By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – A pair of big innings proved to be the difference for the Tennessee Tech softball team, as the Golden Eagles marched into Edwardsville and impressively swept both games of a doubleheader against a first-place Cougar squad that entered the day a staggering 11-1 in the OVC.
Four in the fifth of the twin bill opener pushed Tech (22-17, 9-5) to a 4-3 victory, before TTU mirrored a similar third inning barrage in the second game with another four spot en route to a 4-2 win to complete the sweep.
It was another big afternoon for sophomore Danielle Liberatore (13-7), who played a pivotal role in both contests with a save in the first tilt and a win in the second, striking out 13 over the course of eight and one-third innings in the double dip.
In fact, the 5-foot-10 southpaw's 10 punch outs in the second game made it three consecutive starts in which she has reached double-digit strikeouts, running her total to seven starts with at least 10 on the season as well. Liberatore ends a stellar weekend that saw the Peotone, Ill. native fan 34 batters in 19 innings from inside the circle.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the top of the fifth in the double dip opener, Tech touched up junior Haley Chambers (17-4) to the tune of four runs to seize control of the contest. Chambers had entered the game with an OVC-leading 17 wins and 195 strikeouts, but the Golden Eagles were able to get to the Coatesville, Ind. native behind some small ball, an SIUE error, Chambers control issues, and a monster hit by senior Hannah Eldridge.
TTU began the frame with a Bayli Cruse single up the middle, before Tech called on sophomore Gabby Perez to pinch run. Junior Sabrie Neeb followed the leadoff knock with a sacrifice bunt to push Perez into scoring position, before a Cougar defensive miscue on a ball hit by sophomore Kelly Kennedy put runners on the corners with one down.
Chambers promptly plunked the next two Golden Eagles, hitting junior Cortney Fry to load the bases, before an errant pitch to senior Angi Sakamoto forced in a run that deadlocked the tilt at 1-1.
With the bases still juiced, senior Hannah Eldridge delivered the game's biggest hit, a bases clearing double into right center to give the Golden Eagles a 4-1 edge.
In the bottom of the sixth, Edwardsville (29-9, 11-3) finally got to senior Erica Tuck (2-1), who once again proved vital on the slab with another effective outing. With two out and a runner on first, sophomore Whitney Lanphier doubled home fellow sophomore Allison Smiley to cut it to a 4-2 affair, before senior Brittany Toney brought around Lanphier with a run-scoring single to center to put the Cougars within a run.
The consecutive knocks brought an end to Tuck's day, as TTU Head Coach Bonnie Bynum called on Liberatore, who promptly induced freshman Tess Eby on a fly ball to right to put an end to any further trouble.
Liberatore's escape in the sixth transitioned into a lights-out seventh for the sophomore hurler, who struck out the side in order to notch her first save of the season.
As far as Tuck is concerned, the Maryville, Tenn. native recorded her second win of the season after tossing five and two-thirds, three-run, seven-hit ball with three punch outs as well. In Tuck's last three OVC outings, the 5-foot-9 right hander has given up just five earned runs in 17 and one-third innings of work, posting a 2.02 ERA over that stretch.
Haley Chambers suffered only her fourth loss of the season, despite striking out 11 as part of a complete-game effort.
Scoreless in the day's second game, Tech erupted with a four-spot in the top of the third to break the 0-0 deadlock. A two-out Olivia Bennett RBI double kicked off the scoring, before Sabrie Neeb belted a three-run home run two batters later to give the Golden Eagles a four-run cushion.
Neeb's round tripper was the second in the last six games for the Front Royal, Va. native, wrapping up a three-hit day for the 5-foot-7 infielder.
Liberatore made the four-run lead stand, only falling into trouble in the bottom of the fifth during an inning that featured a pair of Cougar runs. Sophomore Amy Hunt started the frame with a single to center, before the Troy, Ill. native advanced to second on a Jordan LaFave sacrifice bunt. A hit off the bat of Haley Chambers, coupled with a Tech error, put SIUE on the scoreboard, before Chambers touched up home two batters later on an Allison Smiley run-scoring single that trimmed the Golden Eagle advantage to 4-2.
The Smiley knock was the last base runner to reach for the Cougars, as Liberatore would go on to set the next seven SIUE hitters down, three via the "K" en route to the double-digit strikeout performance.
Freshman Baylee Douglass (11-4) was hit with the loss after going the distance and allowing four runs on six hits.
Fresh off winning three-out-of-four over the weekend, Tech will close out its seven-game road trip with a doubleheader at Georgia State on Tuesday. Game one in Atlanta is slated to begin at 2 p.m. CT.
