By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
Tennessee Tech Baseball Weekend Preview (May 11)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team makes its final road trip of the regular season this weekend, making the trek to Little Rock for the first time as Ohio Valley Conference rivals for a three-game series.
Friday's series opener is slated for a 6:00 p.m. CT first pitch at Gary Hogan Field. Game two on Saturday will kick off at 4:00 p.m. while Sunday's series finale will begin with a 1:00 p.m. start. All three games are scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Golden Eagles head into the contest after picking up their first series sweep of the year, a 3-0 weekend over SIUE in Cookeville. Following a 9-2 loss at No. 16 Kentucky on Tuesday, Tech has won seven of its past 11 tilts, dating back to the 12-5 triumph over No. 19 Tennessee on Apr. 18 in Knoxville.
Last weekend, the purple and gold opened the series with SIUE behind with a 14-9 victory, plating four runs in three different innings. Tech pounded out 17 hits in the win before attacking a Saturday doubleheader with the same offensive clout.
The Cookeville crew tallied another 11 hits to edge the Cougars in game two of the weekend, 7-5. Closing things out for the clean sweep, the bats racked up another 14 hits for a 9-7 win.
A key cog to the success of the Golden Eagles was reliever Jacob Morin, who tossed four innings across two appearances, securing saves in the opening two contests. The right-hander piled up four punch outs without issuing a walk and allowed just one hit and one unearned run on his way to OVC Pitcher of the Week honors.
Little Rock enters the series after a tough, walk-off loss at Arkansas State on Tuesday. Trailing 4-1 after the first, the Trojans dropped seven unanswered runs over the next four frames to take an 8-4 lead. Arkansas State scored once in the seventh and three times in the eighth to square things out before smashing a walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Last weekend, Little Rock won both contests it played at Southern Indiana, with the series finale on Sunday being canceled due to lightning and poor field conditions. The Trojans rallied late in the opener on Friday, plating a pair with two outs in the top of the ninth to steal a 4-3 victory. Little Rock won a slobber knocker on Saturday, outpacing the Screaming Eagles 14-10.
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Current Weekend Schedule
Friday, May 12 | 6:00 p.m. CT | at Little Rock | Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, May 13 | 4:00 p.m. CT | at Little Rock | Live Video | Live Stats
Sunday, May 14 | 1:00 p.m. CT | at Little Rock | Live Video | Live Stats
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2023 Record: 17-28
2023 OVC Record: 8-10
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 493-447-2 (17th Season)
Career: 544-523-3 (20th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: John Dyer (.331)
2B: Peyton Mills (12)
3B: 4 players tied (1)
HR: John Dyer (19)
RBI: Peyton Mills (49)
R: John Dyer (41)
BB: Troy Baunsgard (33)
SLG%: John Dyer (.729)
OB%: Troy Baunsgard / Hayden Gilliland (.429)
SB: Theo Bryant IV (5)
ERA: Jacob Morin (3.73)
W: 3 players tied (3)
APP: Colt Taylor (19)
IP: Hunter Mann (54.0)
K: Hunter Mann (70)
BAA: Jacob Morin (.200)
SV: Jacob Morin (4)
LITTLE ROCK TROJANS
2023 Record: 27-18
2023 OVC Record: 12-5
Head Coach: Chris Curry
LR: 201-234 (9th Season)
Career: Same
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Tyler Williams (.365)
2B: Noah Brewer (11)
3B: Tyler Williams (6)
HR: Skyler Trevino (12)
RBI: 3 players tied (39)
R: Skyler Trevino (42)
BB: Skyler Trevino (34)
SLG%: Tyler Williams (.619)
OB%: Nico Baumbach (.446)
SB: Tyler Williams (20)
ERA: Jackson Wells (1.51)
W: Austin Stubber / Jackson Wells (5)
APP: Austin Stubber / Jacob Weatherley (21)
IP: Jackson Wells (71.2)
K: Jackson Wells (60)
BAA: Preston Davis (.181)
SV: Jacob Weatherley (4)
Photo by Jim Dillon
