By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – In need of big series win to gather momentum heading into the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament next week, the Tennessee Tech softball team collected exactly what it was looking for Saturday afternoon, earning a doubleheader sweep of Morehead State to end a four-game slide and jump into fourth place in the league standings.
The Golden Eagles (28-25, 15-10), who have arguably earned the title of "Cardiac Kids" this season for their ability to fight back from any deficit, did just that in Morehead. The squad rallied past the Eagles (21-22, 10-11) not once, but twice on the day to secure a spot in the OVC Tournament.
The leading cause to Tech's success Saturday afternoon? Look no further than the arm of record-rewriting, strikeout-slinging, batter-bewildering sophomore Danielle Liberatore. Already the Tech program record-holder for strikeouts in a single game and the only Golden Eagle to ever record multiple games with 15 or more punch outs, the left-handed hurler took another step further towards greatness.
Notching her 20th complete game of the season, Liberatore set a new Golden Eagles standard for strikeouts, again, fanning 17 Morehead State batters over seven innings. The ace of the staff allowed just one run, one walk and four hits while picking up her 15th victory of the season and taking her team one step closer towards the postseason.
The lone bright spot for the home squad, a solo home run off the bat of Dana Hutchins, looked to actually be enough for a small glittering moment, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Catcher Kelly Kennedy had her pitcher's back, however, as the sophomore transfer from the University of Illinois Chicago evened the score with a leadoff, solo blast to left field in the top of the fifth.
The tying shot proved to be enough for Liberatore to gather what she needed to dominate the rest of the way, as she tallied eight of her 17 Ks on the day over the final three frames, including fanning the side in both the sixth and seven innings. She managed three strikeouts in three separate innings and multiple punch outs in all seven frames.
With Liberatore on cruise control, the Tech offense took its turn at ending the game in the seventh, kicking things off with a walk by Hannah Eldridge. Gabby Perez entered as pinch runner and took second base after a sacrifice bunt by Madison Taylor. With Perez in scoring position, Courtney Fry used one of her three hits on the day, a double to center field, to drive in the go-ahead and eventual winning run.
Sabrie Neeb provided the insurance for the Golden Eagles, tripling down the right field line for the first tally marker before crossing home plate on a wild pitch for the fourth Tech run of the game. The three-run lead was all that was needed as Liberatore struck out the side in the bottom half to cap yet another historic performance.
Fry led the Tech offense in the first contest, collecting three hits in three at bats while providing the game-winning run. Eldridge and Kennedy also allied multiple base knocks as well.
In game two, Tech seemed to be control early, grabbing a quick first run in the top of the first thanks to a solo bomb by Neeb. Morehead State refused to go down without a fight, however, posting the tying run in the bottom half before striking for a four spot in the second inning.
A 1-0 Tech lead had quickly flipped to a 5-1 advantage to the Eagles. Senior pitcher Taylor Ketchum took over in the second frame, allowing just one earned run on a solo dinger and one walk before settling down and holding the Morehead State offense to just one hit the rest of the game.
That devastating hit the home squads' chances of scoring provided more than enough room for a hot Golden Eagle offense to post yet another comeback victory, beginning with a strong showing in the fourth.
Once again, Kelly Kennedy set the tone for Tech's rally, leading off the frame with a single through the left side. Two batters later, Madison Taylor inched the Golden Eagles closer to the Morehead State total, driving in a run with a single through the right side. Angi Sakamoto drove in another run for the visitors with a single to right field and Neeb wrapped up the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Trailing by one, the Golden Eagles stayed true to the offense and didn't press, grabbing the tying run in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI single to right center field by Eldridge. With the game knotted at 5-5, the Tech squad just kept chipping up runs on the scoreboard, one at a time.
In the sixth, Morehead State made quick work of the Tech lineup, recording three outs in four at bats. The problem? They forgot Sabrie Neeb was just really good at softball. The shortstop hammered her second home run of the game, a solo long ball to left field to give the Golden Eagles a 6-5 lead, one that would last the rest of the contest.
And the reason it would last? Enter the hero of game one, Danielle Liberatore. After her dominant performance in the first contest, the sophomore took over for the final six outs of game two, holding the Eagles hitless while fanning two.
An insurance run from the bat of Courtney Fry, a single to center field, gave Liberatore enough to pick up her third save of the year and help the Golden Eagles clinch a spot in the OVC Tournament.
Kennedy and Eldridge totaled three hits apiece in the second affair, while Taylor, Fry and Neeb each recorded two hits. Neeb also added a game-high three RBI and two runs scored. Ketchum picked up her first victory of the season after tossing three and two thirds innings of relief.
As a whole, the Golden Eagles pounded out 28 hits over the doubleheader while holding the Eagles to just 10 hits. The Tech defense was also perfect in the field, recording no errors on the day.
With just one more match-up against the Eagles left on the regular season schedule, the Golden Eagles will look to clinch the four seed in the tournament Sunday with a first pitch scheduled for noon CT. Tech controls its own destiny, needing a victory or an Eastern Kentucky loss to clinch the four seed in the tournament.
Photo by Jim Dillon
