By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Clutch play, particularly down the stretch, was the difference maker on Friday night as the Tennessee Tech baseball team outlasted Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri, 8-7, in 11 innings of action at Capaha Field.
In a battle of two of the top programs in the league, the Golden Eagles (30-17, 12-7) came out on top in the series opener with a ferocious comeback bid over the Redhawks (27-19, 13-6). Tech took the initial lead in the second, rallying with two outs behind an RBI single to left field off the bat of shortstop Preston Steele.
SEMO answered back in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of a Golden Eagle error in the frame to plate a pair of unearned runs. Armed with a 2-1 lead, the home squad continued to add to the advantage in the fourth, scoring three times thanks to four walks, a hit, and a wild pitch.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Redhawks made it a 6-1 ball game, scoring one more time on an RBI single with two outs. Refusing to go down without a fight, the purple and gold finally broke through in the top of the seventh, chasing SEMO starter Nathan Mertens from the contest.
Second baseman Eddie Garza led off the frame with a double to right-center field and, two batters later, third baseman Jackson Rooker drew an eight-pitch walk to force the Redhawk pitching change. Tech greeted Jackson Kranawetter with some instant offense, paying no mind to the relievers' immense success on the year.
Left fielder Landon Smelser doubled to right field to plate the first run of the inning before center fielder Nicho Jordan knocked in two more Golden Eagles with a single that had so much English on it, it spun away from a charging Redhawk third baseman and into shallow left field.
The Cookeville crew trimmed the deficit to just a single run two batters later, thanks to an RBI single off the bat of designated hitter Jorsixt Jimenez to right field. Tech went back to work in the eighth, hitting the reset button right out of the gate.
After working a 3-1 count, right fielder Jackson Green blasted a lead-off laser over the wall in left field, tying the contest at 6-6 with his third round-tripper of the year. After Garza singled to left field, Owen Lee pinch ran for the infielder before Steele laid down a sacrifice bunt to put him in scoring position.
Smelser later reached safely at first behind a throwing error at second base, allowing Lee to score from second and give the Golden Eagles their first lead of the night. Southeast Missouri held off the celebration for the visitors for a little longer, rallying themselves in the bottom of the ninth.
Following a lead-off walk and sac bunt, Tech went to sophomore Juan Garza out of the bullpen. The Redhawks used another walk, a wild pitch, and a ground out to tie the tilt at 7-7, with the potential winning run advancing to third.
Vargas dug deep when it mattered most, picking up an inning-ending strikeout to move the contest to extra innings. SEMO kept the Cookeville crew off the board in the 10th, but was no match for Vargas in the bottom half either.
The right-hander surrendered a four-pitch walk to open the frame, but doubled down with back-to-back punch-outs. The Tech reliever ended the inning with a fly out to left field, putting the momentum back in favor of the purple and gold.
The bats rewarded their hurler in the top of the 11th, with first baseman Carter Vrabel leading the frame off with a base knock to left field. A sac bunt from Green moved him into scoring position, and an infield single to the pitcher off the bat of Own Lee positioned runners on the corners with just one out.
Fighting to a full count, Steele came through with the big swing of the night, ripping an RBI single to left field to put the purple and gold back on top, 8-7. The Redhawks prevented any insurance for the Golden Eagles, but the necessary damage was done.
Tech head coach Matt Bragga went to the bullpen one more time to close out the evening, calling on junior Reece McDuffie. The righty won a 10-pitch battle to lead off the inning with a strikeout before the Redhawks' Carson Schrack kept his team's hopes alive with a double down the right-field line.
McDuffie, the league's reigning Pitcher of the Week, dug deep, punching out the next batter on four pitches for out number two. Andrew Ramirez appeared to be the hero the Redhawks were looking for after falling behind 1-2 to McDuffie, as the third baseman slashed a base knock into left field.
With the tying run rounding third, Smelser scooped up the ball in left and, in one motion, uncorked a perfect one-hop throw to catcher Mack Whitcomb. The seed from the freshman found Whitcomb in plenty of time to apply the game-winning tag on Schrack, who tried every way he could to avoid the Tech backstop at the plate.
The Golden Eagle bench emptied in a frenzy, all chasing down Smelser in left field to celebrate the incredible win. Vargas moved to 3-2 on the year, earning the victory behind 1.2 innings of work without allowing a hit and striking out three.
McDuffie picked up his fourth save of the season, helping finish off a great day from the Tech bullpen. Lucas Vegas completed 3.0 innings of relief with just one run allowed, scattering six hits and three walks while fanning three. Jack Brafa finished 2.0 innings without a Redhawk hit, striking out three of his own while holding SEMO to just one run.
Jordan and Garza each led the purple and gold with three hits on the night, while eight different Golden Eagles scored one run. Eight members of the Tech crew also collected at least one hit, with Steele, Smelser, and Jimenez also producing multi-hit affairs.
Game two of the series is slated for a 2:00 p.m. CT first pitch on Saturday afternoon at Capaha Field.
File photo by Jim Dillon
