By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team built an early lead and held off a late surge from Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday afternoon to claim an 8-6 win and complete the weekend series sweep of the Mastodons at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Both sides tossed up zeroes over the first two innings before the visitors from Fort Wayne jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. The Mastodons (1-13) took advantage of a defensive miscue by the purple and gold, plating two unearned runs with some small ball.
It took until the fourth, but the Golden Eagles (13-4) provided a response to square the game at 2-2. Third baseman Preston Steele laced a one-out double to left-center field and scored later in the frame on an RBI single through the left side off the bat of first baseman Aaron Moffitt.
A couple of batters later, second baseman Jackson Rooker came to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered the game-tying swing. The redshirt freshman slapped a fielder's choice to shortstop, easily beating out the throw from second on a double-play attempt and providing enough time for the run to score.
Tech brought the pressure in the sixth to take the lead for good, with left fielder Landon Smelser drawing a lead-off walk and Moffitt following with a free pass of his own. Right fielder Luke Bragga laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the runners over before a wild pitch plated Smelser and let Moffit advance to third.
Now equipped with a 3-2 lead, the Cookeville crew really went to work in the seventh, bursting out for four big runs. After catcher Mack Whitcomb was hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count, designated hitter Riley Black attempted to move him over with a sac bunt. The ensuing throw from third base missed its mark and found no man's land in foul territory between first base and right field.
Already running on the play, Whitcomb scored all the way from first base to make it a 4-2 advantage while Black scurried around to third. Center fielder Jackson Green turned in the biggest swing of the day for the Golden Eagles, crushing the second pitch he saw to left field for his first round-tripper of the year and a pair of ribbies.
Steele continued the outburst with another double, this time down the third-base line. Bragga beat out a slow chopper to the Mastodon shortstop for an infield knock to move Steele over to third. Steele then scored after the throw from short came up short and the first baseman couldn't make the scoop.
Purdue Fort Wayne scored twice in the eighth, but the purple and gold responded immediately in the bottom half with a run of its own. Loading the bases behind a base knock and two walks, Tech brought Smelser back to the dish to deliver an RBI free pass.
The Mastodons let loose its final salvo in the top of the ninth, scoring two quick runs on an infield single and a two-run home run to left-center field. Drew Mattox took over on the mound and instantly picked up a strikeout for out number one.
The visitors bounced back with back-to-back singles to right field, once again putting the pressure on the home squad. Southpaw Micah Summar came on from the pen for a lefty-lefty match-up at the dish and the freshman looked like a veteran, needing just five pitches to punch out the 6-foor-9 first baseman for the Mastodons.
Tech head coach Matt Bragga went back to his stable one last time to play the match-ups again, this time turning to right-hander Logan Moller. The rookie also came up clutch, bouncing back from a 3-0 count to strike out the final batter of the ball game and earn his first career save.
After tossing 1.1 innings out of the bullpen, fellow freshman hurler Jaxon Pridgen earned his first win of the year. Junior Patrick Johnson tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless ball while starter Carter Casabella completed the first 3.2 frames with just two, unearned runs allowed and two punch-outs.
Leading the offense with three hits and two runs was Steele. Smelser drew three walks and scored twice while Green turned in two hits and two RBI.
The Golden Eagles will hit the road for an extended stretch for the first time this season, starting with a midweek tilt at in-state rival Middle Tennessee on Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. CT. Tech will then head south for a weekend series at Mercer.
Photo by Jim Dillon
