By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
RICHMOND, Ky. – A late offensive surge, along with a fantastic showing out of the bullpen, proved enough for the Tennessee Tech baseball team to collect its eighth Ohio Valley Conference series victory of the season, as the Golden Eagles (36-17, 22-5) rallied late to defeat Eastern Kentucky (24-28, 10-17) Sunday afternoon, 8-4.
For the second straight game, Tech jumped out to an early lead, snagging solo runs in each of the first two frames. In the top of the first, junior first baseman Chase Chambers drove in the first run, reaching on a fielder's choice to first base that drove in sophomore Alex Junior.
Senior second baseman Matt Jones led off the second with a double to left field, setting up junior catcher Brennon Kaleiwahea for an RBI single up the middle in the very next at bat.
In the third, Eastern Kentucky answered, collecting a three-run home run off the bat of senior Ben Fisher, his league-leading 23rd of the year. The shot gave the home squad a 3-2 advantage, but the lead didn't last long.
Sophomore right fielder Kevin Strohschein brought his bat with the intent to do damage Sunday afternoon, unleashing his first salvo of offense in the top of the fourth. On the first pitch of the frame, Strohschein uncorked his 11th long ball of the year, a solo shot to left field that tied the game at 3-3.
He followed that up with a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth, ripping a ball up the middle to drive in Chambers, who led off the frame with a double. The Colonels quickly answered in their own right, using a solo home run from Alex Holderbach in the bottom of the inning to even the score once again, this time at 4-4.
Both sides traded zeroes in the seventh and eighth, with sophomore reliever Ty King making a huge impact in the seventh. The right-hander took over in with one out in the frame and Fisher at the plate with runners on first and second. On his fourth pitch, King forced the slugger to ground out into a massive, inning-ending double play, second to shortstop to first.
He struck out the side in the eighth, sending the Golden Eagles into the ninth with conceivable one last chance to make an impact with the bats. And the Tech lineup made that moment count.
On the third pitch of the frame, junior left fielder Collin Harris ended his nearly one-and-a-half-month-long home run drought, connecting on a 2-0 offering for a solo jack job to left center field. The dinger marked his ninth of the season and broke the tie, giving the Golden Eagles a 5-4 lead.
Tech refused to settle for just a one-run advantage, however, plating three more runner in the frame thanks to an EKU throwing error and two-run single by Strohschein. From that point on, King made relatively quick work of the Colonels, allowing just one hit in the frame before recording the final out for his third win of the season.
Making his first start of the season after missing most of the 2016 campaign due to Tommy John surgery, Fraliex turned in five strong innings of work for Tech, striking out four and holding EKU to three hits and three earned runs. King fanned four and allowed two hits in two and two thirds innings.
Strohschein led the Tech offense with four RBI as part of a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Jones also tallied three hits in the contest while Harris and Junior each posted multi-hit outings of their own.
In the game, Tech tied the single-season program record for home runs, running the team's total for the year to 82. The total leads the OVC and ranks second nationally only to Wake Forest, which boasts a whopping 86 long balls on the season.
The Golden Eagles will return to the comfort of Cookeville and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex Thursday afternoon, wrapping up the 2017 regular season with a three-game series against OVC rival Morehead State.
Photo by Tony Marable
