By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Thursday evening proved that when two longtime rivals square off, you might as well throw out the records, as the Tennessee Tech baseball team fell to Morehead State in a 5-4 decision in Morehead, Ky. in the Ohio Valley Conference series opener between the two foes.
The home Eagles (14-37, 4-21) fought back from a pair of deficits to defend Allen Field, holding the Golden Eagles (35-19, 16-9) to just four runs on eight hits and five walks. Tech took the early lead on the night behind the power of reigning OVC Player of the Week Mack Whitcomb.
The purple and gold's catcher crushed a solo blast to right-center field with two outs in the top of the first, providing an instant lead. Whitcomb's 14th round-tripper of the season set a new program record for single-season home runs by a backstop, surpassing the mark set by Hayden Gilliland last year.
Morehead State answered back in the second, tying the game at 1-1 following a lead-off triple and an RBI single. The Eagles then took their first lead of the night in the third, loading the bags before jumping on top with a two-run double to left field.
In the fifth, the purple and gold took back control of the ball game, once again turning to Whitcomb for the big swing. After shortstop Owen Lee and left fielder Landon Smelser drew back-to-back walks, the Golden Eagle slugger slashed a two-run triple down the right-field line to square the affair.
Right fielder Jorsixt Jimenez pushed the Cookeville crew ahead on the scoreboard on the next pitch, grounding out third to plate Whitcomb for the go-ahead run. A long ball for the home team brought the contest back to a stalemate at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth.
Using the long ball from the prior frame to gain some momentum, Morehead took the lead in the seventh, securing two base runners before an RBI double made it a 5-4 ball game.
Tech threatened in the eighth and ninth, but stranded three across the final two frames while grounding into a double play.
Whitcomb led the Golden Eagles with a 3-for-3 day at the dish, finishing just a double short of the cycle. He drove in three of the Tech runs while scoring twice and drawing two walks. Jimenez also tallied three hits in the affair, plating one.
Game two of the weekend series has been pushed back up to a 2:00 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday afternoon. With inclement weather expected in the Morehead area throughout the weekend, fans are encouraged to check TTUSports.com and Tennessee Tech social media for any more potential updates to this season's schedule.
File photo by Jim Dillon
