By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Coming off a strong weekend in OVC play that saw the Tennessee Tech softball team capture three-of-four up north, the Golden Eagles head to Atlanta to tangle with Georgia State in a non-conference doubleheader. Game one of the twin bill is slated to begin at 2 p.m. CT.
The matchup with the Panthers (23-15) marks the second time this season that the two schools will attempt to square off on the diamond, after inclement weather postponed a Mar. 11 double dip.
After splitting with Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Tech (22-17, 9-5) smacked an exclamation point on its quartet of weekend contests with a Sunday doubleheader sweep over an SIU Edwardsville squad that entered the day with a staggering 11-1 conference record.
The Golden Eagles used clutch pitching and timely hitting throughout the clashes up north, highlighted by sophomore Danielle Liberatore's stellar showing inside the circle. The 5-foot-10 southpaw appeared in all four weekend games, surrendering just two earned runs in 19 innings of work to post a miniscule 0.74 ERA during that time period.
Liberatore (13-7) notched a pair of wins and a save during the impressive stretch, striking out 34 in the process that included a 15-strikeout showing as part of a 1-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday. The outstanding performance cemented the Peotone, Ill. native's place in the TTU record books, becoming the only pitcher in Tech history to strikeout at least 15 in a game twice in a career.
Dating back to a Mar. 31 appearance at Chattanooga, Liberatore has whiffed at least 10 in her last three starts, pushing her season-total to an eye-popping 176 in 136 and two-thirds innings.
Senior Erica Tuck (2-1) has produced similar success of late, with the 5-foot-9 right-hander posting a 2.02 ERA in her last three OVC outings, a stretch that has featured 17 and two-thirds innings on the slab for the Maryville, Tenn. native.
Offensively, a pair of big innings played a pivotal role in leading Tech to Sunday's sweep over SIUE. The Golden Eagles came back from a 1-0 deficit with a four-run fifth inning in the opener, before the club broke a scoreless tie with another four-spot in the top of the third in game two.
A duo of upperclassmen led the charge during the momentum-changing frames, with senior Hannah Eldrdige smacking a three-run double in the first game to put Tech on top, before a Sabrie Neeb three-run home run served as the difference-maker in the second game.
Neeb has collected a hit in five of the last six games for the Golden Eagles, drilling a pair of home runs during that stretch as well. Senior Angi Sakamoto has mirrored a similar run of success that has seen the Waipahu, Hawaii native hit safely in nine of the last 10 games, five of which have been multi-hit affairs.
Sakamoto is one of four Golden Eagles to be hitting over .300, coming in third on the club with a .311 average. Sophomore Alyssa Richards has paved the way with a .342 mark, while Hannah Eldridge's .319 clip is good enough for second on the team, and freshman Bayli Cruse's .304 average puts her in fourth on the squad.
Tech's originally scheduled doubleheader with Georgia State featured a red-hot Panther club that was riding a 13-game win streak into the mid-March meeting. Now, GSU comes into the twin bill on an eight-game slide, scoring a combined six runs in the club's last five games.
Even with the tough stretch, Georgia State has shown that they can still swing the aluminum with the best of them. The Panthers are third in the Sun Belt with a .329 team-batting average, second in the conference with a .569 slugging percentage, and GSU boasts a conference-leading 62 doubles on the year.
Freshman Ivie Drake is tops in the Sun Belt with 53 hits and a .465 batting average, while sophomore Megan Litumbe is third in the conference with 12 home runs.
Georgia State leads the all-time series 16-6, seizing the last game in the series with an 8-7 win back in 2012.
