AUBURN REGIONAL CENTRAL
NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's a club that's exclusivity runs just 64 deep. Those that are fortunate enough to be a member have already secured a place in the history books, reaching a point of rarified air that all 295 Division I schools dream about months before the season's first pitch is even thrown. The 2015 Tennessee Tech softball team is part of the privileged 22% of the nation's schools that get to this point. They are going dancing. They are off to the NCAA Tournament.
"It's incredibly exciting," noted third-year Golden Eagle head coach Bonnie Bynum, who starred in the circle the last time Tech reached the tourney back in 2007. "It's what we work for all season long and I'm thrilled to be able to get there. I'm excited about what we can do. I think we've got the chance to do a really good job."
Champions of the Ohio Valley Conference, the Golden Eagles (32-26) find themselves in the Auburn Region of the NCAA Tournament, joining the host and nation's No. 4 seed, Auburn, South Alabama, and Chattanooga as the four squads that make up the lower left portion of the 64-team bracket.
Tech will clash with Auburn (49-9) in the region's second game of the day on Friday, going up against the Tigers at 5:30 p.m. CT from Jane B. Moore Field. South Alabama and Chattanooga will kick off the field of four with a 3 p.m. showdown. Gates will open at 1:30.
"Obviously they are going to be a tough offense" Bynum claimed on an Auburn club that led the SEC in team-batting average (.351), slugging percentage (.604), runs scored (478), hits (535), and doubles (84). "We've got to make sure that we keep the ball in the ball park as much as possible. They rank in the top 10 in home runs in the nation, so we've got to make sure that Danielle [Liberatore] goes out there, attacks them, and keeps the ball low in the zone to give us a chance."
A Golden Eagle win in the double-elimination format against the SEC Tournament champion would move them into the winner's bracket final against the USA-UTC victor on Saturday at 12 p.m. A TTU loss in the opening day would push them to a Saturday, 2:30 p.m. elimination-game against the South Alabama-Chattanooga loser.
"We just need to play our same kind of game that we've done all season long," Bynum said on the prospects of entering the NCAA Tournament. "If we go out and have the same kind of showing that we did in the OVC Tournament, I think we are going to surprise a lot of people."
Every game of the Auburn Regional will be broadcast live on ESPN3. CLICK HERE TO WATCH. Radio broadcasts of the contests will also be available via the Golden Eagle Sports Network through FM 107.7 WHUB and AM 1400 The Hub. Dylan Vazzano, who was on the call for both the OVC Tournament and webcasts on the OVC Digital Network, will provide play-by-play throughout the tournament. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
TTU takes its place on the national stage after a captivating run in the 2015 OVC Tournament that saw the Golden Eagles run the table with a 4-0 record to become the first Tech team to go undefeated in the conference tournament since 2006. As the No. 4 seed in the field of eight, Tech rolled off wins against No. 5 Eastern Kentucky, No. 3 Murray State, and a pair over the top seed and host in the field, SIU Edwardsville.
After victories over EKU and SIUE in the first two days of the tournament, Tech displayed its trademark resiliency with yet another late-inning comeback against Murray State in the winner's bracket final. Trailing 4-0 after an inning of play, the Golden Eagles plated two in the second, before exploding for four in the fifth to take a 6-4 edge.
In the inning, Tech used an Olivia Bennett home run, the Mentone, Calif. native's team-leading 15th of the season to bring them within a run. Later in the frame, senior Angi Sakamoto knotted the contest with an RBI single, before fellow senior Hannah Eldridge sliced a two-run, two-out double to put the Golden Eagles ahead for good.
In the championship finale against SIUE, Tech rode the left arm of sophomore Danielle Liberatore to the title, using a pair of home runs (Sabrie Neeb and Alyssa Richards) as well to scratch out a 3-2 win against the top seed. Liberatore (19-11) tossed her fourth-straight complete game in Saturday's championship with a nine-strikeout showing against the Cougars to lead Tech to the OVC crown.
Overall, the 5-foot-10 southpaw tossed each and every inning for the Golden Eagles during the conference tournament, posting a 2.07 ERA in 27 innings inside the circle, striking out an eye-popping 41 during the stretch en route to Tournament MVP honors.
The Peotone, Ill. native was one of four Tech players to secure a spot on the All-Tournament team, joining senior Hannah Eldridge, junior Olivia Bennett, and sophomore Alyssa Richards as the quartet of Golden Eagles to receive the nod. Eldridge's two-run double against Murray State was one of the biggest hits of the tourney, while Bennett's .400 batting average (4-for-10) led TTU, and Richards topped Tech with three home runs.
Inside look at Tennessee Tech:
Offense:
The Golden Eagles led the OVC in home runs this season with 60, belting seven in the conference tournament. Junior Olivia Bennett leads the team with 15 home runs to rank fourth in the OVC, while the 5-foot-4 outfielder's 46 RBI are tops on the Tech squad and also put her in fifth in the conference. Bennett led Tech with a .400 batting average in the conference tournament, drilling one home run and recording two RBI. Sophomore Alyssa Richards is the only other Golden Eagle to record double-digit round trippers with 10 after smacking three in the OVC Tournament.
