UPDATE (2:16 CST, 2/22/17) -- Schedule has changed for the Trojan Classic with the addition of Ole Miss and SIU Edwardsville into the tournament field.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's back on the road again as the Tennessee Tech softball team continues its tournament travels this weekend with a stop at Troy, Ala., for the Trojan Classic.
The Golden Eagles take on Ole Miss at 11:30 a.m. Friday, then take on host Troy at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Tech will take on UAB at 9 a.m., then face Murray State at 2 p.m. On the final day of the event, the Golden Eagles will see Troy at 12:30 p.m.
After rain tinkered with the schedule the last two weeks, this weekend's forecast looks promising with the chances of rain in Troy not rising until Sunday afternoon, giving Tech a chance to get the entire weekend under its belts.
Tech (2-7) showed a lot of improvement last week at the Chattanooga Challenge as the offense picked up. Bayli Cruse, the team's nominee for Ohio Valley Conference, batted .500 on the weekend with eight RBI, a double and a home run. The Golden Eagles picked up a pair of wins over Western Kentucky, while falling to host Chattanooga, Indiana State and Sacred Heart.
Cruse leads Tech with 10 RBI on a .367 batting average, while Callen Griffin has driven in eight runs with a .273 average. As a team, Tech has driven in 35 runs and has hit seven home runs with a .263 batting average.
In the circle, Taylor Waldrop has a 1-2 record with a 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 innings of work, recording 15 walks and 24 strikeouts.
The host Trojans enter the weekend with a 6-3 record on the season, picking up a 9-6 win over Samford on Wednesday. They went 2-2 in their tournament last week at Tucson, Ariz., earning wins over Montana (2-1) and Bryant (5-2), but fell to Colorado State 5-0 and Montana 4-3.
Katie Webb leads Troy offensively, driving in nine runs with a .375 batting average and one of the team's two home runs. Logan Calhoun has the best average with a .407 clip and has been driven in 10 times, the most on the team.
Peyton Glover and Claire Graves bring a solid tandem into the circle with the pair combining for a 5-2 record and 39 strikeouts in seven starts. Glover (1.81 ERA) has a 2-0 record with 23 Ks and a .230 opposing batting average, while Graves (1.91 ERA) has a 3-2 mark with 16 Ks and a .260 opposing batting average.
Tech, obviously, is no stranger to the Racers. While the two Ohio Valley Conference teams are locking horns this weekend, this game does not count in the conference standings. Murray State (3-5) is coming off of a tough trip to Starkville, Miss., where the Racers defeated South Alabama and Drake, but also fell in a rematch to USA and also to host Mississippi State.
As a team, MSU is hitting .236 with their leading run producer, Lexi Jones with 10 RBI, is in the middle of the pack in average with a .250 mark and 15 total bases. Sierra Gilmore has the team's top batting average, hovering close to .400 with a .391 mark and four RBI.
Olivia Suski has the Racers' top earned run average with a 3.96 pace, despite an 0-3 record with four starts on five appearances and opponents hitting .280. Haven Campbell has a 3-1 record and a 4.12 ERA to match in six appearances and three starts, opponents hitting .292 against her.
The other team on Tech's weekend dance card, UAB, comes into the Trojan Classic with a 3-7 record. They're coming off of a 2-3 record at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., falling to Stanford (12-6), Cal Poly (7-4) and UCLA (8-0), while picking up wins over Weber State (5-3) and Army (9-1).
Madison Millsaps leads the Blazers with seven RBI with a .355 average, while Destini England is batting a team-high .382.
Emily Kachel has a 2.67 ERA with a 3-3 record in nine appearances, with batters hitting .274 against her, while Claire Blount (6.41 ERA) currently has an 0-3 record in seven appearances, batters hitting .385 in her contests.
The Rebels were forced to cancel their weekend tournament, adding to the roster at the Troy event, along with OVC foe SIU Edwardsville, who Tech will not compete against in the field. Ole Miss has a 6-2 record entering the weekend after going 3-1 last week at a tournament in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, earning wins over Texas, Rutgers and Oregon, while falling to Houston.
Autumn Gillespie leads Ole Miss with a .381 batting average, while Alex Schneider has a team-high six RBI with a .250 average. But it's in the circle where the Rebels have shined with a combined team ERA of 1.69. Kaitlin Lee has a 0.32 ERA with a 4-0 record in three starts, allowing one earned run in 22 innings of work as she has walked two and struck out 12. Opponents are hitting a scant .177 against her. Anna Borgen (0.78, 1-0), Morgan Bruce (2.39, 1-0) and Brittany Finney (4.67, 0-2) have all recorded starts for Ole Miss.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
