By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The home run ball was in full effect for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles took game three of its Ohio Valley Conference series against in-state rival Belmont, 8-1.
Competing at E.S. Rose Park for the third time in as many days, the Golden Eagles used the long ball and a pair of brilliant pitching performances to salvage a victory in the final regular-season series against the Bruins as OVC foes. Much like its counterpart the previous two days, Tech took its turn delivering a comeback on Sunday.
Belmont scored an early run against Golden Eagle hurler Connor Adams, using a double, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly ball to take a 1-0 lead in the first. The Tech southpaw locked things down from that point on, tossing four straight scoreless frames while scattering two more hits and a pair of walks.
Picking up his third win of the season, Adams struck out four Bruins while allowing just the one earned run over five total innings of work.
The purple and gold evened things up in the third, with second baseman Noah Hattier leading off the frame with a single to right field. He advanced to third on a base hit by center fielder Austin Turner and squared up the contest after scoring on a passed ball.
In the fourth, the Golden Eagles took over the lead for good, with right fielder Eric Newsom providing the blow. The slugger crushed his first round-tripper in the purple and gold to lead off the inning, clearing the wall in center field for a 2-1 lead.
Two frames later first baseman Golston Gillespie doubled that advantage, hammering a solo blast to left field for his fifth dinger of the season, taking southpaw Jalen Borders deep from the right side.
Tech truly blew the game wide open in the seventh, with Hattier and Turner reaching to start and shortstop Ed Johnson driving in a run on a fielder's choice. With two outs, left fielder Jason Hinchman took his turn with the fireworks, blasting a two-run moon shot to left field for a 6-1 lead.
It marked his 15th homer of the year and the 59th of his career, 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.
Newsom followed with a walk, setting up Gillespie for one more strike at the dish. Following a pitching change, the switch hitter took his stance on the left side of the plate and welcomed right-hander hurler Dusty Baird to the contest by cranking out the first pitch he saw to right-center field.
His second trot around the bases of the game represented his sixth of the year and also provided more history for the junior. With the blast, Gillespie became the first known Golden Eagles to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game twice in their career. He also accomplished the feat one year prior, also against Belmont, on Mar. 23.
Reliever Jackson Berry took over for Adams on the hill following the fifth, coasting through the final four frames with almost no action. The lefty scattered two hits and a walk while collecting three punch-outs to pick up his second save of the season.
Offensively, Gillespie led Tech with two hits and three RBI while Turner also added a pair of knocks. Seven different Golden Eagles secured at least one hit on the day.
The purple and gold will set its sights on a midweek tilt against No. 1 nationally-ranked Tennessee Tuesday evening, heading to Kodak, Tenn. for a neutral battle at Smokies Stadium, the venue for the Tennessee Smokies, the Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The tilt will feature a 5:30 p.m. CT first pitch and be streamed live on SEC Network +.
File photo by Thomas Corhern
