By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the second time in as many days, it looked as if the Tennessee Tech baseball team would pull off an improbable comeback against visiting Bradley, but the Golden Eagle rally fell just short Sunday afternoon, as the Braves held on for the 8-7 win.
Bradley claimed the series by staving off a big ninth inning from the purple and gold, taking the opener and finale from the home team. It marked just the second series loss for the Golden Eagles this season and the first in the comfort of Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Tech built an early lead in the contest, starting with the big bat of left fielder Jason Hinchman. The slugger blasted a two-out, solo home run to right-center field in the first, providing the Cookeville crew a 1-0 lead.
In the second, the Golden Eagles doubled their lead with a sacrifice fly ball to right field off the bat of second baseman Zach Bondurant. An RBI double down the first-base line from first baseman Golston Gilespie, off the outstretched glove of a diving Bradley first baseman, made it a 3-0 Tech advantage in the third.
The Braves fought back in the fourth, plating four runs to jump on top. Bradley collected two earned and two unearned runs in the frame, racking up three hits and a walk.
The purple and gold answered right back, loading the bases and scoring the tying run with a sacrifice fly from shortstop Ed Johnson. Hinchman nearly broke the contest wide open two batters and an out later, crushing a ball to deep left field, but a gust of wind blowing in knocked the shot back and it fell short for the inning-ending out at the warning track.
Bradley put together a response of its own in the top of the fifth, scoring three more times on four hits and a walk to take a 7-4 advantage. On the pitching side, Taylor Catton came on in the fourth for the Braves, shutting the purple and gold out from his entrance through the eighth.
The visitors added what turned out to be a huge insurance run in the top of the eighth, using a lead-off home run to increase the lead to 8-4.
Tech finally broke through against Catton in the ninth, with Hinchman providing the early fireworks. The senior hammered a solo tank to right-center field to lead off the bottom half, his second round-tripper of the game and 10th of the season.
He became just the third Golden Eagle in program history to record at least 10 dingers in three different seasons, joining Kevin Strohschein and Zach Stephens in the exclusive club, both Tech's and the Ohio Valley Conference's career home runs leaders. Both former Tech greats accomplished the feat four times.
Now with 54 jacks in his career, he sits just nine away from breaking both records. He also sits just three away from passing Austin Peay's Parker Phillips for third on the league's all-time chart.
After the Bradley reliever secured back-to-back outs, Tech refused to go down without one last fight. Designated hitter Luke Jones drew a five-pitch walk to keep things alive, prompting head coach Matt Bragga to go to his bench.
In stepped catcher Hayden Gilliland, delivering an incredible pinch-hit display. Working a 3-1 count, the sophomore cracked a two-run blast to right field, pulling the Golden Eagles to within a run. Bondurant peppered a single through the right side, but that would be it for the Tech rally, as Bradley collected the final out.
Eight different Tech batters collected a hit in the contest, with Hinchman and Bondurant each producing a pair.
The Golden Eagles will continue their eight-game homestand Tuesday evening, playing host to a 6:00 p.m. CT midweek tilt against in-state rival Middle Tennessee at the Quill.
File photo by Thomas Corhern
