By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's a matchup familiar with many around the Upper Cumberland area, and one that is usually greeted with excitement across the board. On Wednesday, the Tennessee Tech softball team will take it's nearly annual trip to Knoxville as the Golden Eagles will tangle with No. 18 Tennessee.
First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast online via the SEC Network and WatchESPN. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.
Tech (17-13, 4-3) is coming off a week to remember that not only saw the Golden Eagles go 4-2, but also featured its fair share of program history. On Wednesday (Mar. 18) during a doubleheader at Samford, TTU enjoyed one of its greatest comebacks ever, laughing in the face of a 7-0, seventh-inning deficit after scoring eight runs in the final frame to come away with a thrilling 8-7 victory in the twin bill opener.
Senior Hannah Eldridge provided the comeback's biggest hit with a game-tying grand slam, while the combination of junior Olivia Bennett and sophomore Alyssa Richards pushed Tech over the top in the latter stages of the chaotic inning. Bennett singled following the Eldridge grand slam to put the winning run on at first, before Richards drove her in with an RBI double down the right field line to give the Golden Eagles the 8-7 edge.
Richards, Eldridge, and Bennett have paced the Tech offense this year, with the trio sitting atop the club in batting average. Richards has set the bar with a .357 clip to go along with five home runs and 17 RBI, while Eldridge is second on the squad with a .337 mark in addition to four round trippers and 16 runs driven in.
Bennett's .290 batting average ranks third on the team, but the Mentone, Calif. native's outrageous power numbers have been one of the stories so far this season. After slugging three home runs during a Saturday doubleheader against Southeast Missouri, Bennett won the race to double digits in the OVC with a conference-leading 10 long balls, while her 25 RBI put the 5-foot-4 outfielder in a tie for fourth in the league.
The week's second piece of program history came off the left arm of sophomore Danielle Liberatore, who stamped her place in Golden Eagle lore after striking out a single-game record 16 UT Martin Skyhawks en route to a 2-1 win in Sunday's first game of a doubleheader.
The 16 punch outs surpassed the mark of current Tennessee Tech head coach Bonnie Bynum, who set the previous gold standard back in 2006 after whiffing 15 Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
Liberatore's history-making effort continued an impressive string for the Peotone, Ill. native that has now seen the sophomore hurler win seven-straight decisions. Liberatore has also given up just one run in 25 OVC innings this year, and her 126 strikeouts in 99 innings are second in the conference only behind SIUE's Haley Chambers.
The Volunteers (21-7) play host to Tech after seizing the club's first Southeastern Conference series of the year over the weekend. UT took two-out-of-three against nationally ranked Missouri at home, plating a combined 30 runs in the trio of tilts.
The weekend set served as a more or less a microcosm of the Vols season, as Tennessee is one of five teams in the SEC to have scored at least 200 runs on the year. Junior Gretchen Aucoin leads the team with a .410 batting average, one of nine Volunteers to be hitting at least .315, while sophomore Taylor Koenig leads the Vol charge with 11 home runs.
UT leads the all-time series 18-0.
The Golden Eagles will return home after its matchup with Tennessee, taking on Belmont over the weekend at Tech Softball Field. Changes to the schedule have been made, with Saturday's originally scheduled doubleheader moving to just a single game that will start at 2 p.m. CT, while Sunday shifts from a single game to a doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m.
