By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A windy night at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex led to some high-octane offense Tuesday, as the Tennessee Tech baseball team dropped a heartbreaker to in-state rival Belmont, 9-8.
The Bruins (6-3) came out swinging and made the most of its contact gathering an RBI single on soft contact in the top of the first. The Golden Eagles (6-2) answered immediately in the bottom half, with left fielder Austin Turner ripping a lead-off triple down the first-base line. Center fielder Nicho Jordan plated the speedster with a sacrifice fly to right-center field.
In the third, Belmont earned a pair of base knocks, a sawed-off blooper down the right-fielder line and an infield hit to the deep part of shortstop. Two batters later, the Bruins simply put the ball in the air toward right field and let the wind do the rest, carrying it over the wall for a three-run home run.
Again, the purple and gold responded immediately, with Turner crushing a solo laser to right-center field for a lead-off round-tripper. The Bruins fought right back in the fifth inning, taking their biggest lead of the game with another fly ball to right field that found the vortex of wind and rode it out of the park for a two-run shot.
Trailing 6-2, the Cookeville crew started to chip away, starting in the bottom of the fifth. After Turner drew a one-out walk, second baseman Troy Baunsgard laced a double to right-center field to put a pair in scoring position. Catcher Hayden Gilliland, the Ohio Valley Conference's reigning Player of the Week, spit a flair to center field that dropped in for an RBI single.
Moving on to the sixth, the Golden Eagles kept trimming the deficit thanks to a lead-off jack to center field off the bat of first baseman Preston Ford. Two batters later, shortstop Preston Ford joined the long ball club with a no-doubter to left-center field to cut the visitor lead to just 6-5.
Belmont took advantage of a pair of defensive miscues by the purple and gold in the eighth with two outs. One Bruin reached on a throwing error while the next batter singled up the middle and advanced to second on a mistaken throwing decision.
Another single up the middle plated both runners for a pair of unearned runs, but the Golden Eagles didn't let the new, three-run deficit stare them down for long. In the bottom of the eighth, Tech rallied again, kicking things off with a one-out, ground-rule double to center field from third baseman Eddie Garza.
After Steele was hit by an 0-1 offering, right fielder Theo Bryant IV delivered the biggest hit of the night to that point, sneaking a double down the right-field line that plated both runners to bring Tech within a run. Three batters later, and with two outs, Gilliland came through with an RBI single through the left side, tying the ball game at 8-8.
Tech looked well on its way to the bottom of the ninth with a chance to walk things off, but the Bruins had one more rally of its own on the day. After the Golden Eagles gathered a pair of quick outs, a double to right-center field kept the frame alive.
On the next pitch, Belmont ripped a single through the left side and sent the runner from second sprinting for the plate. The slightest hesitation from the throw from the outfield provided just enough space for the Bruin base runner to slide in safely for the 9-8 lead.
The visitors from Nashville then clinched the win with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, providing Tech with just its second loss of the year.
Both Gilliland and Bryant drove in a pair on the night while Garza, Turner, and Gilliland each turned in two hits each. Gilliland reached in all five of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with three walks. The senior backstop has now reached base in each of his last 10 plate appearances over the past two games. Turner finished 2-for-3 with three runs and two walks.
Jaxson Pease tossed 3.1 innings out of the bullpen, scattering just three hits, two unearned runs, and a walk with three strikeouts.
Next on tap for the Golden Eagles is a huge weekend series at the Quill with Notre Dame. The three-game slate will kick off Friday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. CT first pitch. Game two is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start on Saturday while Sunday's finale with the Fighting Irish will take place at 1:00 p.m.
Photo by Jim Dillon
