Four teams will participate in the Georgia State Tournament including Tech, the Syracuse Orange, the Morehead State Eagles and the host Georgia State Panthers. Tech opens the tournament with a 9 a.m., game against the Orange and wraps up its part of tournament at 11:15 a.m., against the Panthers. TTU and Morehead State will not face off until the Eagles come to Cookeville April 22 for an Ohio Valley Conference series. All game times listed are in central standard time.

 

This weekend not only marks the start of the 2011 season for the Golden Eagles, but for all of the teams involved. Tennessee Tech finished last season with a 28-30 record, while Georgia State and Syracuse compiled records of 37-19 and 32-26, respectively.

 

The Golden Eagles have a solid core of upperclassmen returning this season led by a pair of seniors including the two-time TTU Most Valuable Player, Lacie Coquerille, and the team's Most Improved Player, Callie Schmidt. Coquerille finished last season batting  .277 and a .995 fielding percentage. Schmidt played in every game last season and tallied a team-leading 43 RBI.

 

Tech also welcomes back a pair of sophomores who were named to the OVC all-Newcomer Team a year ago in Melody Christian and Chanelle Spalding. Christian led the team in hits with 62, en route to a .328 batting average, while Chanelle Spalding scored 25 runs and coaxed 26 walks.

 

In the circle, Tech will see the return of Holly Thomas and Claudia Harke. Thomas recorded a team-high 16 wins last season, while posting a 2.81 ERA. Harke made 24 appearances last season and struck out 48 batters.

 

Fans who cannot attend the game can follow the live stats at the link here.