By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A home run in the third inning and 11 strikeouts from Danielle Liberatore against Georgia Southern (0-2) made for a successful season opener for the Tennessee Tech softball team (1-1, 0-0 OVC). The Golden Eagles ended day one of Mississippi State's Bulldog Classic with the 1-1 split, later in the day falling to Houston (1-0) 4-0.
In game one of the day, the Golden Eagles topped Georgia Southern 3-2. Tech came out with a bang in the first inning with Jessie Lowery taking a base on balls followed by a double by Sabrie Neeb to knock in Lowery and put Tech on the board. Neeb then advanced to third on a wild pitch and Olivia Bennett got the walk to bring Alyssa Richards up to bat. Richards hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Neeb and give Tech the 2-0 lead.
Later with two down in the third, sophomore Bayli Cruse came up to the plate to launch a solo homerun to left center and score what would end up being the deciding run of the game. The Golden Eagles now holding the 3-0 lead gave Tech the cushion it needed to secure a victory.
Liberatore (1-0) had a strong performance on the mound not allowing a runner past second until Georgia Southern knocked in its first run of the game in the fifth inning when the Eagle's Lydia Witkowski hit a single to center field allowing India Davis to score and advancing a runner to second with two down. Liberatore got the Golden Eagles out of a tight spot striking out the next batter and securing the 3-1 Tech lead at the end of the top of the fifth.
Georgia Southern's second run came in the seventh inning when the Eagle's Alesha Mann opened with a solo homerun to right center. However, Tech held a strong defense and secured their 3-2 victory over Georgia Southern with Liberatore striking out 11 and allowing only two walks and one earned run in the contest.
The Golden Eagle's second game was not as bright as the first. A passed ball in the first inning gave Houston the 1-0 lead early on. The Cougars added another run in the second and smacked in two more in the third when Houston's Maya Thomas hit a triple to right center to bring in a run and Brooke Vannoy hit a single to left field to hit in Thomas, giving the Cougars the 4-0 lead by the end of the third.
Freshman, Leigh Thomas (0-1) suffered the loss going 2.2 innings while yielding four runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Golden Eagles return to action Saturday for day two of the Bulldog Classic. Tech will kick off its doubleheader with a game against Georgia Southern at 9:30 a.m., followed by a 2 p.m. contest versus host Mississippi State.
