By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech softball team (3-6, 0-0 OVC) returns to tournament play when the Golden Eagles travel to Birmingham, Ala. for the Samford Tournament on Fri.-Sun. Besides host Samford (4-5), Tech will also face Wright State (4-6) in the tournament.
Samford Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have become a top tier Southern Conference (SoCon) team since head coach Mandy Buford took over the Samford program in 2012. Buford coached the team to a 33-22 overall record in the 2015 season including an 11-7 conference mark. Eight Bulldog players were named to the 2016 preseason All-SoCon team and give the team potential for a promising year. Junior pitcher Jessica Stone (2-1) has already collected SoCon Pitcher of the Week accolades just two weeks into the 2016 season. Samford will head into its third tournament on the year and will open up a six-game home stand for the Bulldogs when they take on the Golden Eagles on Friday in a 5 p.m. contest.
Wright State Raiders
The Samford Tournament will also be the Raiders third tournament appearance this season. In the 2015 season, Wright State compiled a 23-33 overall record, going 13-7 in Horizon League play under head coach Lynn Curylo who returns to the helm of the program for her sixth season. The Raiders, who finished third in the regular-season standings last season and advanced to the championship game of the league tournament, were again picked to finish third in the Horizon League this season. College Sports Madness selected five Wright State players to the All-Horizon League teams. Senior pitcher Montana Wear and senior utility player Hanna Floyd were named to the First Team, while junior second baseman Libby Pfeffer and junior shortstop Becka Peterson were chosen to the Second Team. Pitcher Ally Russell was selected as the Freshman of the Year to round out a strong Raider roster.
Golden Eagles
Tech heads into the Samford Tournament after four-tough losses at the Troy Classic. As a team, the Golden Eagles currently maintain a .255 batting average and a .314 on base percentage.
Sophomore catcher Bayli Cruse has compiled four RBIs with nine hits on her 29 at bats thus far this season. She has notched five doubles and one home run in Tech's nine games so far this season and right now maintains a .310 batting average. Senior Sabrie Neeb leads the Golden Eagles with a .360 batting average while posting three RBIs off of nine hits in her 25 at bats. In the circle, Danielle Liberatore (1-3) holds a 5.83 earned run average, striking out 32 and walking 18 over the four games she has been on the mound.
Tech kicks off tournament play on Friday with a 5 p.m. game against host Samford. The Golden Eagles will then face Wright State on Saturday in a 10 a.m. contest, and then close out tournament play on Sunday with an 11 a.m. game versus the Raiders and a 3 p.m. contest against the Bulldogs.
You can follow the Tech softball team online on the TTU Sports Facebook page or on Twitter at @TTU_Softball and @TTUGoldenEagles.
