By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team makes its annual trip to Nashville for an in-state battle with No. 12 nationally-ranked Vanderbilt on Tuesday afternoon, squaring off with the Commodores at 4:30 p.m. CT at Hawkins Field.
THE SERIES
Tuesday's midweek tilt represents the 74th meeting between the two ball clubs in the all-time series, with Vanderbilt holding a 50-23 advantage. The Commodores just edged the purple and gold in last season's match-up at Hawkins Field, earning an 8-7 victory in 11 innings on Apr. 30.
The Golden Eagles led by as much as 6-1 heading into the seventh-inning stretch, but Vandy rallied with six runs in the bottom half of the frame to take their first lead of the game. Mack Whitcomb played hero in the ninth for Tech, smashing a home run to tie the game and force extras.
The purple and gold have topped the Vandy Boys three times under the watch of head coach Matt Bragga. In 2013, Tech claimed a 10-9 win at Hawkins Field over a #2-ranked Dores squad. The Golden Eagles earned a 5-2 victory over #19 Vandy in 2017 and made it back-to-back wins in 2018 with a 6-4 decision.
TEAM NOTES
Four-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year Matt Bragga is back for his 19th overall season at the helm of the Golden Eagle program and fourth after making his return to Cookeville in 2022. The Tech legend 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) | 532 | ||
| 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.
Tech will compete in its fourth game in four days on Tuesday after its weekend series with Southern Illinois was pushed back one day due to the snow and freezing temperatures in the Cookeville area earlier last week. The Salukis handed the Golden Eagles their first series loss of the year, claiming the final two games of the weekend.
The Cookeville crew opened the weekend with a 3-2 victory over SIU, using a master class of pitching and just enough offense to subdue the Salukis. Jaxson Pease tossed 6.0 innings while allowing just two runs before passing things off to Reece McDuffie for the final 3.0 frames. The right-hander earned his second save of the year while allowing just one hit.
Southern Illinois' bats came to life over the final two contests, earning a 9-1 win in game two behind 14 knocks. The Salukis finished off the series on Monday, tallying 12 hits in a 10-4 win.
THE OPPONENT
Ranked #12 nationally, Vanderbilt is off to a 7-1 start on the year, with the lone loss to #24 Nebraska at the 2025 MLB Desert Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz. Since then, the Dores have run off six straight wins, including a weekend sweep of Saint Mary's (CA) over the weekend.
The Vandy offense went to work in the series, dropping 34 runs across the three wins, starting with an 11-4 romp in the opener. In Saturday's game two, Vanderbilt claimed a 13-7 victory before closing things on Sunday with a seven-inning, 10-0 shutout.
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Current Midweek Schedule
Tuesday, Feb. 24 | 4:30 p.m. CT | vs. #12 Vanderbilt
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2025 Record: 6-2
2025 OVC Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 532-481-2 (19th Season)
Career: 583-557-3 (22nd Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Mack Whitcomb (.370)
2B: 3 players tied
3B: Jackson Green / Whitcomb (1)
HR: Whitcomb (3)
RBI: Whitcomb (9)
R: Whitcomb (8)
BB: Nicho Jordan (8)
SLG%: Whitcomb (.852)
OB%: Whitcomb (.486)
SB: Jordan (3)
ERA: Patrick Johnson / Reece McDuffie (0.00)
W: Jaxson Pease (2)
APP: 3 players tied (3)
IP: Jaxson Pease (10.1)
K: Vargas (12)
BAA: McDuffie (.167)
SV: McDuffie (2)
VANDERBILT COMMODORES
2025 Record: 7-1
2025 SEC Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Tim Corbin
VU: 928-444-1 (23rd Season)
Career: 1,034-582-1 (29th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: RJ Austin (.438)
2B: Colin Barczi (3)
3B: Austin (3)
HR: 5 players tied (1)
RBI: Riley Nelson (10)
R: Austin (10)
BB: Rustan Rigdon (8)
SLG%: Austin (.781)
OB%: Rigdon (.571)
SB: Austin (5)
ERA: 7 players tied (0.00)
W: Sawyer Hawks (2)
APP: Matthew Shorey (4)
IP: Cody Bowker (9.0)
K: Bowker (12)
BAA: Bowker (.069)
SV: Miller Green (2)
Photo by Betty Myers
