By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Ohio Valley Conference action is here as the Tennessee Tech softball team opens up its conference campaign with a trip to Nashville to tangle with Tennessee State (7-11) in a three-game series. A doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. CT is on the books for Saturday, while a single game to close out the set is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The conference opener comes on the heels of a light week for the Golden Eagles (11-10) after their mid-week twin bill with Georgia State was postponed due to poor weather in Atlanta. The double dip will be made up on Apr. 7. In fact, Mother Nature has been less than cooperative this season as Tech has been forced to postpone or cancel nine contests already this year.
As far as the OVC opener is concerned, TTU will travel west down I-40 having won five of the last six and nine of the last 13, with two of the losses during that stretch coming to No. 10 Kentucky.
The Golden Eagles recently wrapped up their final non-conference tournament over the weekend, seizing three out of four in the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State. Late inning heroics were the theme in Saturday's double dip sweep, with TTU using a pair of late home runs to slip past both Radford and the host ETSU.
Squared away at 2-2 in the opener with the Highlanders, sophomore Alyssa Richards blasted a go-ahead and eventual game-winning home run, before senior Angi Sakamoto accomplished a similar feat in the nightcap with the Buccaneers.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the seventh, Tech tied the game with consecutive doubles off the bat of juniors Sabrie Neeb and Madison Taylor, setting the stage for Sakamoto. The Waipahu, Hawaii native delivered with a game-winning two-run round tripper to push the Golden Eagles to a perfect Saturday.
Sunday's split with the same two schools featured a big day by senior Hannah Eldridge as the 5-foot-5 second baseman recorded five hits in the two games to wrap up a stellar weekend that saw Eldridge hit .500 (7-14) in the quartet of contests.
The torrid stretch bumped Eldridge's batting average to a team-leading .356, one of two Golden Eagles to be hitting above .300 along with Alyssa Richards' .333 clip. Richards also has four home runs and 12 RBI, while junior Olivia Bennett continues to be an offensive force to be reckoned with as the Mentone, Calif. native is second in the OVC in both home runs with six and RBI with 17.
From inside the circle, Tech enjoyed a solid weekend in Johnson City, limiting its opponents to only two runs in three of the four contests. Sophomore Danielle Liberatore excelled in her two outings, picking up a pair of complete game victories to notch her win streak to three straight. Liberatore allowed just three earned runs in 14 innings of work, while the 5-foot-10 southpaw walked only three and struck out 16.
Liberatore has whiffed 81 batters in 70 innings on the rubber, putting the Peotone, Ill. native second in the OVC behind SIU Edwardsville's Haley Chambers. Liberatore has also paced Tech with six wins and a 2.50 ERA, while junior Hannah Weaver has looked sharp as well with a 5-3 record.
Freshman Taylor Waldrop has emerged from inside the circle as well after an impressive weekend that saw the Canon, Ga. native allow just one run in six innings. Waldrop also recorded the first save of her collegiate career after blanking Radford over the final two innings in Saturday's affair.
The Golden Eagles have enjoyed tremendous success against Tennessee State over the years, posting a 56-11 overall record over big blue. Tech will head to Tiger Field on a five-game win streak over TSU, which includes a three-game sweep in last year's series in Cookeville. The Golden Eagles put together the whole package in busting out the brooms, outscoring the Tigers 23-2 in 2014.
In fact, last year's sweep served as a turning point in Tech's season as the Golden Eagles parlayed the three wins into a red-hot stretch to close out the year that saw TTU capture 13 of the final 16 games.
Tennessee State will welcome in the Golden Eagles having won three of the last four, scoring at least eight runs a game in wins over Northern Kentucky, Alabama A&M, and Alabama State.
This year's Tiger offense features six players hitting at least .300, led by senior Kate Morris' .356 clip, while the Lawrenceburg, Tenn. native also boasts a conference-best eight doubles on the year. Junior Lindsey Burgess is tops on the Tigers with five home runs and 12 RBI.
