By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MARION, Ill. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team saw its splendid 2025 campaign officially come to an end Wednesday evening, as the No. 3-seeded Golden Eagles fell to No. 6 Lindenwood, 9-1, at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Ill., in an elimination game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
Having already won a contest earlier in the day against No. 7 UT Martin, the Lions (29-28) rode the momentum into the evening bout with the Golden Eagles (37-20). Lindenwood loaded the bases in the opening frame before Tech worked out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts.
The Lions then continued to pressure the purple and gold in the second, drawing a lead-off walk, stealing second, and scoring on a single to left field. Two Tech errors and three more hits in the frame led to a 4-0 lead for the squad from St. Charles, Mo., following the second.
Lindenwood tacked on another run in the third with a solo home run and broke the game wide open with a three-run long ball to left field in the top of the fourth for an 8-0 advantage. Tech picked up its first hit of the evening in the bottom of the inning, gathering a single through the left side off the bat of OVC Player of the Year and sophomore catcher Mack Whitcomb.
In the eighth, the Lions tallied one final marker with another solo shot to right field. The Cookeville crew avoided the shutout in the bottom of the frame, thanks to freshman left fielder Landon Smelser. The rookie crushed the first pitch he saw to right field, clearing the wall for a solo laser and his second round-tripper of the year.
Sophomore reliever Jack Brafa tossed 3.0 scoreless frames out of the bullpen for the Golden Eagles, striking out five batters while allowing just one walk and one hit. Fellow sophomore Juan Vargas covered the final two innings for the purple and gold, surrendering just one run on one hit while fanning four.
Smelser led the offense with two of the team's six hits in the contest. Lindenwood's Ethan Smith delivered a spectacular performance on the hill, moving to 4-4 on the year after completing 7.2 innings with just the one run allowed and six strikeouts.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
