By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With inclement weather this weekend, the Tennessee Tech softball team will move its series against Eastern Illinois up a day and try to beat out the rain.
With the change, the Golden Eagles will entertain the Panthers on Friday in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m., then try to close out the series Saturday morning at 10 a.m. before more weather moves its way through.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) with Roger Ealey providing the commentary.
Attendance at Tech Softball Field is open to the public. Under Tech and Ohio Valley Conference protocols, social distancing is strongly encouraged and masks are required for all fans.
Eastern Illinois (14-6, 7-2 OVC) has won seven of its last nine games, sweeping Morehead State, then taking two of three against Belmont and Austin Peay at home. The Panthers currently stand in third in the league standings, one game behind league-leader Southeast Missouri (8-1 OVC). Tech currently stands in a tie for fifth place with UT Martin, both two games back.
Megan Burton leads the Panthers with 26 RBI and 22 runs scored with a .286 batting average and eight home runs. Haley Mitchell also has eight homers with 17 RBI and a .340 clip, while Hannah Cravens has 18 RBI and 20 runs scored. Mia Davis, Abi Stahlhut and Aniya Holt also have 10 RBI on the year. Katie Nicholson and Morgan Lewis have the team's top batting averages with a .436 and .414 mark respectively. Lewis also has a team-high 12 stolen bases.
As a team, the Panthers are hitting .312, have driven in 113 runs and hit 30 home runs.
In the circle, Jade Montgomery has the most wins with a 6-4 record and a 2.84 ERA in 66 2/3 innings of work. She's walked 12 and struck out 38 with opponents hitting .262 against her. Olivia Price has a team-best 1.97 ERA among the team's starters, collecting a 4-2 record in 32 innings.
To contrast EIU's hitting this season, Tech is batting .259, have driven in 77 runs and hit 12 home runs.
The Golden Eagles (12-11, 6-3 OVC) have won four straight games for the team's longest winning streak of the season thus far, including a sweep over Morehead State and a 7-0 victory on Wednesday at home against Chattanooga.
Nicolle Nysted and Jessie Lowery have driven in the most runs for the Golden Eagles with 13 RBI each, while Sydney Love-Baker, Haeli Bryson and Mackenzie Fitzgerald have all hit double-digits with 10. Lowery has the most runs scored with 12, while Nysted and Fitzgerald each have 10. Nysted leads the Golden Eagles in home runs (six) and extra-base hits (nine), while Beth McCulley (.345), Love-Baker (.324) and Nysted (.317) are all hitting above .300.
Alyssa Arden picked up her sixth win of the season in 17 appearances on Wednesday, collecting a 2.92 ERA on the year with opponents hitting .193 against her over 72 innings of work. She allowed three hits in the first two innings against Chattanooga, then didn't surrender another hit in the rest of the contest. Bryson leads the Golden Eagles in ERA with a 2.39 rate, collecting two wins last weekend against Morehead State. Opponents are hitting .199 against Bryson.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
