By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – While not quite déjà vu, the Tennessee Tech baseball team was quite alright with picking up its second win over in-state foe Tennessee in as many years Tuesday evening, securing the 2023 version behind a decisive, 12-5 final score at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.
Nearly a year to the day that the Golden Eagles (11-24) bested the No. 1 nationally-ranked Vols at Smokies Stadium, 3-2, in a wood-bat contest, Tech picked up another upset special over this year's No. 19 UT squad (23-14) in a very different fashion.
Unlike in 2022, when the purple and gold fought back from an early 2-0 deficit, this season's Cookeville crew took an early lead and never looked back, letting the offense set the tone for a number of impressive pitching performances.
The Tech offense was quick to strike in the Tuesday tilt, gathering three consecutive base hits from Troy Baunsgard, Hayden Gilliland, and Peyton Mills to open the night and chase the first of a whopping 11 Vol pitchers in the ball game. Designated hitter Will Long put the Golden Eagles on the board two batters later, drawing a bases-loaded walk for a 1-0 lead.
Tennessee got out of the opening frame without further damage, but two innings later, the purple and gold went back to work with the bats. In the third, Tech once again loaded the bags, this time with one out. Left fielder Preston Ford delivered for the purple and gold, ripping a two-run double to center field to make it a 3-0 advantage.
Right fielder Theo Bryant IV increased the advantage another run with an RBI single to center field and second baseman Eddie Garza brought the lead to 5-0 with a run-scoring base knock up the middle.
The Vols finally got on the board in the third, chasing Tech starter Colt Taylor with a couple of baserunners to open the frame. The right-hander finished his night with two innings of work and two earned runs allowed as Tennessee turned in a three-run home run off of Golden Eagle reliever Brock Smith as soon as he entered the game.
Still leading 5-3, Smith truly dug deep and put the Tech squad on his back putting together a spirited performance on the mound spanning five innings. The Vols picked up one on the southpaw in the fourth to pull within a single run, but the Golden Eagles made sure to give Smith some more breathing room in the sixth.
With two outs, Mills was plunked by a 1-2 offering, bringing first baseman John Dyer to the dish. The senior slugger lived up to the moment, crushing an 0-2 pitch and clearing the wall in left field for a two-run jack. Giving Tech a 7-4 lead, it marked Dyer's 10th long ball of the year and the 34th round-tripper of his Tech career, tying the Mt. Juliet native with Brandon Thomasson for seventh on the program's career home run charts.
With a scoreless fifth to his name, Smith locked down two more frames without surrendering a run. He finished the evening with five innings of work, four strikeouts, and three runs allowed, the final coming in the eighth. He also picked up the win.
The Vols chased Smith from the game with a lead-off walk to start the inning, eventually driving in the base runner to pull within a pair. Tyler Zarella covered the eighth with just one hit and a pair of punchouts to give the Tech offense one last chance at providing insurance.
The Golden Eagles bats did more than their part, erupting for a five-spot to leave no doubt in the 12-5 victory. After back-to-back base hits by Ford and Bryant, Austin Turner pinch hit and reached safely on a sac bunt that was muffed by the Vol first baseman.
With the bases loaded again, Baunsgard placed an RBI flair to center field to plate a run. With a chance at his fifth hit of the night, Gilliland produced at an elite level. The Golden Eagle catcher crushed a double off the center field wall, clearing the bases for an 11-5 lead. Dyer followed with a double smashed to left field for the fifth run of the inning.
Tech head coach Matt Bragga went straight to the bullpen for the hard-throwing Hunter Mann to secure the victory in the ninth, and the power pitcher did his job. The righty lived up to his billing, striking out the side with one hit allowed, gathering swings and misses for all three outs.
Gilliland became the 29th player in program history to record five hits in a ball game, finishing 5-for-6 with three RBI and a pair of runs scored. Ford racked up three knocks with a pair of RBI while Dyer tallied two hits with three ribbies.
Nine different Tech batters picked up a hit in the contest while nine scored a run. Tech's 18 hits marked the second most by the squad this season, just one shy of the 19 accumulated at Davidson in late March.
The Golden Eagles earned their second straight win over Tennessee for the first time since winning back-to-back meetings in the 1989 and 1990 campaigns. Tech won 16-5 in '89 and 12-6 in 10 innings in '90, both games in Knoxville.
The purple and gold return to Cookeville for an Ohio Valley Conference weekend series with in-state rival UT Martin, kicking things off Friday evening with a 6:00 p.m. CT tilt at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
File photo by Jim Dillon
