By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
STATESBORO, Ga. – Senior Angi Sakamoto scored twice and drove in two, while junior Hannah Weaver went the distance to help the Tennessee Tech softball team salvage a split with a 5-4 win over the host Georgia Southern after the Golden Eagles (3-6) were upended 6-2 in the opener to Binghamton in the final day of the GSU Invitational.
After allowing four runs over the first four innings to the Eagles (1-8) in the nightcap, Weaver (2-2) buckled down over the final three frames in blanking GSU to push Tech to the victory in the finale. In fact, the 5-foot-5 righty turned it on when it mattered most, retiring the final six Eagles to hold on to the narrow, 5-4 win.
Angi Sakamoto ignited the Golden Eagle offense from the get go, going yard to leadoff the contest for the Waipahu, Hawaii native's first home run of the season after leading Tech with eight long balls in 2014. Tech would add a second run on an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of sophomore Alyssa Richards, but the lead would prove to be short lived after Georgia Southern struck right back with a game-tying two-run home run by freshman Rowan McGuire in the bottom of the first.
Squared away at 2-2 in the top of the second, Sakamoto continued a stellar day at the plate after the lefty-swinging outfielder doubled down the right field line to score fellow senior Hannah Eldridge to give the Golden Eagles a 3-2 edge. Sakamoto would wrap up the second game with three hits in four trips to the dish, one of two Tech players to pick up a multi-hit game, with freshman Bayli Cruse accomplishing the feat as well.
The seesaw affair that saw each team trade blows over the next few innings picked up steam in the last of the third after GSU knotted up the game on a Morgan Robinson run-scoring single to right that brought home freshman Alesha Mann, who singled to begin the frame.
Tech finally took the lead for good in the top of the fourth, scoring on a Madison Taylor sacrifice fly that plated the aforementioned Bayli Cruse, who collected a hit to begin the inning, and on a crucial Eagle error that allowed Sakamoto to score a second run in the inning to extend the TTU advantage to 5-3.
The two runs were charged to senior Brooke Red (1-3), who was handed the loss after going five and two-thirds.
Junior Olivia Bennett's long ball brigade in Saturday's thrilling 4-2 extra inning victory must have been contagious for Tech, as both Alyssa Richards and freshman Callen Griffin slugged their first of home runs of the season in Sunday's opener with Binghamton.
Richard's solo shot in the bottom of the second put the Golden Eagles on the board, slicing the deficit in half after the Bearcats plated two in the top of the first behind a Katie Richard RBI single and a Lisa Cadogan run-scoring double. Cadogan would come up pivotal once again for Binghamton in the top of the third, pushing the Bearcat lead to 3-1 with an RBI sacrifice bunt that scored freshman Jessica Rutherford.
Tech struck right back in the bottom of the frame, thanks to a Callen Griifn leadoff home run that brought Tech within a run at 3-2. The round tripper was the first of the Hermitage, Tenn. native's career and helped cap off a two-hit day for the freshman after Griffin singled to begin the bottom of the seventh.
Binghamton added two more in the fifth after sophomore Bridget Hunt, who led off the inning with a double, and freshman Carrie Maniccia, who pinch-ran for Lisa Cadogan after the junior walked, would come around to score on a TTU error. Leading 5-2 heading into the top of the sixth, Jessica Rutherford provided Binghamton with a key insurance run, smacking a two-out solo home run that gave the Bearcats a 6-2 advantage.
Rutherford would end the game with a perfect 3-for-3 day at the dish with three runs scored, one of two Bearcats to notch three hits in the affair along with Katie Richard's 3-for-4 showing.
Tech sophomore Danielle Liberatore (1-4) was saddled with the loss, recording her fifth complete game of the season that saw the 5-foot-10 southpaw allow six runs (four earned) and strike out five in the loss. Freshman Sarah Miller earned the win (1-1) after the Fort Worth, Texas native went the distance, surrendering just the Richards and Griffin long balls as the only runs scored against her.
Up next for the Golden Eagles is a trip to Charleston, S.C. to take part in the Charleston Southern Tournament with five games over the weekend. Tech will lock up with UNC Wilmington and North Carolina A&T on Friday, Feb. 20, UNC Wilmington and Charleston Southern on Saturday, and then CSU once again on Sunday to close out their three-day stay.
