By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—After being on the road for four consecutive weekends at four different tournaments, the Tennessee Tech softball team (5-13, 0-0 OVC) has returned home to host a tournament featuring teams of Kennesaw State (12-5) and East Tennessee State (7-5) on Saturday-Sunday at the Tech Softball Field.
Kennesaw State Owls
The Owls, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, travel to Cookeville with a 12-5 overall record. Most recently, Kennesaw State fell to Jacksonville State 3-1 in their midweek contest and will face Boston College on Thursday before continuing on to Tennessee Tech. Senior infielder Missy Perkowski leads the Owls with a .400 batting average, a .540 slugging percentage, and a .483 on-base percentage. Perkowski has participated in all 17 of Kennesaw's games thus far and has collected seven RBI, two doubles, one triple, and one home run on the season. Courtney Sutter is another big hitter on the Owls squad leading the team with a .712 slugging percentage. So far this year, Sutter has drove in 12 RBI, notched five home runs, one triple, and three doubles. Logan Viers (5-1) leads Kennesaw State from the circle with a 1.46 ERA, pitching one shutout on the season, and tallying 47 strikeouts.
Tory Acheson, a former Golden Eagle head coach from 1999-2012, enters his first full season as the head coach for the Owl program after serving for two years as an interim coach. While at Tech, Acheson compiled a 507-353 (.590) mark and was twice named an Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year (2003, 2006). He led the Golden Eagles to four regular season titles and five OVC tournament championships and four regional NCAA appearances. Acheson was also the head coach during the time current Tech softball head coach Bonnie Bynum was a member of the Golden Eagle team from 2003-2007.
Tech currently leads the series 9-8, however Kennesaw State last saw victory in the 2013 season when the Owls defeated the Golden Eagles 3-0 at the Kennesaw State Tournament.
East Tennessee State Buccaneers
The Buccaneers, a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon), travel instate to Cookeville with a 7-5 overall record. Most recently, ETSU posted a 3-2 record at its own Buccaneer Classic, splitting games with Alabama A&M and Siena, while defeating Morehead State. Madison Boyd leads ETSU with a .483 batting average and a .545 on-base percentage. Boyd currently posts a .724 slugging percentage, knocking in nine RBI and posting one home run, one triple, and two doubles. Another key Buccaneer player is Danielle Knoetze (.381) who leads ETSU with a .743 slugging percentage. On the season, Knoetze has tallied five RBI, three home runs, one triple, and two doubles. On the mound, Lindsey Fadnek (4-1) maintains a 1.77 ERA while pitching 27.2 innings and striking out 35.
Brad Irwin stands at the helm of the Buccaneer program for his sixth season, directing ETSU to a 74-170 mark. In the series, the Buccaneers lead the Golden Eagles 6-15, most recently defeating Tech in the 2015 season 5-4.
Golden Eagles
Tech hosts their first tournament of the season before beginning regular season head-to-head games. The Golden Eagles maintain a 5-13 overall mark last posting a 2-3 record at the LSU Tournament. Bayli Cruse currently leads Tech with a .291 batting average. She holds a .473 slugging percentage and a .310 on-base percentage. On the season, Cruse has posted seven RBI, one home run, and seven doubles. Alyssa Richards is another power hitter on the Tech squad. Richards (.265) leads the Golden Eagles with a .490 slugging percentage, tallying 12 RBI, three home runs, and two doubles on the season. From the circle, junior pitcher Danielle Liberatore (2-6) currently holds a 7.13 ERA, posting one shutout and pitching for 37.2 innings and striking out 53.
Admittance to all home softball games are free, and you can follow the Golden Eagles online on the TTU Sports Facebook page or on Twitter at @TTU_Softball and @TTUGoldenEagles.
