By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
Tennessee Tech Baseball Midweek Preview (Apr. 17)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team wraps up its five-game road swing with a midweek test against in-state foe and No. 20 nationally-ranked Tennessee Tuesday evening in Knoxville.
First pitch for the contest is slated for 5:30 p.m. CT at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The tilt is scheduled to be streamed live on SEC Network+.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a tough week on the diamond, falling in four contests on the road last week, starting with a 4-1 loss at in-state rival Lipscomb in midweek action. Tech then made a trip to Cape Girardeau, Mo. for an OVC series with Southeast Missouri.
The Redhawks cruised to a 10-1 victory in the series opener at Capaha Field before turning in back-to-back, comeback wins to sweep the weekend. Tech saw a 4-1 lead in Saturday's contest disappear as SEMO leaked out a 5-4 win to capture the series. Southeast Missouri then rallied for a three-run eighth to win Sunday's finale, 8-6.
When these two teams met last season, Tech pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the NCAA Division I season, besting the No. 1 Vols 3-2 in a wood-bat contest at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn. It marked the first win by any Golden Eagle athletic program over a No. 1 opponent in school history.
Last week, Tennessee earned a 14-2 win in seven innings over Eastern Kentucky during midweek play before suffering a tough, weekend sweep of its own at No. 5 Arkansas. The Razorbacks took game one of the weekend, 5-2, blanking the Vol bats after the first inning.
Arkansas worked out a series win behind a 6-3 win on Saturday before blowing the door open early in a 7-2 victory on Sunday. The Razorbacks plated three runs in each of the first and second frames and turned things over to the pitching staff to work the sweep.
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Current Weekend Schedule
Tuesday, Apr. 18 | 5:30 p.m. CT | at #20 Tennessee | Live Video | Live Stats
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2023 Record: 10-24
2023 OVC Record: 2-7
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 486-443-2 (17th Season)
Career: 537-519-3 (20th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: John Dyer (.309)
2B: Peyton Mills (8)
3B: 4 players tied (1)
HR: Peyton Mills (12)
RBI: Peyton Mills (38)
R: Peyton Mills (27)
BB: Hayden Gilliland (25)
SLG%: Peyton Mills (.638)
OB%: Troy Baunsgard (.430)
SB: Theo Bryant IV (3)
ERA: Jacob Morin (5.09)
W: 3 players tied (2)
APP: Colt Taylor (14)
IP: Hunter Mann (38.0)
K: Hunter Mann (53)
BAA: Brock Smith (.188)
SV: Brody Lanham (2)
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
2023 Record: 23-13
2023 SEC Record: 5-10
Head Coach: Tony Vitello
UT: 214-90 (6th Season)
Career: Same
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Blake Burke (.328)
2B: 3 players tied (6)
3B: Zane Denton (3)
HR: Blake Burke (13)
RBI: Zane Denton (34)
R: Christian Moore (36)
BB: Christian Moore (32)
SLG%: Blake Burke (.687)
OB%: Christian Moore (.463)
SB: Christian Moore (12)
ERA: AJ Russell (0.68)
W: Drew Beam / Chase Dollander (4)
APP: Kirby Conneli (20)
IP: Chase Dollander (47.1)
K: Chase Burns (74)
BAA: AJ Russell (.093)
SV: Seth Halvorsen (2)
Photo by Jim Dillon