By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It was a high-scoring affair in Charlotte Friday afternoon, as the Tennessee Tech baseball team fell in a nail-biter in the series opener at Queens University of Charlotte, 13-12.
Queens took an early, 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Golden Eagles were quick to answer in the second. With two outs in the frame, shortstop Nick Spardone peppered a single to center field, plating a pair for a 2-1 Tech lead.
The Royals flipped the script pretty quickly, using a lead-off home run in the second to tie the game and three round-trippers to score four in the third inning. Tech grabbed one back in the fourth, with designated hitter Troy Baunsgard delivering an RBI single.
The home squad tacked on two more in the fourth, increasing its lead to 8-3 and looking to pull away. The purple and gold refused to go quietly, making a stand in the fifth with four more runs.
Third baseman Peyton Mills drove in the first two of the frame, blistering a two-run base knock to left field. After the Golden Eagles loaded the bases again, Baunsgard came up clutch with a two-run double to right-center field, trimming the Royals' lead to 8-7.
After Queens took back a run in the bottom half, the Cookeville crew evened things up in the sixth. Catcher Hayden Gilliland started the rally, blasting a lead-off bomb to center field for his second long ball of the season. Right fielder Theo Bryant IV had an interesting trip around the bases to eventually square the contest, drawing a walk, advancing to second on a balk, moving over to third on a wild pitch, and finally scoring on a sac fly to center field off the bat of second baseman Eddie Garza.
Once again, the Royals' offense followed up Tech's success with their own, moving back in front, 10-9, with a run in the bottom of the sixth. The seventh represented the lone scoreless frame of the day before the purple and gold went back to work.
Tech tied the ball game again in the eighth, this time with Gilliland denting the dish on a wild pitch. Queens moved back out front with a solo dinger to lead off the bottom half, leaving the Golden Eagles one more chance.
The bats delivered, with Bryant tying the game with a sac fly to right field. With two outs and runners on the corner, Garza produced the clutch moment of the game for the purple and gold, slashing an RBI single to center field for a 12-11 Tech lead.
The Queens attack wouldn't be deterred however, as the Royals gathered a one-out, two-run single through the right side to earn the walk-off victory, 13-12.
Gilliland produced a 3-for-4 day at the plate, scoring three times and walking twice. Baunsgard also racked up three hits on the day, driving in a trio of runs. Garza, Mills, and Spardone each produced a pair of RBI in the contest as well.
Right-handed hurler Parker MacCauley turned in a solid day on the mound for the Golden Eagles, allowing just one run over two innings of work. He struck out a season-high four batters while holding Queens to one hit.
Game two of the series is slated for a 1:00 p.m. CT first pitch Saturday afternoon at Tuckaseegee Fields.
Photo courtesy of Austin Slough, Queens Athletics
