COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Three straight innings with three runs apiece proved to be more than enough for the Tennessee Tech baseball team (11-6, 3-1) to earn its third Ohio Valley Conference win Friday night, an 11-4 victory over Morehead State (7-10, 2-2).
The victory for the Golden Eagles came on the back of a huge team effort, as eight players recorded hits and six drove in at least one run. The big bat of the game belonged to junior Zach Stephens, who smashed his third home run of the season. He drove in four runs on the night on a two-for-three performance. He also walked twice in the contest and scored three runs.
The Morehead offense was led by center fielder Duran Elmore who drove in two runs on a two-for-three day. He also walked once. Three other Eagle players recorded multiple hits.
The Golden Eagles started the day, scoring twice in the top of the first inning with an RBI single from Brandon Thomasson, who uppped his hitting streak to nine games. The junior finished with two hits and two RBI with a walk. James Abraham drove in the second run, singling up the middle to drive in Stephens.
Morehead State answered in the second and third innings, scoring a run in each to tie the game at 2-2. The Golden Eagles responded emphatically, scoring three runs in each of the next three innings.
Austin Wulf and Stephens opened the onslaught, earning back-to-back walks. Thomasson nabbed his second RBI of the game, driving in Wulf with a single to the shortstop. Daniel Miles followed that up with a single of his own, driving in Stephens. Michael Morris finished the scoring for the inning with an RBI ground out to the pitcher.
The fourth inning faired no better for Morehead, as Zach Zarzour singled up the middle with one out. Wulf garnered his second straight walk to put two men on for Stephens. The junior slugger then hammered a moonshot over the Quillen Field sign in left field, driving in three runs to extend Tech's lead to 8-2.
Inning number five just added to the lead as the Tech offense jumped early once again. After a walk by Morris, Dylan Bosheers went yard, mashing a two-run shot to right field for his second dinger in two games. Stephens added the third run of the inning with an RBI single to left field.
Starting pitcher Tristan Archer scattered nine hits in the contest, giving up two earned runs. Archer stunned the Morehead hitters several times, recording nine strikeouts in the contest, including seven swinging. He walked zero batters for the second consecutive game, piling up 15 innings in-a-row without a walk during that span.
The win was the third of the year for Archer, as the senior ace helped the Golden Eagles to their fourth straight win.
The OVC rivals will return to the diamond Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. CDT contest at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex. David Hess will take the hill for the Golden Eagles, facing off against Noah Smallwood of Morehead State. Fans who can't make it to the ballpark can check out the game for free on the OVC Digital Network.
