By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
Tennessee Tech Baseball Weekend Preview (Apr. 27)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team heads north for another Ohio Valley Conference series, squaring off with Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Ill. Friday through Sunday.
First pitch for the series opener on Friday is set for 3:00 p.m. CT. Both Saturday's and Sunday's contests are slated for 1:00 p.m. starts. All three games are scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Golden Eagles enter the weekend after winning three of four games last week, highlighted by a 12-5 victory over No. 19-nationally ranked Tennessee on Tuesday. Heading into the weekend, Tech claimed two of three contests against in-state and OVC rival UT Martin, winning its first league series of the season.
Tech rallied from a 3-0, first-inning deficit in game one, picking up a 13-7 victory in a contest suspended to Saturday due to heavy rain and lightning during the bottom of the fourth inning. After the completion of game one, the Skyhawks roared back to even the series with a decisive, 16-2 win later on Saturday.
In Sunday's rubber match, the Golden Eagle left no doubt, cruising to an 11-0 win in just seven innings thanks to the OVC's run rule for travel days. The purple and gold jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and rode the incredible six-inning performance of hurler Peyton Calitri. Tech added a seven spot in the sixth to finish things off, using one inning of relief from Jacob Moring to clinch its second shutout of the year.
Eastern Illinois comes into the series 2-2 over its last four contests, including an 11-2 midweek victory at Butler on Tuesday. The Panthers dropped two of three tilts at Southern Indiana over the weekend, one that saw a whopping 89 runs scored between the two squads.
USI jumped out to a 1-0 series lead in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, cruising to a 26-6 victory. EIU bounced back for its own blowout win in the second contest, a 22-12 shellacking to square the series. The Screaming Eagles took the rubber match on Sunday, besting the Panthers 15-8.
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Current Weekend Schedule
Friday, Apr. 28 | 3:00 p.m. CT | at Eastern Illinois | Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, Apr. 29 | 1:00 p.m. CT | at Eastern Illinois | Live Video | Live Stats
Sunday, Apr. 30 | 1:00 p.m. CT | at Eastern Illinois | Live Video | Live Stats
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2023 Record: 13-25
2023 OVC Record: 4-8
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 489-444-2 (17th Season)
Career: 540-520-3 (20th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: John Dyer (.319)
2B: 3 players tied (8)
3B: 4 players tied (1)
HR: Peyton Mills (13)
RBI: Peyton Mills (42)
R: John Dyer (32)
BB: Hayden Gilliland (29)
SLG%: John Dyer (.638)
OB%: Troy Baunsgard (.436)
SB: Theo Bryant IV (4)
ERA: Jacob Morin (4.88)
W: Peyton Calitri (3)
APP: Colt Taylor (16)
IP: Peyton Calitri (44.2)
K: Hunter Mann (58)
BAA: Brock Smith (.200)
SV: Brody Lanham (2)
EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS
2023 Record: 23-15
2023 OVC Record: 4-8
Head Coach: Jason Anderson
EIU: 174-199 (8th Season)
Career: Same
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Kolten Poorman (.325)
2B: 3 players tied (8)
3B: Ryan Ignoffo (2)
HR: Ryan Ignoffo (9)
RBI: Ryan Ignoffo (38)
R: Ryan Ignoffo (40)
BB: Ryan Ignoffo (25)
SLG%: Ryan Ignoffo (.551)
OB%: Nicholas Rucker (.438)
SB: Ryan Ignoffo (20)
ERA: Jackson Nichols (0.60)
W: Ky Hampton (5)
APP: Zane Robbins (16)
IP: Ky Hampton (57.2)
K: Tyler Conklin (40)
BAA: Jackson Nichols (.200)
SV: 3 players tied (2)
Photo by Jim Dillon
