By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's almost become common place. These days when the Tennessee Tech softball team hits the diamond, the potential for something indescribable is not only alive and well, but it's evolving into a near certainty.
Whether it's coming back from a seven-run, final-inning deficit against Samford, or a Danielle Liberatore record-setting 16-strikeout performance a mere four days later over UT Martin, the chance to witness pure bedlam is unmistakably present.
Sunday took the cake.
The Golden Eagles (19-15, 6-4) were two outs away from a victory, holding a seemingly comfortable enough 7-1 advantage in the first game of a doubleheader with in-state foe Belmont (9-19, 4-5). Ultimately…looks can be deceiving.
With a runner on first and one down, the Bruins began to prove an often overlooked, yet undeniably simple truth. A game is not over until the final out is recorded.
Junior Jessica Wilson attempted to put this straightforward notion to the test, singling in to right center to put two on with one out. Senior Kat Hollingsworth then emphasized the fact with a second-straight single to load up the bases, and in the process conjure up an uneasiness in the crowd that began to blanket Tech Softball Field.
That uneasiness spread like wildfire after the next Belmont batter, pinch-hitter Kate Black, reached on a Golden Eagle error to bring home the first Bruin run of the frame, while keeping the bases juiced for sophomore Chelsey Deloney.
Uneasiness then turned into downright shock, as the Gardendale, Ala. native sent one over the right-center field wall for a grand slam that cut the once almost indestructible deficit to just one single run.
Without really even giving those a chance to digest what just happened, sophomore Amy Zeronian flipped a shallow pop up just over the head of third baseman Cortney Fry and on to the chalk in left field for a single. It was the kind of hit that begged the question of, "how in the world did that ball stay fair?" yet further emphasizing the bigger inquiry at play of, "how is this happening?"
The knock was the final pitch sophomore Danielle Liberatore threw, the same Danielle Liberatore that entered the frame having given up just two runs in 38 prior Ohio Valley Conference innings after surrendering just one run over the first six frames. On came freshman Taylor Waldrop, who was greeted with downright chaos that tied the game on the next play.
Freshman Jess Andree smacked a hot-shot to short that caromed off the glove of fellow freshman Callen Griffin and into centerfield. The deflection slowed the ball down just long enough for Zeronian to take the gamble of trying to make it to third, a decision that proved to be right after the ensuing Tech throw from the outfield zipped over the head of Fry at third.
Andree made it all the way to second, before time itself came to a screeching halt as the three umpires gathered, eventually deeming that the throw went into a restricted area over the third-base dugout and thus the trio sent Zeronian home with the game's tying run and Andree all the way to third with the tilt's potential winning run.
Credit Waldrop though as the freshman, who was appearing in just her ninth collegiate contest, was seemingly unfazed after getting Ally Bessette on a grounder to third that kept Andree stationed right at the bag, and as a result kept the score deadlocked at 7-7.
The moment of relief proved to be short lived thanks to senior Kirbie Ferrell, who had already begun the infamous inning with a single nine batters earlier, as the Pasadena, Texas native whistled one through the left side of the infield to bring across Andree with the game's go-ahead run.
Belmont had scored one run in the previous 13 innings of the series after being shutout in Saturday's affair. In the seventh, the Bruins threw up a touchdown to take a narrow 8-7 advantage after entering the frame down 7-1.
The uneasiness and even shock that swept through the crowd during the top of the inning didn't come close to breaking through to the 21 cast in purple and gold. Resiliency is a powerful weapon. In the bottom of the seventh, Tennessee Tech showed that.
Despite senior Katie Clancy setting down junior Sabrie Neeb for the first out of the inning, the Golden Eagles didn't blink. Senior Angi Sakamoto flicked a single into right field, and just like that, the tying run was on first.
Even with the base hit, Clancy and the Bruins were able to strike out the next TTU hitter to move within an out away from the conclusion, but the Golden Eagles first deemed it necessary to add an extra chapter to the already wild story that is March 29, 2015.
