By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Timely offense and a brilliant pitching performance out of the bullpen lifted the Tennessee Tech baseball team to its third Ohio Valley Conference series win of the season on Saturday, as the Golden Eagles topped Southern Indiana 8-6 at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The victory vaulted the purple and gold (23-13, 8-3) into sole possession of first place in the OVC standings and represented a massive milestone for the man calling the shots from the dugout. Tech head coach Matt Bragga earned the 600th victory of his Division I coaching career, with 549 of them as the leader of the Golden Eagles. He now sits just five away from tying TTU Sports Hall of Famer David Mays for the program's all-time record and for fifth place in OVC history.
Unlike Friday's match-up, where the Golden Eagles blew out to an 8-0 lead over the first three frames, Saturday's affair saw the Screaming Eagles (16-18, 7-4) attack early and often to the tune of a 4-0 lead after the top half of the first. Each of the first five batters of the inning reached for the visitors from Evansville, accounting for a double, a bunt single, a hit-by-pitch, an RBI base knock to left field, and a two-run single up the middle.
A sacrifice fly to center field was the finishing touch for the frame for USI, but the purple and gold were ready and raring to respond in the bottom half. Designated hitter Ryan Lee kickstarted the rally by getting plunked with the second pitch he saw before shortstop Owen Lee drew a five-pitch walk.
Catcher Mack Whitcomb loaded the bags without an out by working a full count and then getting hit by a pitch as well. The sophomore went on to get clipped two more times in the contest, tying the program's single-game record for hit-by-pitches held by Austin Wulf (Apr. 28, 2012 vs. Eastern Illinois), Dylan Bosheers (May 15, 2012 at Lipscomb), and Connor Goodspeed (May 21, 2016 vs. Eastern Kentucky).
Right fielder Jorsixt Jimenez got the scoring started for the Cookeville crew, sending a sac fly to foul territory deep down the right-field line for the first run of the ball game. Three pitches later, center fielder Nicho Jordan put Tech right back in the contest, lacing a two-run double to the gap in left-center field to cut the deficit to one.
Southern Indiana escaped further damage in the inning, but the Golden Eagles weren't finished. In the bottom of the second, Owen Lee smacked a two-out base knock to right-center field, keeping the inning alive long enough for Whitcomb to put the good guys on top.
The Golden Eagle backstop fulfilled his mission, extending his team-best hitting streak to 14 games by belting a 3-1 offering over the wall in left-center field for a two-run blast. The youngster's team-leading eighth long ball of the year pushed the Tech out front by a score of 5-4.
In the top of the fourth, the Screaming Eagles went back to work and chased Tech starter Jaxson Pease from the contest, gathering an RBI single with one out. Right-hander Reece McDuffie took over for the purple and gold and settled in relatively quickly after surrendering an RBI, infield single that hopped just over his reach and rolled to shortstop.
The junior ended the threat with a fielder's choice and three-pitch strikeout, showing just a glimpse of what was to come for the USI lineup the remainder of the day. He needed just 12 pitches to get through a scoreless fifth, buying his offense time to give him a lead to work with.
The Tech bats answered the call as Whitcomb led off the bottom half of the inning by getting plunked for the second time on the day. Jimenez poked a single through the right side to put a pair on before Jordan continued his impressive contest in the next at-bat.
Waiting for a pitch to ambush, the senior slugger found what he was looking for on the third offering he saw, crushing a three-run jack to right-center field for a go-ahead home run. Jordan's fifth round-tripper of the year erased the deficit and gave the Golden Eagles a two-run cushion, proving to be all the purple and gold would need with McDuffie toeing the rubber.
Backed by a fresh lead on the scoreboard, the Tech reliever put on a master class over the final four frames, allowing just one more baserunner the rest of the way. Dialing up four more zeroes to earn his first win of the season, McDuffie officially completed 5.2 innings with just three hits allowed, two strikeouts, and zero walks.
Jordan led the Tech offense with a 2-for-3 showing, five RBI, a walk, and a run scored. Whitcomb scored a team-high three runs with two RBI, while Owen Lee scored twice on the day. Eight of Tech's nine batters in the contest reached base on the day, with six tallying at least one hit.
The purple and gold will look for their second OVC series sweep of the season on Sunday, with the finale against USI slated for a 1:00 p.m. CT first pitch at the Quill.
Photo by Jim Dillon
