By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team hits the road for just the second time in the 2024 campaign, heading east to Spartanburg, S.C. for a two-game, midweek series with USC Upstate starting Tuesday afternoon at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
Game one on Tuesday will feature a 3:00 p.m. CT first pitch while the second contest of the weekend will also begin at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both game times were pushed back one hour from their original starts.
The match-up marks the first ever between the two programs, although there will be some familiarity on the coaching front. USC Upstate is led by former Morehead State head coach Mike McGuire, who coached the Eagles from 2013-19. Associate head coach Kane Sweeney played at Morehead from 2012-15 while director of player development Braxton Morris was a member of the Eagle squad from 2015-18.
Last week, the Golden Eagles delivered a perfect 4-0 showing, starting with a 20-9 blowout in seven innings over visiting Alabama A&M in a driving rain at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex. Tech then delivered a three-game sweep over the weekend over Queens.
The offense lifted the purple and gold to a 13-8 victory in the series opener on Friday and built a hefty lead on Saturday. The Royals battled back to force extra innings in the second tilt, but the Golden Eagles responded with a walk-off single in the 10th for an 8-7 triumph. A pitcher's dual on Sunday served essentially the same result, a 3-2, walk-off win for the Cookeville crew.
Junior Tanner Shiver delivered both walk-off knocks on his way to his first career Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honors, announced by the league on Monday. Playing both third base and right field, the Maryville, Tenn. native slashed .471/.550/1.118 while piling up three home runs, a triple, six runs, eight RBI, and a stolen base.
USC Upstate finished 3-2 last week, dropping a pair of midweek tilts at No. 18 Coastal Carolina. The Spartans fell 14-8 in the first meeting and 9-2 in game two.
Over the weekend, they rebounded to sweep visiting Rider, kicking off the weekend with a 9-3 decision. In game two, the Spartans earned a walk-off victory of their own, delivering an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth for a 9-8 triumph. USC Upstate finished off the sweep with a 16-10 win on Sunday.
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Current Midweek Schedule
Tuesday, Mar. 12 | 3:00 p.m. CT | at USC Upstate
Wednesday, Mar. 13 | 3:00 p.m. CT | at USC Upstate
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2024 Record: 10-5
2024 OVC Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 507-458-2 (18th Season)
Career: 558-534-3 (21st Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Hayden Gilliland (.382)
2B: Troy Baunsgard (8)
3B: Austin Turner (3)
HR: Preston Steele (6)
RBI: Preston Steele (21)
R: Troy Baunsgard (21)
BB: Austin Turner (22)
SLG%: Tanner Shiver (.742)
OB%: Hayden Gilliland (.514)
SB: Austin Turner (9)
ERA: Peyton Calitri (2.59)*
W: Peyton Calitri (2)
APP: 3 players tied (5)
IP: Peyton Calitri (24.1)
K: Peyton Calitri (23)
BAA: Peyton Calitri (.211)*
SV: Jack Erdman (2)
* minimum 1.0 innings pitcher per team game played
USC UPSTATE SPARTANS
2024 Record: 9-7
2024 BIG SOUTH Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Mike McGuire
USCU: 132-72-1 (5th Season)
Career: 360-263-1 (12th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Noah Sullivan (.425)
2B: Troy Hamilton (7)
3B: Daniel Gernon / Jace Rinehart (2)
HR: Troy Hamilton (6)
RBI: Grant Sherrod (24)
R: Daniel Gernon (22)
BB: Koby Kropf (13)
SLG%: Noah Sullivan (.825)
OB%: Noah Sullivan (.545)
SB: Easton Cullison (8)
ERA: Mathieu Curtis (4.05)*
W: Noah Sullivan (3)
APP: Trent Hodgdon (6)
IP: Noah Sullivan (22.0)
K: Henry Proger (21)
BAA: Noah Sullivan (.210)*
SV: Julian Parson (1)
* minimum 1.0 innings pitcher per team game played
Photo by Jim Dillon