Junior Olivia Bennett authored a sterling at-bat that saw the Mentone, Calif. native battle back from a 1-2 count, first taking a ball up and away to level the action to 2-2, before staring at a pitch that just missed the zone to push the count full. On the next Clancy offering, Bennett was plunked, moving the tying run to second and putting the potential winning run on at first.
Sophomore Alyssa Richards dug in.
If it seems like Alyssa Richards is always near the center of the dramatics…it's because she is. This is the same Alyssa Richards that reached twice in the seventh inning during Tech's heroic eight-run, seventh inning comeback against Samford on Mar. 18. The same Alyssa Richards that belted a two-run home run to account for Tech's only two runs in Danielle Liberatore's masterful 16-strikeout performance against UT Martin on Mar. 22. The same Alyssa Richards that had a front row seat behind the dish to watch seven different Bruins touch home plate in the top half of the inning.
She would not be denied. That's for certain.
The Italy, Texas native slammed a laser that began to hook toward the left field line. Within a matter of milliseconds, two different thoughts burst on to the scene. Would the Belmont leftfielder, Kayla Wells, make the catch to end the game? Or, would it fall in safely to tie up the contest with the speedy Angi Sakamoto already on her horse from second?
However the plot took a twist and a new thought emerged of whether or not the Golden Eagles could actually win the game, right here, right now.
Wells decided to go into a full extension dive, and in the attempt, the ball slipped past her and rolled all the way to the wall. It was a given that Sakamoto would tie the game as the Waipahu, Hawaii native easily dented home, rapidly shifting the attention to Bennett, who was spotted racing around the base paths with a chance to put an end to all the madness, and that is exactly what happened.
The double drove in two. Tennessee Tech won the game. When it was all said and done, the two teams combined for nine runs in the momentum-driven seesaw of a seventh inning. Stunningly enough, it also marked the fourth time this season that the Golden Eagles have won a game when trailing in the seventh.
Taylor Waldrop (1-2) recorded her first career win. Katie Clancy (1-2) was hit with loss after last an inning and two-thirds in relief, yielding four runs in the process.
The game-winning double was one of three hits in the contest for Richards, the only player on either side to accomplish the feat. Sakamoto finished the game with her third consecutive 2-for-4 showing, while Bennett, junior Madison Taylor, and freshman Bayli Cruse all collected two hits as well. Taylor and Cruse each notched home runs in the tilt, with Taylor touching them all in the third and Cruse doing the same in the fifth.
Belmont put the heartbreak of the first game behind them rather quickly, coming out of the gates rolling in the second game of the twin bill, capturing the contest with a 9-5 victory. The Bruins used a lengthy second-inning to account for the scoring, throwing up all nine of their runs in the second, sending 15 to the plate and collecting nine hits in the process. The chaotic frame also included a string of 11 straight Bruins to reach base after the first out of the inning was recorded.
Despite the loss, the Golden Eagles did flex their offensive muscles behind a power surge that featured three more Tech home runs. Hannah Eldridge kicked off the scoring with a solo shot in the first inning, before Sabrie Neeb drilled a two-run shot in the second for the junior transfer's first round tripper in Tech purple and gold. Callen Griffin rounded out the long-ball brigade with a two-out solo blast in the bottom of the fourth.
Not to be lost in all the offensive action was a truly outstanding performance in relief by senior Erica Tuck. 5-foot-9 right hander did not allow a run in five and two-thirds innings of work once entering the game in the second inning.
Junior Carolyn Snodgress (4-4) earned the win after yielding four runs in five innings inside the circle. Senior Taylor Ketchum (0-1) was saddled with the loss in the Newcastle, Okla. native's first start of the season.
Four Bruins produced multi-hit affairs, led junior Jordan Daly's 3-for-3 clip.
The Golden Eagles will have little time to reflect on the wild day at the ball park as Tech jumps out of conference, traveling to Chattanooga on Tuesday. The game has been changed to a 5 p.m. CT start, moving back an hour from the originally slated 4 p.m. beginning.