Richards leads the team in batting average with a .345 clip, one of four Golden Eagles to be hitting at least .300 along with senior Hannah Eldridge (.339), junior Sabrie Neeb (.324), and senior Angi Sakamoto (.310). Since returning from an injury, Richards is hitting .429 (9-21) in the last seven games.
It would be hard pressed to find anyone on a hotter streak than Sabrie Neeb. In the last 25 tilts, the Front Royal, Va. native is hitting .400 (30-75), including pacing Tech with 30 hits, eight home runs, seven doubles, and two triples over that stretch. Neeb joins freshman Bayli Cruse as the two Tech representatives on the OVC All-Newcomer team.
Senior Angi Sakamoto, who is third in the conference with a team-leading 16 doubles, took home All-OVC Second Team honors after another outstanding campaign that saw the Waipahu, Hawaii native lead the Golden Eagles with 63 hits and nine stolen bases. With the honor, Sakamoto becomes the first Tech player to earn a spot on the All-OVC First or Second Team in consecutive seasons sine Beth Boden and Stephanie Fischer both took home the achievement in 2007 and 2008.
Pitching:
The conversation begins with sophomore Danielle Liberatore, who became the first Golden Eagle to take home All-OVC First Team accolades since Holly Thomas accomplished the feat in 2012. The 5-foot-10 southpaw compiled a dominant sophomore campaign that saw her finish second in the conference with a 2.17 ERA and 273 strikeouts, a number that puts the Peotone, Ill. native 13th in the country.
Liberatore also stamped her place in the record books in 2015 behind a trio of history-making performances. With 16 strikeouts in a win against UT Martin on Mar. 22, 15 against Eastern Illinois on Apr. 4, and then a school-record 17 against Morehead State on May 2, Liberatore became the first pitcher in program history to notch at least three 15-strikeout games in a career…let alone a season.
Scouting the competition:
No. 4 Auburn (49-9): The Tigers have proven to be an offensive force to be reckoned with this season, coming into the NCAA Tournament in the nation's top ten in a number of offensive categories including team-batting average (.351), slugging percentage (.604), runs scored (478), hits (535), and doubles (84), and home runs (94). Junior Emily Carosone leads the SEC and is sixth in the country with a .482 batting average, while the Orlando, Fla. native is second in the nation with 75 RBI. Fellow junior Jade Rhodes leads the Tigers with 18 home runs.
Auburn captured the SEC Tournament title in dramatic fashion, coming back from a 5-3 seventh inning deficit in Saturday's championship game against the University of Tennessee. After squaring the tilt and forcing extras, freshman Carlee Wallace walked the Tigers off with the win thanks to an RBI double that scored tournament MVP Emily Carosone in the bottom of the ninth. Carosone went 4-for-5 Saturday and wrapped up the tourney with a 6-for-9 showing.
Auburn is a perfect 4-0 against Tech in the all-time series, with the last meeting coming back on Feb. 9, 2014, a Tiger 8-4 victory.
No. 23 South Alabama (38-11): The Jaguars make their fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance after seizing the program's third Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship in the last four years. Similar to Auburn, it took a dramatic seventh-inning to take home the title. Scoreless in the final frame, the Jaguars plated a pair of runs to take out the No. 1 team in the tourney and 13th ranked team in the nation, Louisiana-Lafayette.
USA has made its living inside the circle this season, featuring three pitchers with at least 10 wins and ERA's under 3.10. Freshman Kalen McGill leads the squad with 16 wins and a 1.97 ERA, while fellow freshman Devin Brown is the club leader with 158 strikeouts in 99 2/3 innings on the slab.
Offensively, sophomore Chloe Rathburn paves the way with a .381 batting average and 50 RBI. SBC Tournament MVP Kaitlyn Griffith sits atop the club with 13 home runs, the most round trippers in a season for a Jaguar in school history. In the tourney, the senior shortstop drove in five runs and slugged .667.
Should the Golden Eagles and South Alabama meet, it will mark the first time that the two schools will lock up on the diamond.
Chattanooga (35-13): This year's trip to the NCAA Regional marks the second straight for the Mocs, who earn the automatic bid by virtue of winning the Southern Conference Tournament championship on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Mercer. The Mocs come into the tournament with a solid core of pitching, leading the SoCon with a 2.70 earned run average. Senior Taylor Deason is tops on the UTC club with 15 wins, a 2.37 ERA, and 116 strikeouts in 138 2/3 innings in the circle.
Offensively, Chattanooga possesses five players hitting at least .300, led by senior Sara Beth Roberts' .380 clip. The Mt. Juliet, Tenn. native is also one of two players to notch double digit home runs with 10 round trippers, joining fellow senior Nicole Osterman, who has socked 12.
The Golden Eagles made the trip down to Chattanooga earlier this season, squaring off with the Mocs on Mar. 31. UTC took the contest 6-4, plating three in the fourth, two in the fifth, and one more in the sixth to account for the club's scoring. Chattanooga hit two home runs in the contest, with junior Criket Blanco smacking a three-run home run in the fourth, and Nicole Osterman hitting a two-run shot in the fifth. TTU's Angi Sakamoto had a big day at the dish that saw the lefty-swinging outfielder go 2-for-2 with a home run, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.
Chattanooga's win boosted the Mocs all-time lead in the series with Tech to 11-4.
