By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team continues its eight-game homestand to open the 2025 campaign Saturday afternoon, kicking off a three-game weekend slate against Southern Illinois with a 2:00 p.m. CT tilt at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The series continues Sunday afternoon with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch. Monday's finale will also feature a 1:00 p.m. start. Originally scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the series was pushed back one day due to snow and freezing temperatures in the Cookeville area earlier in the week.
Admission to all Tech baseball games is free of charge. Fans are encouraged to check TTUSports.com and Tennessee Tech social media for any potential updates to this weekend's schedule.
THE SERIES
Saturday's series opener represents the 10th meeting between the two ball clubs in the all-time series, with the Salukis holding a 6-3 edge. Southern Illinois won the most recent match-up, besting the Golden Eagles in a neutral-site battle in Jacksonville, Ala. in 20201, 4-3.
Tech and Southern Illinois first squared off back in 1967, with the Salukis picking up a pair of wins on their home diamond. SIU went on to win the next three affairs as well, sweeping a three-game set in Carbondale, Ill. during the 2017 campaign.
The purple and gold got its revenge as part of the historic 2018 season when the Golden Eagles finished one game away from advancing to the College World Series and became the first Ohio Valley Conference team to win an NCAA Regional. The Cookeville crew swept the three-game slate in Cookeville, capping a monster weekend with an 18-5 victory.
The home team has claimed victory in every non-neutral-site match-up in the series.
TEAM NOTES
Four-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year Matt Bragga returns for his 19th overall season at the helm of the Golden Eagle program and fourth after making his return to Cookeville in 2022. In 2024, the purple and gold made its ninth straight appearance in the OVC Tournament under the direction of Bragga, finishing the year 29-26 overall and 13-14 in league action.
Bragga is starting to climb the OVC's all-time coaching wins list, currently ranked sixth 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) | 531 | ||
| 7. | 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 purple and gold were selected to finish third in the OVC in a preseason vote of league head baseball coaches and communications directors, falling behind only defending tournament champion Southeast Missouri and defending regular-season champ Little Rock.
The Golden Eagles are off to their first 5-0 start since 2022, when the team opened the year 10-0. It marks the team's third 5-0 start under the direction of Bragga.
On Tuesday, the purple and gold won a thrilling, back-and-forth battle with in-state rival Belmont at the Quill, topping the visiting Bruins 10-8 on a frigid afternoon in Cookeville. Belmont jumped out an early, 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second inning, but the Golden Eagles capitalized on a huge error in left field with two outs, eventually plating a trio of runs.
After the Bruins scored twice more in the top of the third, Tech swung all momentum back to its side with a methodical attack, scoring single runs in the third and fourth, followed by two more in the fifth to tie the game at 7-7. The Cookeville crew went on top in the seventh, but Belmont rallied with a solo home run in the eighth to square the affair once more.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, rookie outfielder Landon Smelser delivered an incredibly clutch at-bat, lacing a 2-1 count down the left-field line to plate a pair and spark the Golden Eagles to a 5-0 start to the year.
Following the season's opening weekend, catcher Mack Whitcomb was named the OVC's Player of the Week for the first time in his career Monday afternoon. The driving force behind Tech's offense the Mokene, Ill. native batted .385 with all five hits of the extra-base variety. He scored five times and plated six runs while racking up an eye-popping OPS of 1.625 and a slugging percentage of 1.154.
The sophomore opened the season with a go-ahead three-run home run that represented the game-winning RBI and scored the team's game-winning run in game two. In the fourth and final game, Whitcomb went deep again, hammering an oppo taco into a 15-mile-per-hour headwind.
THE OPPONENT
The Salukis make the trip to Cookeville after spending opening weekend in Edinburg, Texas, competing at UT Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) in a three-game set. The Vaqueros took the series from SIU, winning the bookend tilts.
Southern Illinois held as large as a 4-2 lead in the season opener, but UTRGV scored six unanswered runs across the sixth, seventh, and eighth frames to claim an 8-4 win. The Salukis bounced back in game two, limiting the Vaqueros to just three hits in a 7-2 victory.
UTRGV held off a late rally by the Salukis in the series finale, winning 3-2 despite surrendering a ninth-inning home run.
Twitter: @TNTech_Baseball
Facebook: /TennesseeTechBaseball
Instagram: TNTech_Baseball
Current Weekend Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 22 | 2:00 p.m. CT | vs. Southern Illinois
Sunday, Feb. 23 | 1:00 p.m. CT | vs. Southern Illinois
Monday, Feb. 24 | 1:00 p.m. CT | vs. Southern Illinois
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2025 Record: 5-0
2025 OVC Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 531-479-2 (19th Season)
Career: 582-555-3 (22nd Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Mack Whitcomb (.375)
2B: Owen Lee / Whitcomb (2)
3B: Jackson Green / Whitcomb (1)
HR: Whitcomb (2)
RBI: Whitcomb (8)
R: Whitcomb (6)
BB: Nicho Jordan (6)
SLG%: Whitcomb (1.000)
OB%: Garza (.563)
SB: Green / Jordan (2)
ERA: 5 players tied (0.00)
W: 5 players tied (1)
APP: 4 players tied (2)
IP: Patrick Johnson / Juan Vargas (6.0)
K: Vargas (10)
BAA: Drew Mattox (.100)
SV: 3 players tied (1)
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS
2025 Record: 1-2
2025 MVC Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Lance Rhodes
SIU: 160-98 (6th Season)
Career: Same
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Michael Mylott (.500)
2B: Mylott (2)
3B: None
HR: John Lemm (1)
RBI: Mylott (1)
R: 4 players tied (2)
BB: Kaleb Hall (5)
SLG%: Mylott (.700)
OB%: Mylott (.571)
SB: Matt Schark (2)
ERA: 5 players tied (0.00)
W: Alec Nigut (1)
APP: 9 players tied (1)
IP: Jordan Huskey / Nigut (5.0)
K: Nigut (6)
BAA: Sam Frizzi / Nigut (.000)
SV: None
Photo by Betty Myers
