By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – As the Tennessee Tech softball team opens up 2019 for its 34th season of competition, the Golden Eagles are looking to reclaim their spot atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings.
After a 16-33 finish in 2018, the Golden Eagles aim to build up their offense, returning four of the top five hitters, while also bringing pitchers into the circle who can give Tech the boost it needs to be competitive in the league.
But to get the training they need to make a charge in the OVC race, Tech will have a strong schedule early on.
"This is a very good schedule for us to get to know our team's strengths and weaknesses before we get into conference play," said Tech head coach Bonnie Graham. "These are teams that have had their shares of success and we will grow tremendously through this part of the schedule."
Tech opens the season on February 9-10 at the Southern Miss Black and Gold Invitational, facing Central Arkansas and Southern Miss the first day, then take on Jackson State and Houston Baptist on the second day. Southern Mississippi is the only team in the field Tech has faced before, holding a 1-4 record against the hosting Golden Eagles.
Tech then heads to the southeastern corner of Tennessee for the Chattanooga Challenge on February 15-17. The Golden Eagles take on Kennesaw State and Chattanooga the first day, before facing Toledo and Indiana State the second day, before wrapping up against Dayton on the third day.
The Golden Eagles are 9-10 against KSU, 7-14 against Chattanooga, 4-2 against Toledo, 1-1 against Indiana State and 1-2 against Dayton.
Tech closes out February with a visit to Greenville, S.C. for the Furman Invitational on Feb. 22-24. The Golden Eagles face Towson and Stony Brook on the first day, see Stony Brook and Furman on the second day, then close out with the host Paladins on the final day.
Tech is 1-0 against Towson, 1-0 against Stony Brook and 1-3 against Furman.
The road trip continues on March 1-3 at the Alabama State Invitational, facing Southeastern Louisiana and Alabama State on the first day, Southern and Eastern Kentucky on the second day, then closing out the tournament with a second contest against Southern on the final day.
Tech is 0-2 against SLU, 1-0 against Alabama State and has never faced Southern before. Against the OVC-rival Colonels, the Golden Eagles are 56-41 all-time.
The Golden Eagles have a mid-week pair at North Alabama on March 5. Tech is 2-1 against the Lions.
Following that twinbill, Tech heads to Johnson City for its last regular-season tournament of the year with a trio of games at the Buccaneer Classic on March 8 and 9. The Golden Eagles take on Rutgers and host East Tennessee State on the first day, then close out the tournament with Evansville. Tech is 1-0 against Rutgers, 18-8 against ETSU and 3-8 against Evansville.
Tech will open up its home slate the very next day, entertaining Bradley for a single game on March 10, but will see some familiar foes the rest of the week as the Golden Eagles host Evansville on March 13 and East Tennessee State for a doubleheader on March 16.
The Golden Eagles hit the road again as they visit Birmingham to take on Samford in a mid-week twinbill at Samford on March 19.
Tech opens Ohio Valley Conference play on the road as they take out the Death Valley jaunt to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State on March 22 and 24, then takes I-40 to Nashville for a mid-week non-conference game against Lipscomb on March 27.
On March 29 and 31, the Golden Eagles see the Illinois members of the league at the Tech Softball Field, hosting Eastern Illinois on the 29th and SIU Edwardsville on the 31st.
Entering the final month of play, Tech heads up to Murray State on April 5, then returns home for a mid-week conference doubleheader against Jacksonville State on April 9.
Tech returns to Nashville on April 12 and 14 as it takes on Tennessee State on Friday and Belmont on Sunday to close out the road portion of their schedule.
The Golden Eagles' last eight games of the regular season are all at the friendly confines of the Tech Softball Field, starting with a mid-week visit from Western Kentucky on April 17.
Tech then hosts Austin Peay (April 19), Southeast Missouri (April 26) and UT Martin (April 28), before the OVC Tournament is held in Oxford, Ala., from May 8-11.
"The OVC schedule always presents a challenge and we welcome it," Graham said. "Over the years, we have built so many rivalries against amazing teams and their players. We know we have to bring our best game to the field day in and day out."
The schedule is subject to change depending on weather and updates can be found on both the Tech website, TTUsports.com, and the team's Twitter feed, @TTU_Softball.
All games at the Tech Softball Field are free to the public.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
