By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team kicks off a five-game road swing Tuesday evening, visiting Dugan Field in Nashville for a 2:00 p.m. CT battle with in-state rival Lipscomb. First pitch for the affair was moved up to a 2:00 p.m. start with inclement weather anticipated in the Nashville area.
The contest is slated to be streamed live on ESPN+. With inclement weather in the forecast on Tuesday, fans are encouraged to check TTUSports.com and Tennessee Tech social media for any potential updates/changes to this week's schedule.
Tuesday's match-up marks the 87th match-up since 1949 between the two programs, with the Golden Eagles owning a 48-38 lead in the series. The two teams split last year's home-and-home series, with each squad winning in its own ballpark.
Tech picked up a 10-5 triumph in Cookeville on Feb. 28 in a game that featured six total home runs. Tech accounted for three of them, including a three-run blast by Hayden Gilliland. The Bisons answered back in the rematch in Nashville, edging the Golden Eagles 4-1.
The Golden Eagles head into Tuesday's action after claiming a huge Ohio Valley Conference series win over Morehead State. The visiting Eagles took the opener in Cookeville, 9-2, but the purple and gold answered with a dominant 15-0 victory to even the series on Saturday.
The Cookeville crew won a 4-3 thriller on Sunday to take the series. Key to Tech's Saturday win was the effort on the hill by starter Peyton Calitri, who claimed OVC Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time this season with his performance.
In eight shutout innings, the senior scattered three hits and a walk while striking out a whopping 10 Eagle batters on his way to his fifth victory of the season. The right-hander allowed just three singles in the contest, and only one batter to reach second base under his watch.
Known historically under the watch of long-time head coach Matt Bragga as one of the premier, home-run slugging programs in the country year in and year out, this year's Golden Eagles squad sports a slightly different look on offense. The 2024 edition still ranks third in the OVC in long balls, but it's been the patience and speed that has shined during the season.
Heading into the weekend, the Golden Eagles ranked fourth in the nation in triples as a team, boasting 16 so far on the year. Tech ranked 27th nationally in walks, drawing 181 this year to lead the OVC.
Left fielder Austin Turner paces the group with a whopping 37 in 32 games, tying for third nationally. Boasting 110 in his Tech career, he now ranks tied for seventh in program history for walks with current teammate and Golden Eagle catcher Hayden Gilliland. Turner's eight career triples rank eighth in program history.
Turner is also tied for ninth in the nation with four triples while center fielder Nicho Jordan and shortstop Tanner Shiver rank tied for 28th with three each. Peyton Calitri has been special on the bump, ranking second nationally with a strikeout/walk ratio of 13.75, fanning 55 batters with just four free passes on the year.
Lipscomb enters Tuesday's tilt after earning back-to-back wins to claim an Atlantic Sun series win over Queens to end the weekend. After dropping the opener to the Royals, 11-3, the Bisons bounced back on Saturday to square things at 1-1 with a 10-3 victory.
In Sunday's series finale, Lipscomb topped Queens in just eight innings, pulling off a 14-4, run-rule win at Dugan Field in Nashville. The Bisons have now won five of their past 8 games after starting the season 4-17.
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Current Midweek Schedule
Tuesday, Apr. 9 | 6:00 p.m. CT | at Lipscomb
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2024 Record: 19-13
2024 OVC Record: 6-3
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 516-466-2 (18th Season)
Career: 567-542-3 (21st Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Preston Ford (.366)
2B: Troy Baunsgard (12)
3B: Austin Turner (4)
HR: 3 players tied (7)
RBI: Hayden Gilliland (35)
R: Hayden Gilliland (35)
BB: Austin Turner (37)
SLG%: Tanner Shiver (.710)
OB%: Hayden Gilliland (.487)
SB: Austin Turner (13)
ERA: Peyton Calitri (2.04)*
W: Peyton Calitri (5)
APP: Jack Erdman (12)
IP: Peyton Calitri (53.0)
K: Peyton Calitri (55)
BAA: Peyton Calitri (.217)*
SV: Jack Erdman (3)
* minimum 1.0 innings pitcher per team game played
LIPSCOMB BISONS
2024 Record: 9-21
2024 A-SUN Record: 5-7
Head Coach: Jeff Forehand
LIP: 467-490 (18th Season)
Career: 678-632-1 (24th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Mason Lundgrin (.340)
2B: Trace Willhoite (7)
3B: 3 players tied (1)
HR: Alex Vergara (11)
RBI: Austin Kelly (36)
R: Alex Vergara (33)
BB: Mason Lundgrin (.24)
SLG%: Trace Willhoite (.655)
OB%: Mason Lundgrin (.511)
SB: 4 players tied (7)
ERA: Alex Brewer (5.91)*
W: 3 players tied (2)
APP: Jake Lynch / Joey Mitchell (13)
IP: Alex Brewer (45.2)
K: Alex Brewer (35)
BAA: Alex Brewer (.303)*
SV: Joey Mitchell / Ben Wilson (1)
* minimum 1.0 innings pitcher per team game played
Photo by Jim Dillon
