By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Well…it happened again. Evidently, the Tennessee Tech softball team had Jacksonville State right where they wanted.
The Gamecocks led 6-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Entering the final frame, the Golden Eagles (24-20, 11-6) had already proved, to the point of redundancy, that until an opponent registers out No. 21, a game is far from over. It had already been five times this season that Tech entered the seventh inning trailing, only to escape the jaws of defeat to either tie or take the lead on each of those five fateful occasions.
Sunday made it six.
Senior Hannah Eldridge began the comeback with an infield single, slashing a grounder deep into the hole at shortstop, and legging it out for the leadoff knock. Junior Sabrie Neeb then roped a double into right center, the Front Royal Va. native's second of the game, to put runners on second and third with no one out.
The stage was set for junior Olivia Bennett to smack an exclamation point next to her storied day at the dish, having already drilled a pair of home runs to seize sole possession of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with 13 round trippers.
Jacksonville State (26-13, 9-5) instead poked a comma in Sunday's seventh-inning tale, walking Bennett on four pitches to load up the bases for freshman Bayli Cruse.
The 5-foot-6 catcher delivered in big-time fashion, ripping a frozen rope that skipped right in front of Gamecock centerfielder Emily Woodruff for a single that brought around Eldridge and Neeb to tie the game, and sent pinch-runner Christian Gibbs to third with the winning run.
The deadlocking drive signaled the end of the day for freshman reliever Whitney Gillespie, who gave way to sophomore Logan Green in an attempt to wiggle out of the tight jam.
Junior Madison Taylor didn't allow 5-foot-3 right-hander a chance to escape, greeting Green with a scorcher into left field that was deep enough to bring home Gibbs with the walk-off sacrifice fly.
Gillespie (8-4) suffered the loss after entering the contest with two outs in the third inning, allowing just one run before Tech's seventh-inning heroics. Junior Hannah Weaver (7-8) tallied her first victory since Mar. 18, tossing 1 1/3 shutout innings to give the Golden Eagles a chance at the comeback.
Early on the contest was a pitcher's duel between Tech's Danielle Liberatore and JSU's Taylor West. Heading into the bottom of the third, TTU had the game's only run thanks to an Olivia Bennett sacrifice fly.
With two outs and the bases empty in the last of the third, Bennett struck again with a towering drive over the center field wall, the first of her two round trippers. The solo shot ignited the TTU offense as well, with Bayli Cruse and Madison Taylor following the Bennett long ball with consecutive doubles to push the Tech edge to 3-0.
Jacksonville State struck back in the top of the fourth, finally getting to Danielle Liberatore, who registered three hitless innings to begin the contest. The Gamecocks began the frame with back-to-back home runs to pull within one, using blasts by junior Cadi Oliver and senior Melanie Steer to trim the Tech lead to 3-2.
The back-to-back jacks ended Liberatore's stint in the circle, as TTU called on senior Erica Tuck. The 5-foot-9 righty blanked the Gamecocks in the fourth, but fell into trouble in fifth. With two out and two on, Jamie McGuire squared the score with an RBI single down the right field line.
The seesaw affair swung back Tech's way in the bottom of the fifth behind Olivia Bennett's second home run of the game, but the lead proved to be short lived after JSU bounced back with a three-spot in the top of the sixth to take a 6-4 advantage.
A two-out bases-loaded hit by pitch to Cadi Oliver tied the tilt up at 4-4, before a two-run single off the bat of sophomore Stephanie Lewis put the Gamecocks ahead for the first time all afternoon.
The thrilling victory clinched the series for the Golden Eagles on the heels of Saturday's twin bill split. Up next for Tech is a mid-week matchup with in-state foe Lipscomb, as the Golden Eagles will travel to Nashville on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.
