By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – When a recipe works, why change it, right? That philosophy served the Tennessee Tech baseball team well Sunday afternoon as the Golden Eagles used a combination of timely hitting and strong pitching in big spots to earn an 8-3 victory over UIC at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Much like Saturday's contest, Tech (9-3) found the hits it needed when it counted most and saw some stellar play on the mound to complete the series sweep over the visiting Flames (2-10). The purple and gold produced eight hits, drew four walks, and got plunked twice, constantly applying pressure on UIC.
It started right out of the gate, with the Cookeville crew lighting up the scoreboard first. Second baseman Jackson Rooker led off the contest with a base knock up the middle, followed by a five-pitch walk to shortstop Owen Lee.
Kicking off his best day at the dish as a Golden Eagle yet, designated hitter Jorsixt Jimenez blitzed an RBI base hit through the left side, plating Rooker for the first run of the ball game. Rookie hurler Carter Casabella tossed three scoreless frames to open the day, showing impressive chops to escape a jam in the second inning.
With runners on the corners and nobody out, the freshman dialed up a three-pitch strikeout to pick up some momentum. On the very next delivery, Casabella induced a ground ball to Lee for a 6-3 double play to end the frame.
The Flames tied the contest in the fourth, using a double, a sacrifice bunt, and a base hit to plate their first run of the day. Casabella picked up his second out of the frame the hard way, directing a comebacker off his leg and directly to first baseman Aaron Moffitt for the putout.
Trying to finish the inning, the rookie toughed out one more at-bat, but UIC responded with an RBI single to center field. Tech head coach Matt Bragga turned things over to Rockford University transfer Jared Herzog, who promptly induced a ground out to end the threat.
It didn't take long for the Golden Eagles to pick up their starter, loading the bases to open the bottom half of the inning and prompting a pitching change. UIC picked up a quick strikeout and went back to the bullpen again.
Rooker greeted the newest Flame to the field with a sacrifice fly to deep foul territory in left field, squaring the contest at 2-2. Lee followed with an RBI single up the middle that redirected into shallow center field off a diving effort by the second baseman.
Catcher Mack Whitcomb drew a six-pitch walk to reload the bases, setting up Jimenez for more heroics. Up 3-2 now, the junior turned in the hit of the day to break the contest wide open, slashing a bases-clearing double down the right-field line for three more RBI.
Herzog looked great through two more innings of work, piling up three strikeouts with just one mistake. In the top of the sixth, a breaking ball left up was deposited over the left-field wall for a solo home run. He responded with back-to-back ground outs to second base, finishing off the sixth.
Once again, the purple and gold had their pitcher's back, picking up two more insurance runs in the bottom half. After right fielder Luke Bragga led off the frame with a base hit to left field, Lee was plunked with a pitch to put a pair on.
UIC picked up two outs in the inning before Jimenez returned to the plate for one last offensive delivery. The Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic native smashed another double to right field, driving in both Bragga and Lee for an incredible, six-RBI day at the dish.
Freshman reliever Jaxon Pridgen came out of the pen to open the seventh and went on to finish the contest while facing the minimum. The rookie earned his first career save with 3.0 innings of perfect pitching, striking out three Flames without allowing a baserunner. Herzog earned his first win as a Golden Eagle, completing 2.1 innings with three punch-outs of his own.
Jimenez led the purple and gold with a 3-for-5 day and his six ribbies. Left fielder Landon Smelser inked up two more hits while Lee scored twice on the day.
The Golden Eagles will play four games in four days for the second straight week, welcoming Western Kentucky to Cookeville on Monday for a 4:00 p.m. CT tilt at the Quill. The contest was pushed up a day from Tuesday due to expected inclement weather in the Cookeville area.
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.
Photo by Jim Dillon
