COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The streak continues. The Tennessee Tech
baseball team (15-6, 5-1) won its eighth consecutive contest
Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Berea Mountaineers (9-11, 1-2),
9-4.
Another streak was continued during the contest and was largely responsible for setting the tone for the win. Slugger Brandon Thomasson recorded a hit in his 13th straight game, crushing a home run to left center field to start the scoring in the first inning. More impressive was the fact that the ball was smacked straight into a heavy wind.
The scoring continued in the fifth as the Golden Eagles racked up three more runs. Austin Wulf reached base on a fielder's choice, driving in a runner from third and giving Tech a 3-0 lead. Three batters later, Daniel Miles smacked a two-run single to left center field, driving in both Wulf and Zephan Guyear.
Berea made a splash in the fourth inning, scoring four runs to cut the Tech lead to one. Leading the Mountaineer comeback attempt were catcher Ryan Akins and shortstop Ty Shipley. The two combined for four hits and an RBI in the contest, as well as two runs.
The Berea surge was quickly squashed as the Golden Eagles answered in the bottom of the eighth inning with four runs. After the bases were loaded, Wulf grounded out to second base, bringing in Tevis Sherfield. With two outs and the bases loaded, Guyear came home on a wild pitch, giving Tech a little more cushion with a 7-4 lead.
After a Thomasson walk, Miles also garnered a free pass, driving in Zach Zarzour for another run. Dylan Bosheers wrapped up the scoring frenzy with another walk, driving in Stephens and giving the Golden Eagles a 9-4 lead.
It would prove to be more than enough as Seth Lucio came in and shut down the Berea batters. The first batter squeaked a hit into right field. Lucio was none too pleased, taking revenge on the next three batters as the sophomore struck out all three Mountaineers to lead Tech to its 15th win of the season.
Earning his second victory of the year was sophomore pitcher David Hess. Normally a weekend starter, Hess came on in relief of Josh Bryant, pitching 3.2 innings. He allowed just two hits while striking out six batters. He opened his appearance setting down four the first five batters he faced on strikes.
The Golden Eagles look to continue their blistering streak with a three-game set at UT Martin. The first game, which is set for Friday has a first pitch time of 6 p.m. CDT. Games two and three, which are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will begin at 3 and 1 p.m., respectively.
