By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – As the 2021 season comes to a close this weekend for the Tennessee Tech softball team, pride is on the line as the Golden Eagles host UT Martin in a three-game series.
Tech hosts the Skyhawks in a single game on Friday, starting at 5 p.m., then wrap up the season with a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 2 p.m. The Saturday games will be broadcast on ESPN+ (subscription required) with Dylan Vazzano providing the call.
With any prospects of making the Ohio Valley Conference tournament dashed for both teams, the weekend is about honoring the departing Golden Eagle seniors and closing out the 2021 campaign on a high note.
The Senior Day festivities will follow the conclusion of Saturday's doubleheader with three Golden Eagles – outfielders Jessie Lowery, Beth McCulley and Hannah Richter – to be honored by the staff and teammates.
Lowery will finish her career with 192 games played – standing just outside the program's top 10 in total games played. Through her current 189 games, she has posted a .266 career average, collecting 152 hits – including 15 doubles, two triples and five home runs – with 47 RBI, while also stealing 32 bases. The Galena, Ohio, native completes her sixth campaign with the Golden Eagles this weekend. She has completed her bachelor's degree in Business Management and a master's in Human Resource Leadership, while working on a second master's in Healthcare Administration.
"The thing I will miss most when I leave Tech is going to be the team," Lowery said. "I've been fortunate enough to play for six years and come out with some great friends. The best part about being part of the team is playing the sport you love with people you love."
McCulley will complete her fourth season with the Golden Eagles this weekend. After spending her freshman season at Kennesaw State before transferring to Tech, the Woodstock, Ga., native has played in 153 games in the Purple and Gold, collecting a .306 batting average with 54 runs scored and 31 RBI. She has 136 total hits, including 24 doubles and two home runs, while also stealing 13 bases.
She earned her bachelor's degree in marketing last May and is currently completing work on her MBA with a concentration in IT and Analytics with an IT certification.
"The thing I'm going to miss most about leaving is the girls," McCulley said. "Most of these girls have been by my side through everything throughout the last four years. It's going to be hard when I move away and not have my best friends only a drive or walk away. I have made the best relationships here at Tech amongst my team, the faculty, and others here on campus. It has been a pleasure to be a part of this team and be able to wear Tech on my jersey. I am so proud of every single girl on this team and I cannot wait to watch you guys next year!"
Richter has seen action in 86 games over her four-year career with the Golden Eagles. Primarily seeing action on the basepaths, she swiped 14 bases on 16 attempts, while coming home to score 31 times. At the plate, she collected a .205 average with 15 hits with an RBI. In the field, she posted a career .946 fielding percentage.
She will complete her bachelor's degree in Business Management with a concentration in Human Resources this summer.
"Cookeville has become my second home," Richter said. "I will miss all the friends I have made here and I will cherish the memories that come with them. It's truly been the best time of my life."
Richter continued, "In the four years I have been here, I have learned a lot about what it means to be a part of a team. This team is special – we have each other's backs on- and off-the-field. We have faced many challenges together and no matter the outcome of a game or a situation like CoVID, we always find a way to be there for each other and come out even stronger than we were before. To me, this doesn't feel like just a softball team any more – we are a family."
Tech enters the weekend with an 18-28 record, 12-18 in the OVC. After two tough weeks, the Golden Eagles have fallen in their last seven games, swept at Eastern Kentucky and Belmont, with the last win coming at home on April 20 in a doubleheader split against Jacksonville State.
The Golden Eagles are hitting .249 for the season, scoring 154 runs and driving in 140, with 24 home runs on the year.
Nicolle Nysted leads the team with a .349 average, 23 RBI and eight home runs. Lowery (.266) and freshman Mackenzie Fitzgerald (.261) also have 20 RBI each, while McCulley is also batting .320 on the year. Fitzgerald is also 19-for-19 on stolen bases, the most for a Tech player since Melody Christian in 2013.
In the circle, Haeli Bryson (8-9, 3.14 ERA, 61 K) and Alyssa Arden (9-14, 3.57 ERA, 94 K) have seen the most work, while Kendall Durard (1-4, 5.89 ERA, 23 K) has also seen action in recent contests.
UT Martin is 25-18 on the season, 14-14 in conference play. The Skyhawks have dropped their last four games, including a sweep by Southeast Missouri on Wednesday, and are 3-6 in their last nine games. The losses to the Redhawks eliminated UTM from postseason contention.
As a team, the Skyhawks are batting .313 with 228 runs scored and 198 RBI. UTM has 33 home runs, led by Kaitlyn Kelley (.343) with 16 – the third-most in the conference. The Skyhawks are the top hitting team by average in the OVC, while ranking fourth in earned run average with a 3.09 mark.
UTM has eight players who have more than 25 at-bats that have posted a .300 batting average. Shyanne Sheffield leads the team with a .398 average, scoring 23 runs and driving in 15. Kelley also leads the OVC in RBI (46). The Skyhawks also have three of the top four hit producers in the conference with Paige Clark (54), Kaci Fuller (53) and Kelley (48).
In the circle, Alexis Groet leads the way with a 12-6 record and a 1.44 ERA in 29 appearances, opponents hitting .206 against her. Erin Gallagher has also seen double-digit starts with 17, posting a 5-6 record and a 3.19 ERA. Hannah Ridolfi has a 5-2 record and a 5.17 ERA in 20 appearances, 16 coming in relief.
Admission to all games at the Tech Softball Field is free to the public.
