By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – It might feel like the Tennessee Tech softball team just got back from Johnson City, but the Golden Eagles will head back this weekend as they compete in the ETSU Classic from Betty Basler Field.
The event – Tech's final regular-season tournament of the year – is a three-team round robin with the Golden Eagles taking on Radford twice and three contests against host East Tennessee State.
Tech plays Radford at 10 a.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, while taking on the Lady Bucs at approximately 12:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. All times listed are Central time.
While weather forced cancellations in the recent Buccaneer Classic, the forecast is calling for rain in Johnson City with thunderstorms Thursday, morning showers Friday, afternoon showers Saturday and showers Sunday with a 50 percent chance or greater of precipitation through the three scheduled days of the tournament. Updates will be provided on the team's Twitter feed (@TTU_Softball) and on TTUsports.com when available.
The Highlanders (11-3) have started the 2019 season strong, winning their last six games, including a clean sweep at the Patriot Classic at George Mason in Fairfax, Va. Radford shut out three of its opponents and run-ruled two of them with a pair of wins over Delaware, two wins over Lafayette and a victory over the host Patriots.
All three teams have some offensive pop in its lineup, with Radford collecting 43 extra-base hits with 25 doubles, six triples and 12 home runs as well as 73 RBI for the year. In contrast, ETSU has 36 with 25 doubles, six triples and five home runs with 73 RBI in 22 games, while Tech has 36 with 19 doubles, two triples and 15 home runs with 87 RBI in 19 games.
Radford is led at the plate by Talia Douglas, who is hitting .513 on the year with a team-high 20 runs scored and 13 RBI. Hunter Mundy (.405) has a team-high five home runs, while Madison Canady (.245) leads the Highlanders in RBI with 15.
The team is also a threat on the bases, swiping 37 out of 43 attempts with Sydney Fisher and Sofia Tapia each stealing eight on the year.
In the circle, the Highlanders have a staff ERA of 2.62, led by Jessie Marvin with a 1.89 and a 6-1 record for the season. In 37 innings of work, she has allowed 10 runs on 31 hits in six starts, walking 13 and striking out 30 with opponents hitting .228. Riley Oakes (20 IP, 2.45 ERA, 2-1), Sarah Smith (10 1/3 IP, 5.42 ERA, 1-0) and Skyler Dehart (8 2/3 IP, 4.04 ERA, 0-1) have also started games for Radford, while Cam Andersen (6 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1-0 in three appearances) has opponents hitting .143 against her.
The Lady Bucs (9-13) is led at the plate with Kelly Warren hitting .394 with 10 runs scored and eight RBI. Kylie Toler (.293), a recent SoCon Player of the Week selection, leads the team in RBI and home runs with 15 and three respectively, with Makenna Helton (.273) close behind with 13 RBI. Julia Fritz (.271) leads the team in runs scored with 18.
Kelly Schmidt (4-3, 2.86 ERA) has seen the majority of the innings, working in 56 1/3 frames, walking 18 and striking out 28. MacKenzie Dyson (1-3, 4.96) has worked 29 2/3 with 25 walks and 25 strikeouts, while Taylor Boling (1-4, 6.27) has appeared in 25 2/3 with 11 walks and 20 strikeouts.
The previous meeting saw ETSU run-rule the Golden Eagles 10-1 in six innings on March 1. Haeli Bryson and Schmidt dueled for the first four frames with the Lady Bucs tying the game at one run each, but ETSU put a six-spot on the board in the fifth, then completed the run-rule with three more runs in the sixth. Toler drove in four runs in the contest with a grand slam in the fifth.
The Golden Eagles collected six hits in the contest, but was only able to get the one run across.
ETSU went 2-3 last week with a pair of wins over Toledo, a 5-3 loss to Stanford and a pair of run-rule losses to Tennessee at the Lady Vols' tournament in Knoxville.
Tech (10-9) went 1-2 last week in a three-game set against Lipscomb, winning its first game against the Lady Bisons since 2016 and only the second since 2009, and saw two close games in the losses with Lipscomb walking off both in the bottom of the seventh.
Jessie Lowery has taken over the team lead in batting average, posting a .349 clip with 11 runs scored and 10 RBI. Raleigh Lewis leads the Golden Eagles in RBI with 14, while Sydney Love-Baker has a team-best 24 runs scored. Lewis and Love-Baker also have a team-high five home runs each.
Nicolle Nysted (12), Alexis Trimiar (11) and Love-Baker (10) also have double-digit totals in RBI so far,
In the circle, Alyssa Arden has a 7-3 record in 11 starts and 66 1/3 innings, posting a 4.12 ERA with 34 walks and 69 strikeouts as opponents are hitting .258 against her. Bryson (3-5, 5.37) has 10 walks and 23 strikeouts over 43 innings, with opposing batters hitting .321.
