By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Truly testing its new turf surface Tuesday night, the Tennessee Tech baseball team overcame consistent rainfall and windy conditions to top visiting Alabama A&M, 20-9, while competing at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Experiencing rainfall at the Quill for the first time since installing TruHop Turf over the offseason, the Golden Eagles (7-5) used a monster first frame to build its initial lead and never looked back. The Bulldogs (2-10) actually opened the scoring in the tilt, plating a pair behind a walk and three hits.
Tech starter Jack Erdman regrouped, striking out the side and limiting the damage to set up his offense. The Golden Eagle bats took over and wasted no time in setting the tone for the remainder of the afternoon.
Left fielder Austin Turner singled to right field to kick start the bottom half, stole second, advanced to third on a fly ball to center field, and then slid in safely at the plate on one of Alabama A&M's seven wild pitches in the match-up. A walk and two infield singles loaded the bags for the purple and gold.
First baseman Kayne Jinks delivered the big swing to provide the Cookeville crew's first lead of the day, blistering a two-run single to left field. Following another walk to refill the bases, third baseman Tanner Shiver sprinted home on a wild pitch to make it a 4-2 lead for Tech.
While right fielder Jackson Green drew his own free pass, ball four came in wild and allowed Jinks to dent the dish. Turner was plunked by a pitch to load the bases one more time before second baseman Troy Baunsgard reached on a throwing error that scored one more. Senior Hayden Gilliland and center fielder Nicho Jordan collected back-to-back bases-loaded walks to drive in the final two runs of the frame for Tech's 8-2 lead.
Erdman tossed a scoreless second to end the day with four punch-outs before turning things over to rookie right-hander Juan Garza. The freshman tossed up a quick zero in the third before his offense went back to work and increased the advantage.
Gilliland and Jordan opened the bottom half of the frame with a pair of knocks to the outfield, but it was shortstop Preston Steele providing the first set of fireworks into the rain-spattered sky. The junior smashed his team-leading fifth long ball of the season, a three-run blast to right field.
Vargas returned to the mound and threw up another circle on the scoreboard, working around a lead-off walk. He ended the night with a pair of shutout innings and three strikeouts, earning his second win of the year.
In the fourth, Turner flashed the wheels again with a triple to center field. Baunsgard followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it a 12-2 ball game. The Bulldogs finally got back on the board with a single run in the fifth, but Tech had a response.
Shiver kicked things off with his first home run as a Golden Eagle, leading off the bottom half with a solo moon shot down the left-field line. Jinks then walked and scored on a triple off the bat of catcher Ryan Lee, the junior's first hit in the purple and gold.
Green sent a sacrifice fly ball to left-center field for the team's third run of the frame. Designated hitter Mack Whitcomb peppered an RBI single to shortstop to make it a 16-3 Tech lead.
As the rain started to really come down, Alabama A&M provided its best offensive threat of the day in the top of the sixth. It began with a lead-off home run and continued with a pair of walks and wild pitches to put runners on the corners. Two RBI base knocks and another wild offering preceded a throwing error with the precipitation clearly rearing its ugly head.
The Bulldogs went on to score six runs in the inning, cutting the Tech advantage to 16-9 and requiring the Golden Eagles to get the offense rolling one more time. The bats answered the call, with Shiver leading off the bottom of the sixth with a walk. He eventually scored on another wild pitch, but it was Baunsgard who stole the show.
With two outs in the frame and runners on first and second, "Bombsgard" hammered a three-run bomb to left field, moving the Tech edge back out to double digits. The senior's third round-tripper of the year was huge in regard to the game, as both teams had agreed to a run rule after the seventh inning prior to the contest.
With just three outs standing in the way of a warm and dry locker room, Reece McDuffie leaned on his defense despite the increasing showers, pitching around a lead-off walk. After a fielder's choice to third base kept the double-play ball intact, the sophomore rolled up another ground ball that paid dividends.
Baunsgard made a good flip to Shiver, who had slid over to shortstop with Garza's entrance into the contest, and the junior fired a pellet to Jinks to complete the double play and clinch the win.
Ten different Golden Eagles picked up at least one hit while nine drove in a run. Six members of the Tech squad had multiple hits while seven scored at least two runs. Jinks led the way with three hits, two RBI, and three runs scored.
Turner scored four times on the day with a pair of hits and two walks while Baunsgard ended the tilt with two hits, two runs, and four ribbies. Shiver dented the dish three times while picking up a pair of hits Whitcomb produced a two-hit day as well. Steele drove in three runs, scored two, and racked up two hits.
The Golden Eagles are set to wrap up their season-long, 11-game home stand this weekend at the Quill, playing host to Queens in a three-game set starting Friday, Mar. 8 at 3:00 p.m. CT.
Photo by Jim Dillon
