By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With just two weekends remaining in the regular season, the Tennessee Tech softball team travels to Eastern Kentucky to lock up with the Colonels (21-23, 11-7) in a three-game series. Inclement weather has pushed the start of Saturday's doubleheader back to 3 p.m. CT, before the two teams will finish out the set with a Sunday single-game beginning at noon.
The Golden Eagles (26-23, 13-8) enter the trio of tilts right in the mix of a highly contested Ohio Valley Conference race, sitting in fourth place, but are just a game and a half behind Jacksonville State for second, and only one back of Murray State for third.
Tech has enjoyed success on the road during conference play, taking a 5-2 OVC road record into Richmond, highlighted by a twin bill sweep over first-place SIU Edwardsville in TTU's last conference road action on Apr. 5.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles continue to show that they are force to be reckoned with, leading the OVC with 49 home runs. Tech is also third in the league with 67 doubles, and the squad's .449 team-slugging percentage is good enough for fourth in the conference.
Junior Olivia Bennett has led the charge with the aluminum, coming into the weekend's games in a three-way tie atop the OVC in both home runs and RBI with 14 and 43 respectively. Senior Angi Sakamoto has impressed at the dish as well, riding a six-game hitting streak into EKU, while the Waipahu, Hawaii native's 14 doubles put her in third place in the conference. Sakamoto is one of six Golden Eagles to be hitting at least .300, with sophomore Alyssa Richards paving the way with a .333 clip.
Inside the circle, the conversation begins with sophomore Danielle Liberatore (14-9), who has etched her name among the league leaders in a number of significant pitching categories. The 5-foot-10 southpaw's 2.12 ERA is good enough for third in the OVC, while her impressive 195 strikeouts place Liberatore in second in the conference.
Eastern Kentucky has catapulted itself into fifth place in the OVC after enjoying a slew of recent success that has seen the Colonels win six of their last seven games.
EKU's 40 round trippers put them in a tie for third in the conference, with senior Katie Tackett sitting atop the Colonel leader board with nine long balls. Tackett is also one of three Eastern Kentucky players to possess at least a .320 batting average, joining junior Sarah Fobbs and freshman Paige Murphy, who are each hitting .325.
On the slab, senior Leanna Pittsenbarger (9-10) is among the league leaders with 130 punch outs in 108 innings of work this season, while fellow senior Shaylon Robb (8-8) is tops on the Colonel staff with a 3.07 ERA.
Tech has held a distinct advantage in the all-time series with Eastern Kentucky, posting a 54-31 against the Colonels, including taking two out of three in Cookeville last year.
