By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Maybe the one time it's good to sound like a broken record, the Tennessee Tech pitching staff delivered yet another stellar showing Friday afternoon, guiding the Golden Eagle baseball team to its fourth straight win with a 4-1 decision over Sacred Heart at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Using the same recipe as their past three victories, the Tech squad (4-1) used early offense to set up its hurlers with room to land the plane. The Golden Eagles limited their opponent to one run or less for the fourth consecutive contest, with two of the three runs surrendered in that time of the unearned variety.
Bouncing back from a loss on opening day, Tech hurler Landon Smiddy set the tone early for the Cookeville crew, gathering the first of his four punch-outs on the day. He worked around a pair of baserunners to put up the first of many zeros on the scoreboard in the visitor's row.
A patient approach provided the Golden Eagles with instant offense, as left fielder Austin Turner drew a lead-off walk, right fielder Theo Bryant IV was plunked by a pitch, and catcher Hayden Gilliland collected a four-pitch free pass to load the bases. Center fielder Nicho Jordan delivered what would equate to the knock-out blow in the first, peppering a single up the middle to plate a pair.
The Pioneers (0-4) picked up their lone run of the contest in the second, scoring an unearned run behind a double, a passed ball, and a sac fly. The Tech bats responded right away, getting the run back with a little two-out rally.
Turner ripped a double to right-center field, setting up a hustle play just two pitches later. On a 1-0 count, Bryant hit a floating line drive to no-man's land between deep second and first base. The Tech speedster beat out a tough throw from by Sacred Heart's John Greene as Turner rounded third and took off for the plate.
Greene's throw was not only late, but also pulled the first baseman off the bag and took his attention away from the play long enough for Turner to slide in safely at home for another Tech run. Following the heads-up play, Tech led 3-0.
Senior catcher Hayden Gilliland made it a more comfortable 4-1 lead in the third, blasting the third pitch he saw to right field for a lead-off home run and his first trot around the bags of the year. Smiddy went on to chalk up three more clean sheets before handing things over to the bullpen.
Overall, the ETSU transfer covered 6.0 innings with just two hits allowed and a walk. In picking up his first win in the purple and gold, Smiddy struck out four Pioneers while allowing just the one, unearned marker.
Taking over on the hill was JUCO product Jack Erdman. The right-hander worked his way out of trouble in the seventh before settling down and finishing off the eighth and ninth with little drama. Knocking out the final three frames, Erdman inked his second save of the season with two hits and a pair of walks to team up with two strikeouts.
Seven of Tech's nine batters racked up hits in the contest while the pairing of Smiddy and Erdman tossed up seven scoreless frames to cement the win.
Game two of the series with Sacred Heart is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. CT first pitch Saturday afternoon at the Quill.
File photo by Jim Dillon
