By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – An early offensive salvo boosted a fantastic start on the mound for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles salvaged a victory in their Ohio Valley Conference-opening series against Morehead State, 8-6.
After the visiting Eagles claimed each of the first two games of the series on Friday and Saturday, the purple and gold turned to veteran hurler Connor Adams on the mound for game three. The southpaw stepped up in a huge way, going on to earn his second win of the year behind a masterful showing.
Adams limited the red-hot Morehead bats to just one run on three hits and two walks over the opening five frames, piling up a season-high seven strikeouts. Fanning three over the first two frames, the Tech starter looked sharp to start the game, but the Eagles looked to strike in the third.
Bryce Ray led off the frame with a solo home run, trying to break through against Adams, but the Golden Eagle lefty refused to let it bother him, punching out the next two batters. He escaped the third without further damage and then went three-up and three-down in the fourth after the Tech bats backed his strong effort.
In the bottom of the third, the purple and gold sent 10 batters to the plate, exploding for five runs. After a quick out, third baseman Gabe Lacy singled to left field to set up left fielder Jason Hinchman for some fireworks.
On a 2-0 offering, the Tech slugger blasted a two-run shot to left-center field, easily clearing the fence for his 13th long ball of the season and 56th of his career. With the home run, he moved into a tie for the national lead and into sole possession of third place on the OVC's career charts, trailing only the league's all-time leaders, former Golden Eagles Kevin Strohschein and Zach Stephens, both of whom boast 62 to their respective names.
The Golden Eagles quickly loaded the bases after the bomb, using a single, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch to set up right fielder Ryan Guardino for a big chance. The junior watched four straight pitches miss, drawing an RBI walk to make it a 3-1 lead.
One play later, Tech would score on a throwing error from third base, looking to turn a double play starting at the plate. The throw pulled the Morehead catcher off the dish, allowing designated hitter Luke Jones to reach safely. Second baseman Zach Bondurant drove in one more for Tech, grounding out to third base for a 5-1 lead.
Tech plated two more runs in the second, starting with a lead-off bomb from Lacy. The junior turned on a 1-1 offering, just barely keeping the ball fair down the left-field line for his fifth round-tripper of the year. Later in the frame, Guardino added an RBI single to left field, driving in shortstop Ed Johnson who singled earlier in the frame.
Adams got his first taste of trouble on the hill in the fifth, allowing back-to-back, two-out hits and a walk to load the bases. He settled down just in time, earning a clutch swing and miss on a full count for his seventh punch-out and a huge scoreless frame.
The visiting Eagles struck for three in the sixth inning and threatened for more, but Tech hurler Frankie Cresta limited the damage after entering with no outs, a run scored and two in scoring position.
Prior to the run, Johnson drove in one more insurance run for the Golden Eagles, ripping an RBI single to third base.
Morehead threatened for a big inning in the eighth, loading the bases after scoring one unearned run off Cresta, who tossed two and two-thirds frames with just the one run allowed. Colt Taylor entered to save the day, forcing a fly out to left fielder for the final out of the frame.
The Eagles tried to rally one more time in the ninth, scoring once off Taylor with a sacrifice fly with no outs. The Tech reliever rebounded with a strikeout, but a wild pitch and error put runners on first and second with two outs. Taylor dug deep and used four pitches to strike out the final Morehead batter of the game, picking up his first save as a Golden Eagle
Johnson led the Tech offense with three hits on the day, scoring twice. Hinchman and Guardino each drove in a pair while Jones drew a team-high three walks. Lacy, catcher Hayden Gilliland, and center fielder Austin Turner each contributed multi-hit games as well.
Tech will hit the road for the first time in two weeks next Friday, heading to Nashville for a three-game series with OVC and in-state foe Belmont. Spanning Apr. 8-10, the Golden Eagles will play the Bruins at 4:00 p.m. CT on Friday, 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Photo by Jim Dillon
