By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Five non-conference tournaments, seven matchups with 2014 NCAA Tournament teams, and a trio of clashes with "Power Five" conference schools help highlight a challenging 2015 Tennessee Tech softball schedule, with the Golden Eagles set to play 56 regular season games in the upcoming campaign.
The madness starts with a trip to Kennesaw, Ga. for the first of the five non-conference tournaments on the docket, as Tech will take its shot in the Kennesaw State Tournament with four games in two days, beginning with a Feb. 7 double dip against Northern Kentucky and Ohio.
"I think this schedule has some good matchups for us," third-year TTU head coach Bonnie Bynum claimed on her initial impressions of the slate. "We are playing a wide variety of competition and getting to play some tough opponents along the way before starting our conference lineup."
A matchup with Ohio is one of the seven tilts with a school that reached last year's NCAA Tournament and will also be one of two meetings with the Bobcats this season after the Golden Eagles lock up with the club on Feb. 27 as part of the UT Chattanooga Tournament. Last year's battle with Ohio was a thriller that saw Tech capture an extra inning, 6-5 victory, one of three extra inning wins last year as the Golden Eagles went 3-1 in extras in 2014.
Tech will remain in the state of Georgia the following weekend for the second of its five non-conference tourneys, heading to Statesboro for the Eagle Round Robin hosted by Georgia Southern. TTU will square off with the host team twice along with Boston College, Campbell, and Binghamton to make up a string of five games in three days.
"These tournaments have some great competition, and we will see pitching and hitting during these games that will test our players and help prepare us for the level of competition in our conference," Bynum said on the prospects of playing in the five upcoming tourneys. "The tournaments also always allow us to see people in a variety of positions and play with our lineup."
Tech will take aim in the Charleston Southern Tournament with five affairs in three days from Feb. 20-22, the UT Chattanooga Tourney with five more games in three days from Feb. 27-29, and then will close out tournament play with a trip to Johnson City, Tenn. for four tilts in two days as part of the ETSU Tournament, Mar. 7-8. Sandwiched in the middle of the Chattanooga and East Tennessee State Tournament is a matchup with Lipscomb in Nashville on Mar. 5. The Bisons were an NCAA Tournament team a year ago, posting an impressive 41-15 record, rolling off a 19-3 mark at home.
Conference play begins in Nashville for TTU with the Golden Eagles heading to Tennessee State for a three-game series with the Tigers, Mar. 14-15. A year ago Tech busted out the brooms in sweeping TSU in a three-game set in Cookeville, helping spark a season-ending tear that saw the Golden Eagles seize 13 of their final 16 games to close out the 2014 campaign.
Tech's first home game isn't until Mar. 21, the 32nd game of the season, as TTU will host Southeast Missouri for a conference doubleheader. The twin bill is part of a lengthy stretch of home action for the Golden Eagles, with Tech playing seven-straight in Cookeville and 14-of-19 at home from Mar. 21 to Apr. 19. During the extended stay at Tech Softball Field, the Golden Eagles will hook up with Jacksonville State for a three-game series on Apr. 11-12, last season's regular season Ohio Valley Conference champions after the Gamecocks went 22-5 in OVC play in 2014. Tech would earn the last laugh over JSU though, eliminating the No. 1 seeded Gamecocks on their home field in last year's OVC Postseason Tournament after Tech rallied from a 3-0 sixth inning deficit with a dramatic sixth run sixth.
The Golden Eagles will travel to the defending Conference Tournament champions, SIU Edwardsville, for a doubleheader on Apr. 4. Tech will close out the regular season with six-straight on the road, traveling to Eastern Kentucky Apr. 25-26 for a three-game series with the Colonels, before marching to Morehead State for a three-game set with the Eagles, May. 2-3.
The OVC Tournament is scheduled for May 6-9.
Admission to all of TTU's regular season home games at Tech Softball Field is free of charge. Game days and start times are subject to change.
