By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill. – An early blitz by the opposing offense left the Tennessee Tech baseball team in a hole too big to climb out of Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles (14-26, 5-9) fell at Eastern Illinois (24-16, 5-9) by a final score of 12-4.
Competing at Coaches Stadium in Charleston, Ill., EIU evened the Ohio Valley Conference series after the Golden Eagles cruised to an 8-3 victory in the opener Friday afternoon.
The Panthers were quick to strike on the day, plating three in the first for an early advantage. Behind the power of a three-run home run, the home squad added five more to the scoreboard in the second, expanding the lead to 8-0 through just two frames.
The Golden Eagles struck back in the third, with second baseman Eddie Garza breathing some life into the offense with a solo blast to left-center field. It marked the rookie's fifth home run of the season.
Center fielder Nicho Jordan followed with a base knock to center field, setting up shortstop Troy Baunsgard for some more fireworks. The Tech shortstop hammered a two-run jack to left-center field to cut the deficit to five, the junior's seventh long ball of the year.
EIU got a run back in the fourth before the Golden Eagles went back to work with the bats in the sixth. In the top half of the frame, first baseman John Dyer worked a lengthy at-bat before hammering a solo shot to dead-center field.
The round-tripper marked the senior's third of the series and 15th of the year. It also represented Dyer's 39th in the purple and gold, leaving just one shy of becoming just the sixth Golden Eagle and 29th hitter in OVC history to reach 40 bombs in a career.
Eastern Illinois answered again in the bottom of the sixth and picked up an unearned run in the seventh to move out front by seven. In the eighth, the Panthers gathered a solo home run for the final score of 12-4.
Dyer and catcher Hayden Gilliland tied for the team lead with two hits apiece while five other Golden Eagles added base knocks on the day. Dyer finished 2-for-3 with a walk and the long ball. The EIU defense was impressive, turning in three double plays on the day while the Tech infield turned one.
The rubber match between the Golden Eagles and Panthers is slated for a 11:00 a.m. CT first pitch Sunday afternoon.
File photo by Jim Dillon
