By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A battle through four innings turned into a lopsided final Friday night for the Tennessee Tech baseball team, as the Golden Eagles fell in their Ohio Valley Conference series opener to longtime rival Morehead State, 9-2, at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The visiting Eagles (17-12, 4-3) came out firing on all cylinders, using four straight hits out of the gates to plate an early pair in the first. Tech Hurler Landon Smiddy settled down from there, picking up three straight outs to prevent further damage.
It took some time for the Golden Eagles (17-13, 4-3) to get its footing offensively, but the purple and gold finally broke through in the third, starting with a one-out double to right-center field off the bat of center fielder Jackson Green.
Left fielder Austin Turner followed things up with a double of his own, this one to left-center field that scored Green from second base. The two-bagger cut the deficit in half as the contest progressed to the fourth.
Smiddy struck out the side in the top half, slinging the momentum back to his bats. It paid off early, as catcher Hayden Gilliland clobbered a no-doubt, lead-off bomb down the right-field line to square the contest. It marked the senior's sixth long ball of the season and the 23rd of his career, moving him into a tie for 19th in program history with Daniel Miles.
Following the round-tripper, Morehead State took control and never looked back. With two outs in the fifth and a runner on first, Tech looked like it was on its way to another scoreless frame in the books behind a fly ball issued by Smiddy into foul territory down the left-field line.
The Golden Eagle defense lost the ball in the night sky, however, and the ball fell foul for the first strike. That chain of events led to an offensive outburst as the next six Eagles reached and accounted for five runs before the end of the inning.
Morehead tacked on two more runs in the seventh for the final 9-2 score, holding the purple and gold scoreless and to just two hits over the final five innings.
Right-hander Reece McDuffie covered a pair of scoreless frames to end the night for Tech, allowing just a single runner on a hit-by-pitch while striking out three. First baseman Nicho Jordan led Tech with two hits and a walk while six other Golden Eagles recorded knocks on the evening.
Game two of the weekend series will feature a first pitch of 2:00 p.m. CT Saturday afternoon at the Quill.
Photo by Jim Dillon
