By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The offense was out in full force for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles (8-8, 1-3) jumped out early in their first night game and home league contest of the season, defeating Ohio Valley Conference foe UT Martin (7-11, 2-2) by a final score of 12-3.
It didn't take long for the home squad to assert its dominance with the sticks on the evening, using a four-pitch, leadoff walk to redshirt freshman Alex Junior to set up junior Tyler Brazelton for a two-run bombzini to left field. In almost a blink of an eye, Tech held a 2-0 advantage.
The offense didn't stop there. The Golden Eagles scraped together four runs in the bottom of the second, kicking off the action in the frame with a first-pitch, leadoff double from sophomore Trevor Putzig. Two batters later, fellow sophomore David Garza earned a four-pitch free pass, clearing the way for Junior to smack an RBI single to left center field.
Another four pitch walk, this one to Brazelton, loaded the bases for senior Jake Farr, who watched two pitches before grounding out to first base for an RBI. On the very next pitch, sophomore Chase Chambers took his turn driving his teammates in with a two-run single through the right side for a 6-0 Tech lead.
UT Martin tied to answer in the top of the third, plating three in the inning and prompting the Golden Eagles to turn to Ethan Roberts. After walking the first batter he faced, the freshman dialed in to cover four innings, allowing just two hits, fanning six and essentially ending any hope of a comeback for the Skyhawks.
With Roberts holding his own on the mound, the Tech bats kept attacking, using a solo shot to right field from Junior, the center fielder's first career home run, to take a 7-3 lead.
Two frames later, the barrage continued. A four-pitch free pass to Garza to open the bottom of the sixth allowed Junior to lay down a sac bunt to put him in scoring position. It turned out not to matter, however, as Brazelton clobbered his second two-run dinger of the night to left field, upping Tech's lead to 9-3.
The Golden Eagles kept clicking after the long ball, loading the bases to give junior Chris Brown an RBI opportunity. The catcher sent a long fly ball to center field, settling for a sacrifice fly. Putzig then singled to first base to drive in one more run to make the Tech advantage 11-3.
An RBI off the bat of Farr on an error to shortstop provided the Golden Eagles their final run of the night, while Josh Pankratz and Andrew Barkley combined to wrap up the final two and one thirds innings without allowing a hit.
On the night, Brazelton led the way with a 2-for-2 showing with two home runs, four RBI, three runs and three walks. Junior tallied a 3-for-4 performance with two RBI and four runs scored, not to mention his own walk. Chambers and Farr each drove in two runs and Putzig finished 3-for-5 with a double, and RBI and a run scored. Roberts picked up his second victory of the season with the spectacular outing.
The two OVC squads will square off for game two on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Photo by Tony Marable
