By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team closes out the 2024 regular season this weekend, playing host to Ohio Valley Conference rival Little Rock in a critical league series at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Due to inclement weather expected in the Cookeville area this weekend, Thursday's series opener has been moved up to a 3:00 p.m. CT first pitch. Friday's game two is still set for a 6:00 p.m. start while Senior Day on Saturday is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m.
All three tilts are scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+. Admission to all Tech home baseball games is free of charge.
With inclement weather in the forecast all weekend, fans are encouraged to check TTUSports.com and Tennessee Tech social media for any potential updates/changes to this weekend's schedule.
THE SERIES
Thursday's series opener marks the 11th match-up between the two programs all time, with everything squared up at 5-5. Last season, the Trojans took three of the four tilts in the first season as OVC rivals.
Little Rock opened last year's regular-season series with a 7-0 win, but the purple and gold answered back with a big, 9-5 victory in the second contest. Tech unleashed seven runs in the first inning to earn the big win.
The finale was a classic, with the Golden Eagles scoring five times in the eighth for a 9-8 lead. The Trojans answered back in the bottom of the frame, eventually leading to extra innings. Tech scored in the top of the 10th behind a home run from Nicho Jordan, but Little Rock had the last word, using a sac fly and RBI single to earn the 11-10 walk-off win.
The two squads faced off one more time in the OVC Tournament two weeks later, with the Trojans earning a 4-1 win to hand Tech its first loss of the event.
LAST TIME OUT
Tech fell in two of its three contests at SIUE over the weekend, dropping the final two games of the series. The Golden Eagles claimed the opener with the Cougars, dialing up 13 hits on the way to a 13-6 triumph.
SIUE bounced back to even the series on Saturday, producing a 9-2 decision. The Cougars then stunned the purple and gold in Sunday's finale, scoring three times in the bottom of the ninth in a 4-3 victory.
TEAM NOTES
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 tied for 24th in the nation in triples as a team, boasting 17 so far on the year. Tech also ranked tied for 31st nationally in walks, drawing 275 this year to lead the OVC.
Left fielder Austin Turner paces the group with a whopping 52 in 49 games, ranking tied for fifth nationally and fourth in a single season in program history. Boasting 125 in his Tech career, he now ranks sixth in program history for walks, boasting five more than current teammate and Golden Eagle catcher Hayden Gilliland, who ranks seventh with 120. Turner's eight career triples rank eighth in program history while his 129 runs scored rank tied for 19th and his 27 steals are tied for 23rd. Turner and infielder Tanner Shiver are both tied for 30th in the nation with four triples each.
Gilliland has climbed a number of career record charts for the purple and gold in his senior campaign in addition to the all-time walks list. He currently ranks 14th in on-base percentage (.433), tied for 12th in home runs (30), 17th in RBI (129), tied for 20th in hits (193), and 23rd in runs (122). Defensively, he now ranks second in program history with 50 runners caught stealing, trailing Britt Clubb (2002-05) by six for the all-time record.
Peyton Calitri has been special on the bump, ranking third nationally with a walks/nine innings mark of 1.09 and sixth with a strikeout/walk ratio of 7.60, fanning 76 batters with just 10 free passes on the year. He also has been ascending the all-time career leaderboards, ranking third in strikeout/walk ratio (3.43), third in walks/nine innings (2.14), tied for sixth in starts (39), tied for eighth in wins (17), tied for 10th in strikeouts (182), 13th in innings pitched (222.2)
Tech head coach Matt Bragga is starting to climb the OVC's all-time coaching wins list, tying for sixth place overall. Bragga and TTU Sports Hall of Famer David Mays represent the only pair of coaches from the same school to rank in the league's top eight of OVC wins.
| 1. | Gary McClure, Austin Peay (1988-15) | 847 | ||
| 2. | Johnny Reagan, Murray State (1958-93) | 776 | ||
| 3. | Jim Ward, Eastern Kentucky (1980-01) | 628 | ||
| 4. | Jim Case, Jacksonville State (2004-21) | 564 | ||
| 5. | David Mays, Tennessee Tech (1974-98) | 554 | ||
| 6. | Matt Bragga, Tennessee Tech (2004-18, 22-present) | 526 | ||
| Mark Hogan, Southeast Missouri (1995-12) | 526 | |||
| 8. | Jim Schmitz, Eastern Illinois (1997-15) | 480 | ||
| 9. | John Stanford, Middle Tennessee (1974-87) | 402 | ||
| 10. | Steve Peterson, Middle Tennessee (1988-00) | 401 |
THE OPPONENT
Little Rock enters the weekend after earning its first OVC sweep of the year last week against Southern Indiana. The Trojans mounted a comeback in the opener, pulling off an 11-9 victory. Another comeback ended in a walk-off winner for Little Rock on Saturday, with the home squad scoring once in the eighth and twice more in the ninth for a 7-6 decision.
The Trojans completed the sweep on Sunday, scoring a game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth to force extras before walking things off with a pair of markers in the 10th for a 5-4 triumph. On Tuesday, Little Rock dropped its final midweek action of the year, a 6-3 match-up with Central Arkansas.
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Current Weekend Schedule
Thursday, May 16 | 3:00 p.m. CT | vs. Little Rock
Friday, May 17 | 6:00 p.m. CT | vs. Little Rock
Saturday, May 18 | 2:00 p.m. CT | vs. Little Rock
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2024 Record: 29-22
2024 OVC Record: 13-11
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 526-475-2 (18th Season)
Career: 577-551-3 (21st Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Hayden Gilliland / Preston Ford (.335)
2B: Troy Baunsgard (17)
3B: Tanner Shiver / Austin Turner (4)
HR: Hayden Gilliland (13)
RBI: Hayden Gilliland (54)
R: Hayden Gilliland / Austin Turner (47)
BB: Austin Turner (52)
SLG%: Hayden Gilliland (.593)
OB%: Hayden Gilliland (.447)
SB: Austin Turner (19)
ERA: Peyton Calitri (3.06)*
W: Peyton Calitri (7)
APP: Jaxson Pease (18)
IP: Peyton Calitri (82.1)
K: Landon Smiddy (80)
BAA: Jaxson Pease (.233)*
SV: Jack Erdman / Jaxson Pease (3)
* minimum 1.0 innings pitcher per team game played
LITTLE ROCK TROJANS
2024 Record: 29-22
2024 OVC Record: 16-8
Head Coach: Chris Curry
LR: 233-259 (10th Season)
Career: Same
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Nico Baumbach (.328)
2B: Nico Baumbach (18)
3B: Tyler Williams (3)
HR: Skyler Trevino (10)
RBI: Nico Baumbach (43)
R: Tyler Williams / Jake Wright (35)
BB: Luke Pectol (30)
SLG%: Nico Baumbach (.534)
OB%: Jake Wright (.413)
SB: Tyler Williams (16)
ERA: Jacob Weatherley (2.93)*
W: Austin Stubber (7)
APP: Jacob Weatherley (22)
IP: Hoss Brewer (73.2)
K: Hoss Brewer (91)
BAA: Hoss Brewer (.232)
SV: Jacob Weatherley (9)
* minimum 1.0 innings pitcher per team game played
Photo by Jim Dillon
