his second win of the season with four innings of work out of the bullpen, holding the Racers hitless with just one walk and a pair of strikeouts. Tyler Sylvester closed out the final one and one-third frames, scattering a pair of hits with a pair of punch-outs. The contest was called after eight innings due to heavy rain and inclement weather moving into the Murray area.
Tech will return to the OVC Tournament for the first time since its 2018 NCAA Super Regional run. It will represent head coach Matt Bragga's seventh consecutive trip to the event as the head man of the Golden Eagles.
File photo by Emily Armstrong
