By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – After moving its opening weekend down to Jacksonville, Ala. for a round-robin tournament at Jim Case Stadium, the Tennessee Tech baseball team finally kicked off its 2021 campaign Saturday, splitting doubleheader action with Southern Illinois and Alabama State.
The Golden Eagles (1-1) fell to the Salukis (2-0) in game one of the day, 4-3, but rallied in game two for a 5-3 victory over the Hornets (0-2). Tech's victory over ASU came in exciting fashion, with the Golden Eagle overcoming a two-run deficit after the seventh-inning stretch.
Alabama State scored runs in each of the first and second innings while starter Breon Pooler found a groove early, tossing three and two-thirds frames of perfect baseball. Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year Jason Hinchman finally cracked the armor, drawing a full-count walk with two outs in the fourth.
Tech first baseman Golston Gillespie broke up the no-no in the next at-bat, and subsequently, the shutout, singling to right field. An error allowed Hinchman to round third and cross safely to cut the deficit in half.
Southpaw Connor Adams entered the game in the third inning, covering the next five frames for the Golden Eagles with nearly immaculate pitching. He allowed just a solo home run to the final batter he faced, scattering three other hits while striking out a career-high eight batters.
Senior Mark Leonard took over for Adams following the seventh-inning long ball, getting Tech out of the frame without further damage. In the bottom half, another Tech veteran sent the comeback into full throttle.
Cody Littlejohn, who homered in the first contest of the day, led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple to left-center field. Newcomers Owen Kiess and Gabe Lacy each were plunked to load the bases, bringing Auburn transfer Ed Johnson to the plate.
Johnson also took one for the team, getting hit by a pitch to drive in Littlejohn and cut the deficit to one. Brett Roberts, a freshman All-American a season ago, reached safely on a fielder's choice to third base, driving in the tying run and putting a restart button to the contest.
A scoreless frame by Leonard took the purple and gold to the eighth, where Hinchman, Gillespie and Littlejohn played hero. Hinchman smacked a leadoff single to right field and reached third on an error. Gillespie launched a 1-2 offering into left field for what would amount to the game-winning double. Littlejohn added an RBI single to left field for good measure, giving Leonard a buffer headed into the ninth.
The right-hander made quick work of the Hornet in the ninth, forcing an 0-1 fly ball to center field to start the frame. He fanned the final two batters to earn the win with two and a third innings of work and four strikeouts.
In game one, junior Tyler Sylvester tossed four innings while making Tech's opening-day start, allowing one run on three hits. He also struck out four batters. The Golden Eagles took an early 1-0 advantage behind a Gillespie RBI single in the third, but Southern Illinois answered with a run in the bottom half.
Littlejohn's round-tripper in the fourth put Tech on top, 3-1, but the Salukis scored once in the fifth and two more times in the sixth to rally and take the contest 4-3.
On the day, Littlejohn was 4-for-7 with three RBI, a triple and a long ball while Gillespie managed four hits in eight at-bats. He drove in two and posted a double. Hayden Gilliland made his collegiate debut in game two of the day, doubling for his first career hit.
Tech will wrap up the weekend with a non-conference contest against tournament host Jacksonville State on Sunday. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT at Jim Case Stadium.
File photo by Jaylynn Nash, NC State Athletics
