By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – For the second weekend in a row, weather has already impacted the Tennessee Tech softball schedule.
Originally slated to begin action in the Chattanooga Challenge tournament on Friday, the forecast has prompted the tournament to start a day earlier, with the Golden Eagles taking the field on Thursday, taking on Chattanooga at 2 p.m. Central, followed by a contest against Western Kentucky at approximately 4 p.m.
Tech will continue play on Friday with another game against WKU at 2 p.m., then a noon contest against Indiana State, followed by a 2 p.m. game against Sacred Heart on Saturday.
Alabama A&M pulled out of the tournament, which cancels Tech's originally scheduled game on Sunday.
Just like a week ago, the schedule is subject to change with rain in the forecast. The area is expected to have as much as a 70-percent chance of rain on Friday with an accumulation of 0.15 inches, then increase to nearly 100-percent on Saturday with an accumulation of 0.92 inches.
The Golden Eagles enter the tournament with a 0-4 record, and struggled offensively as Tech posted a .194 batting average and a .279 on-base percentage with two losses to No. 13 Auburn, a 6-4 loss to Wichita State and a 10-4 loss to Marshall.
Raegan Sparks leads Tech in batting with a .400 average (2-for-5, one RBI), while Taylor Thomas (.300, 3-for-10, one RBI) stands next. In the circle, Taylor Waldrop has fared the best so far, recording a 4.22 earned run average in 10 2/3 innings of work with a 0-1 record.
Chattanooga enters its home tournament with a 2-2 record, beating Morgan State and Detroit Mercy to open the season, before taking losses to Liberty and Fairleigh Dickinson. Emma Sturdivant leads the Mocs with a .556 average, posting a team-high six RBI. Hayleigh Weissenbach (.357) has driven in three.
Three of Chattanooga's pitchers have recorded a flawless 0.00 ERA thus far with Alexa Veamoi (five innings pitched), Michayla Kelly-Harvey (2/3 innings) and Paige Pearson (2/3 innings), but it has been Celie Hudson who has the bulk of the innings, compiling a 5.25 ERA in 10 2/3 frames.
Western Kentucky enters the weekend with a 3-1 record. The Hilltoppers took two from Hampton and a five-inning run-rule win over Youngstown State, but fell to Gardner-Webb at its home tournament. Maddie Bowlds has a .700 batting average on the season with two RBI and 10 total bases. Paige Carter (.500) and Kendall Smith (.357) each have driven in a team-high five RBI, while Kelsey McGuffin has 15 total bases.
Shelby Nunn has appeared in all four games and started two, picking up a 3-1 record and a 3.57 ERA. She already has 18 strikeouts on the season. Haylee Towers, with the other two starts, has a 6.56 ERA in 5 1/3 innings with no decisions.
Indiana State will open its season with this weekend's action, finishing 2017 with a 24-29 record. The Sycamores return their leading batter in Leslie Sims, who posted a .368 average, and their top power producer, Brooke Mann, who had six home runs and 33 RBI in 2017.
However, they lost their top pitchers Kenzie Ihle and Della Gher, leaving Kylie Stober the opportunity to take over. She finished 2017 with a 4-14 record in 116 2/3 innings with 22 starts and eight complete games.
Like Indiana State, Sacred Heart also starts its campaign this weekend. The Pioneers finished 23-28 last season. SHU lost its top producer in Victoria D'Addario (21 RBI), but Katelyn Christian and Fallon Bevino each drove in 19 runs each.
The Pioneers also lost its top pitcher in Jamie Carlson (2.14 ERA, 12-13, 167 IP, 160 Ks), but have a solid presence in the circle with Kristen McCann (2.65 ERA, 10-12, 137 1/3 IP, 117 Ks).
Fans can follow along the action with live stats via this link, as well as the team's Twitter feed at @TTU_softball.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
