By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MARION, Ill. – Pitching and defense were the keys behind not one, but two huge victories for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Wednesday, as the Golden Eagles (21-32) survived the single-elimination portion of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Marion, Ill.
The No. 6 seeded purple and gold blanked No. 7 SIUE (26-28) in the team's first game of the day, capturing a 4-0 victory behind one of the better pitching displays by a Tech hurler in OVC Tournament history. Right-handers Hunter Mann and Jacob Morin teamed up to twirl the shutout over the Cougars, setting up a match-up with No. 3 UT Martin (22-34) later in the evening.
A number of brilliant defensive plays and more domination on the mound lifted the Golden Eagles to a 7-3 win in the contest with the Skyhawks. The win set up a date with No. 2 Little Rock Thursday afternoon, a 3:00 p.m. CT affair at Mt. Dew Park.
Mann and the defense set the tone for the day in the first inning of game number one, turning in the classic throw-him-out, strike-him-out double play to end the frame. Catcher Hayden Gilliland threw a dart to second baseman Eddie Garza to nab the runner trying to steal.
The offense provided all the support the pitching staff would need in the third, with right fielder Theo Bryant IV beating out a single to third base. After stealing second base, Bryant came around to score on an RBI single through the left side by left fielder Austin Turner.
Already with three punch-outs through the first three innings, Mann racked up two more in the fourth and required just four pitches to work through a scoreless fifth. He dominated the sixth, striking out the side before dialing up another two punchies in the seventh.
Garza delivered a defensive gem to close the frame and keep the lead in favor of the Golden Eagles. With runners on first and second and breaking on a 3-2 offering, the OVC All-Freshman Team honoree made a diving stop toward second base and made a nice throw to first baseman John Dyer to end the threat and steal a likely RBI single.
Overall, Mann picked up his fourth win of the year while tossing seven innings without allowing a run. The junior fanned 10 Cougars, scattering four hits and a pair of walks in arguably his best start of the year. Mann became the first Golden Eagle to strike out 10 batters or more in three starts in one season since David Hess did so back in 2014.
To lock down the win, the purple and gold added three insurance markers in the seventh, with designated hitter Preston Ford, Garza, and Bryant loading the bases with three singles. Center fielder Nicho Jordan kept the train rolling with an RBI base knock to right field.
Shortstop Troy Baunsgard reached on a fielder's choice to drive in another run and make it a 3-0 ball game. Turner sprinted to first safely on an RBI single that bounced off the pitcher's glove.
Morin took over on the hill for the eighth, picking up a punch-out with just a single base hit in the frame. He locked down a scoreless ninth as well, sandwiching a flyout with a pair of line outs to third base after a lead-off single. Mann and Morin combined for just the second shutout by the Golden Eagles in the OVC Tournament in program history.
The defense picked things up a notch in the second contest of the day, helping support a quality start by junior hurler Peyton Mills. The right-hander fanned a pair in the opening frame before the Skyhawks looked to do damage in the second.
Following a lead-off base knock and follow-up double, things looked good for the higher seed with runners in scoring position and nobody out. Enter Troy Baunsgard.
The shortstop covered nearly 100 feet tracking down a ball in foul territory down the left-field line, making a sliding grab for the first out of the inning. He then rifled a perfect, one-hop strike to Gilliland at the plate to gun down the runner attempting to tag from third base for a massive double play.
Third baseman Peyton Mills followed it up with a nifty snag on the short hop off a hard-hit grounder down the line, hurling a rocket to first to escape the inning clean.
Calitri dialed up two more strikeouts in the third before the Golden Eagles flashed the leather yet again. This time, Turner turned in the highlight-reel catch, sprinting to foul territory down the left-field line and making his own sliding grab to end the frame.
Using the momentum from the defensive gems and strong pitching display, Tech scored in each of the next five frames, starting in the fourth. Dyer led things off with an automatic double that bounced over the wall in right-center field. Two batters later, Ford drove him in with a base knock down the right-field line, a masterful at-bat that saw the junior work a nine-pitch at-bat.
Baunsgard doubled the Golden Eagle lead in the fifth, smashing the first pitch he saw in the frame to right field and clearing the wall for a two-out blast. It marked his ninth home run of the season.
Moving to the bottom half, Calitri picked up a quick out and a strike on the next batter before he lost his control for a small spell. The Tech starter missed with six straight offerings, allowing a walk and falling behind 2-0 to the next batter.
Gilliland and Dyer took a quick break to speak to the hurler and help him refocus. The talk worked, as Calitri used the next pitch to force a double play ball that Baunsgard, Garza, and Dyer turned with ease to move on to the sixth.
After turning in a brilliant scoop to lock down the double play in the fifth, Dyer led off the sixth with a bang. The senior slugger crushed a long ball down the right-field line, his fifth lead-off jack of the season. The round-tripper marked his 23rd of the year, breaking a tie for fourth in a single season in program history.
The dinger also represented the Mt. Juliet native's 47th career trip around the bases, ranking Dyer 17th in OVC history and sixth in program history. He now owns 22 blasts in his past 34 games and 15 jacks over his past 20 contests.
Tech's lone defensive miscue of the day allowed the Skyhawks to finally dent the dish in the bottom of the sixth. UT Martin plated a pair of unearned runs in the frame before Calitri worked through the rest of the frame without further damage.
Clinging to a one-run advantage, the Golden Eagles took their turn taking advantage of mistakes on defense, with Jordan reaching safely after a dropped third strike and error on the catcher. Turner drove him in two batters later with a double to left-center field.
With two outs in the inning and the bases loaded, the Skyhawks looked likely to walk away trailing by just two, with a pop fly sent high into the air just shy of first base. The UT Martin first baseman tracked the ball, but couldn't secure the catch, with the ball squirting out at the last second and allowing a pair of runs to cross safely for a 6-2 Tech lead.
The Skyhawks finally chased Calitri from the ballgame in the seventh, using a pair of base hits to force Tech head coach Matt Bragga's hand. The veteran manager turned back to Morin to close out the ball game and the junior delivered in a huge way. He struck out a pair before UT Martin picked up one RBI single to cut the deficit to three.
One final defensive gem from the Golden Eagles saved at least one if not two more runs in the frame. A shallow fly ball nearly landed fairly down the right-field line, but Garza made a remarkable catch, chasing down the towering pop-up and corralling it over his shoulder to end the frame.
The purple and gold added one more run in the eighth for good measure, with defensive substitute Tanner Shiver, who entered the game at shortstop in the seventh, laying down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move a runner to second and drive in Bryant from third.
Morin worked around a lead-off base knock by the Skyhawks in the eighth, picking up another punch-out. UT Martin led off the ninth with another base knock, but Tech's All-OVC Second Team reliever responded by striking out the next two batters. He then induced a weak ground ball to Dyer at first, raced over to cover the bag, and recorded the final out of the night.
The League City, Texas native earned his fifth save of the season while completing the final three innings with no runs, no walks, and five strikeouts. He scattered three hits. Calitri picked up his fourth win of the year, fanning five while allowing just one earned run over six frames.
Jordan, Turner, Dyer, and Garza all recorded multi-hit efforts on the day, with Dyer scoring three times.
Should Tech win its Thursday tilt with Little Rock, the Golden Eagles would advance to the OVC Tournament semifinals on Friday, locking in a match-up with the winner between No. 5 Eastern Illinois and No. 1 Morehead State in Thursday's first contest. A purple and gold loss would result in another game on Thursday night, with Tech taking on the loser of the EIU and Morehead affair.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
