By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
Tennessee Tech Baseball OVC Tournament Preview (May 23) | GAME NOTES
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team visits Marion, Ill. and Mt. Dew Park for the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament starting Wednesday, May 24. The No. 6 seeded Golden Eagles are set to square off with No. 7 SIUE in an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. CT.
Fans can follow all action throughout the tournament on ESPN+ or via radio broadcast with Dylan Vazzano and Mike Lehman on the call for radio.
The tilt with the Cougars represents the first between the two programs in OVC Tournament play. It marks the fourth in the month of May, with the purple and gold delivering a 3-0, series sweep of SIUE in Cookeville May 5-6.
In the series, the Golden Eagles opened things behind 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.
This season, Tech ranks second in the OVC in home runs, belting 87 round-trippers in 51 games. That mark is tied for the fourth-most in program history with the 2019 squad, ranking behind only the OVC record-holding 2018 squad (135), the 2022 team (114), and the 2017 unit (99).
Senior John Dyer has paced the whole group, making a historical run with his 22 pumps this season. The Mt. Juliet native ranks sixth in program history and 17th in OVC history with 46 career home runs. He is one of just 30 players in league history to reach the 40-home run plateau.
Dyer's 22 rockets this season are tied for fourth in Tech single-season history with Brandon Thomasson's 2014 effort. He needs two more to tie the OVC's all-time leader in dingers, former Tech All-American Jason Hinchman, for third with his 2019 total of 24. Hinchman also tied the team's all-time single-season mark of 26 last season, matching A.J. Kirby-Jones' 2010 run.
Senior Peyton Mills has made a name for himself with the long ball as well on year, racking up 17 in his lone season in the purple and gold. He has combined with Dyer to become just the fifth set of teammates in team history to each hit at least 17 pumps in the same season and first since 2018 when Kevin Strohschein (18), Chase Chambers (17), David Garza (17), and Trevor Putzig (17) did it.
Catcher Hayden Gilliland has enjoyed a breakout campaign in the power department, tallying 10 homers so far on the year. He represents just the fourth backstop in program history to hit the double-digit dinger mark, joining an elite crew of Matt Ballard (11 - 1992; 10-1989), Brian Lee (11 - 1997), Steve Soper (10 - 2007), and Chris Brown (11 - 2016; 11 - 2017). The junior sits just one long ball away from tying the positional record and two from setting a new standard.
This year marks the 44th OVC Baseball Tournament (the first elimination-style event was held in 1979). The event returns to Marion, Ill. for the first time since 2019. The OVC Baseball Championship has been held at a neutral site since 2001 and held at four other neutral site venues: Paducah, Ky. (2001-09), Jackson, Tenn. (2010-16, 2021), Oxford, Ala. (2017-18) and Lexington, Ky. (2022).
This year marks a the second year of the current bracket breakdown, which will include four single-elimination games on Wednesday, with the winners advancing to the double-elimination portion of the bracket, which will include the No. 1 and 2 seeds (who receive a bye until Thursday games). Saturday's Championship Game will be a one-game "Winner Take All" matchup.
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#6 Tennessee Tech vs. #7 SIUE | Wednesday, May 24, 12:30 PM
Marion, Ill. | Mt. Dew Park (7,000) | Live Audio | Live Video | Live Stats
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2023 Record: 19-32
2023 OVC Record: 10-14
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 495-451-2 (17th Season)
Career: 546-527-3 (20th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: John Dyer (.335)
2B: Peyton Mills (13)
3B: 4 players tied (1)
HR: John Dyer (22)
RBI: Peyton Mills (60)
R: John Dyer (47)
BB: Hayden Gilliland (40)
SLG%: John Dyer (.733)
OB%: Hayden Gilliland (.460)
SB: Theo Bryant IV (6)
ERA: Jacob Morin (3.38)
W: 4 players tied (3)
APP: Colt Taylor (21)
IP: Hunter Mann (63.0)
K: Hunter Mann (81)
BAA: Jacob Morin (.185)
SV: Jacob Morin (4)
SIUE COUGARS
2023 Record: 24-19
2023 OVC Record: 7-8
Head Coach: Sean Lyons
SIUE: 139-179 (7th Season)
Career: Same
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Brennan Orf (.356)
2B: Brady Bunten (20)
3B: Brennan Orf / Avery Owusu-Asiedu (2)
HR: Brennan Orf (19)
RBI: Brennan Orf / Avery Owusu-Asiedu(48)
R: Brennan Orf (73)
BB: Brennan Orf (53)
SLG%: Brennan Orf (.771)
OB%: Brennan Orf (.510)
SB: Avery Owusu-Asiedu (24)
ERA: Tyler DeLong (4.25)
W: Jake Bockenstedt / Tyler DeLong (5)
APP: Jacob Kampf (23)
IP: Jake Bockenstedt (78.1)
K: Jake Bockenstedt (81)
BAA: Tyler DeLong (.227)
SV: Zeus Ponder (5)
Photo by Emily Armstrong
