By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A fiery surge down the stretch was too little too late for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles (19-32, 10-14) fell to visiting Southern Indiana in the regular-season finale at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Tech clinched the No. 6 seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Friday evening, securing a 12:30 p.m. CT match-up with No. 7 SIUE on Wednesday afternoon at Mt. Dew Park in Marion, Ill. With their win on Saturday, the Screaming Eagles (17-37, 8-15) locked down the No. 8 and final spot in the tournament field, setting up a 9:00 a.m. tilt against No. 5 Eastern Illinois next Wednesday.
After waiting more than three hours for the rain to subside to kick off the season finale, both sides traded zeroes on the scoreboard in the opening frame. USI jumped on the board in the second, using a lead-off home run and RBI single to take a 2-0 lead.
That lead soared to 7-0 in the fifth, as the visitors from Evansville, Ind. exploded for five runs in the frame after sending 10 batters to the plate.
The Golden Eagles finally broke through in the sixth, with none other than first baseman John Dyer pushing the purple and gold into the scoring column. The slugger hammered a solo blast to left-center field to lead off the bottom of the frame, securing his 22nd long ball of the year and 46th of his career.
His 22 dingers this season is tied for the fourth most in Tech single-season history with Brandon Thomasson in 2014. Dyer currently ranks sixth in team history and 17th in OVC history in career round-trippers.
The solo shot kept the senior's impressive hitting streak alive, extending to 23 straight games. It marks the third-longest single-season and fourth-longest overall streak in program history.
The Screaming Eagles answered with a single run in the seventh, moving back out front by seven, but the Golden Eagles refused to quit. Trailing 8-1 following the stretch, the Tech bats went back to work.
After smacking a pair of three-run bombs in Friday's win, third baseman Peyton Mills supplied his third of the weekend, belting another three-run jack to center field to pull Tech within four. It marked his 17th tater of the year.
Reliever Andrew Guardino exited the contest for Tech after working two and two-thirds frames with just one run allowed on three hits, giving way to freshman Jaxson Pease. The rookie just about finished the ball game, working a perfect eighth and securing two outs in the ninth before running into a bases-loaded jam. Fellow freshman Reece McDuffie came on and got Tech through it unscathed with a strikeout.
In need of a huge rally in the ninth, the purple and gold nearly delivered the home fans a comeback for the ages. Mills led things off with a base knock to left field on an 0-2 count. Two batters later, catcher Hayden Gilliland continued his hot weekend.
The junior destroyed the first ball he saw for a two-run no-doubter to right field, pulling the Golden Eagles within a pair. It marked Gilliland's 10th bomb of the season and third of the series. Preston Ford and Eddie Garza both reached to keep applying pressure to the Screaming Eagles, but the visitors were able to lock down the final two outs to clinch their playoff berth.
In the contest, shortstop Troy Baunsgard extend his remarkable reached base streak to 48 straight games, tying for the longest single-season mark in program history with David Garza's run in 2018. He sits just two games back of Garza's overall record of 50 straight contests set from the 2017-18 seasons. He also upped his hitting streak to 17 games in a row, ranking in the top-10 in school history.
Six different Golden Eagles recorded two hits in the contest, including Baunsgard, outfielder Austin Turner, Mills, Gilliland, Ford, and Garza. Mills led the group with three RBI and two runs scored.
Tech returns to the OVC Tournament for the second straight year. It represents head coach Matt Bragga's eighth consecutive trip to the event as the head man of the Golden Eagles.
Photo by Jim Dillon
