By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MACON, Ga. – Tenacity and grittiness were on full display by the Tennessee Tech baseball team in Macon, Ga. Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles rallied for a 9-7 victory over Mercer at OrthoGeorgia Park to square the weekend series between the two squads at one game apiece.
It was smooth sailing for both sides through the opening two frames, but after the Bears (13-&) worked a third straight scoreless inning in the top half, their offense came out with a vengeance in the bottom half. Taking advantage of an error by the purple and gold (15-5) to lead things off, Mercer poured it on with three straight extra-base hits.
A two-run double put the home squad on top before the real damage appeared in the frame. Two pitches later, the Bears cleared the wall for a two-run home run to double the lead before a solo blast on the very next offering turned it into a 5-0 Mercer advantage.
The bats came alive for the Tech squad after that point, taking the first step towards the comeback in the top of the fourth. With two outs and runners on second and third, third baseman Preston Steele put the purple and gold on the scoreboard with an RBI knock to the Mercer pitcher.
The Cookeville crew continued to work on the deficit in the fifth, with second baseman Eddie Garza leading things off with a single to center field. Shortstop Owen Lee continued his monster week by belting the next pitch clear over the wall in right-center field for a two-run round-tripper. It marked the redshirt freshman's fourth long ball of the week and team-leading fifth of the year.
Now trailing just 5-3, the Golden Eagles completed the comeback in the seventh with a familiar face playing the first of two heroes in the frame. It didn't take long to even the score at 5-5, with Lee drawing a four-pitch walk and designated hitter Mack Whitcomb following with a double to right-center field.
Jimenez came to the plate and provided another clutch at-bat, ripping a two-run, game-tying single to left field. After center field Nicho Jordan worked a five-pitch free pass to put runners on first and second with one out, Mercer went to the bullpen to try and escape further damage.
A quick out seemed to tilt things in the home team's favor, that was until first baseman Riley Black came to the dish. He watched the first offering miss before muscling up and smashing a three-run blast to right-center field. Black's second dinger of the year made it an 8-5 Tech lead in an instant.
The Bears refused to go down quietly, attempting to rally in the bottom half of the seventh with a lead-off walk. Tech head coach Matt Bragga called Juan Vargas from the bullpen, but things got a little shakey at first.
Mercer welcomed the righty with a two-run homer to right field, cutting the lead to just 8-7. The Golden Eagle sophomore reliever struck out the next batter before issuing a pair of tough, full-count walks. Vargas battled back, however, inducing back-to-back fly balls to center field to get out of the frame without further damage.
He made quick work of the Bears in the eighth, sitting them down in order with a punch-out sandwiched by a pair of pop-ups to Lee at short. Steele plated an insurance run in the top of the ninth to provide Vargas with a bit of breathing room before the hurler took back over for the bottom half.
The home squad worked another walk on a full count and followed with an infield single to bring the winning run to the plate, but Vargas and the Golden Eagle defense had other plans in mind. The righty induced a very timely, 6-4-3 double play to put a big dent in Mercer's rally hopes.
Vargas finished off his third save of the season in style, picking up his third strikeout of the day and even the series at 1-1. Jack Brafa earned his team-best fourth win of the season after covering the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, scattering one run, one hit, and three walks.
Unsurprisingly, it was Jimenez leading the offense with a 3-for-5 day, two RBI, and two runs scored. Owen Lee tacked on a pair of ribbies, two runs, and a hit while catcher Ryan Lee delivered a pair of knocks. Black padded the purple and gold with three RBI while Steele tacked on a pair of his own with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate.
The rubber match for the series is slated for a 12:00 p.m. CT first pitch on Sunday at OrthoGeorgia Park, with the Golden Eagles looking for their fourth series win of the season. Sunday's contest is also scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+.
File photo by Jim Dillon
