By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Following a 2-3 week that put the team back at a .500 record for the season, the Tennessee Tech softball team looks to reverse the weekend's trend as the Golden Eagles host Evansville for a single game on Tuesday afternoon.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Tech Softball Field. Admission to the game is free.
Tech dropped a 9-1 decision to Rutgers at the Buccaneer Classic in Johnson City, then a two-game set to Bradley where the Midwestern bats sparked the visitors to a sweep. The rough week aside, the Golden Eagles are 5-3 in the month of March and will try to bounce back.
Evansville comes into Cookeville with a 10-10 record, going 3-2 at the same Buccaneer Classic tournament in Johnson City, falling 9-1 to Rutgers, defeating Siena 7-4 and taking two of three against the host, East Tennessee State.
Tech was originally scheduled to play Evansville in the tournament before weather forced a shuffling of the schedule and the Golden Eagles had to return home to play their slated set with Bradley.
Eryn Gould leads the Purple Aces with 16 RBI, 12 runs scored and 35 total bases with a .255 batting average. Katie McLean has the team's top average with a .421 mark, collecting 24 hits in 57 at-bats. As a team, Evansville is hitting .231 with opponents outscoring the Purple Aces 90-63.
One thing Evansville does like to do is steal, collecting 47 stolen bases on 57 attempts, led by freshman MacKenzie McFeron, who is 15-of-18 on the basepath. McLean is 9-of-12, while Mea Adams is 7-of-9 and Toni Galas is a perfect 6-for-6.
In the circle, Emily Lockhart leads the team in wins and earned run average with a 5-5 record and a 2.83 ERA. She has a team-high 39 strikeouts and 32 walks. Opponents are hitting .255 against her. Izzy Vetter has a 4-1 record and a 3.42 ERA, walking 23 and striking out 35.
Evansville has a team ERA of 3.75 with teams hitting .279 against the Purple Ace pitchers.
For the Golden Eagles (8-8), Beth McCulley leads the offense with a .377 batting average, collecting 20 hits in 53 at-bats. She is also a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen bases. Raleigh Lewis (.324) and Gabby LaSala (.240) each have a team-high 10 RBI, while Sydney Love-Baker leads the Golden Eagles in runs scored (12) and total bases (27).
Alyssa Arden leads Tech's pitchers in wins with a 4-3 record and has a 3.12 ERA in 49 1/3 innings pitched, walking 24 and striking out 37. Batters are hitting .235 against her. Haeli Bryson (2-3, 5.13 ERA) and Kayla Hughes (2-2, 5.64 ERA) have eight combined starts, 26 walks and 29 strikeouts between them.
As a team, Tech has a 4.13 ERA with opponents hitting .268. The Golden Eagles are hitting .239 with opponents outscoring them 80-65.
Photo by Matt Dexter, TTU Athletics
