By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wednesday's action for the Tennessee Tech softball team may have been washed out, but the Golden Eagles will get back out on the road again this week as Tech travels down to Spartanburg, S.C., to compete in the Wings Etc. Classic.
During the three-day event, starting Friday, the Golden Eagles will play a pair of games against Pitt and host USC Upstate, while taking on Cleveland State in a single game.
The Pitt Panthers have opened up their season with a 5-4 mark, claiming wins over Akron (10-0, 5 inn.), Eastern Kentucky (7-1), Missouri State (4-1, 8 inn.), Stephen F. Austin (6-4) and Kansas (3-2). Their losses are among some powerful teams with a 1-0 defeat from Michigan State, 9-4 to Iowa, 1-0 to Penn State and 10-0 in five innings to Texas A&M. Needless to say, the 5-4 record is a misnomer.
Sarah Seamans and Bailey Drapola have each driven in five runs, while Cami Compson, Tuta Ramirez and Katlyn Pavlick each have four RBI. Haylie Brunson leads the team in batting average with a .333 mark, collecting 10 hits, including four doubles.
The Panthers can also steal, swiping 16 of 18 tries this season. Drapola is a perfect 5-for-5, while E.C. Taylor is 4-for-4.
In the circle, Dani Drogemuller (3-2) is the girl, appearing in six contests with five starts as she has compiled a 1.18 ERA in 29 2/3 innings. She has 13 walks and 29 strikeouts and opponents are hitting .189 against her.
Ally Muraskin (1-1, 2.00 ERA) has an opposing batting average of .188, giving Pitt a tough 1-2 punch in the circle.
It is Tech's first meeting against Pitt in program history.
USC Upstate is no slouch either, opening its season with an unblemished 9-0 record. This will be the third straight weekend hosting games on the Spartans' home field as Upstate has defeated North Carolina Central, Massachusetts twice, Towson twice, Northern Kentucky twice and Canisius twice.
The Golden Eagles saw USC Upstate two years ago for the first time, falling 3-2 to the Spartans.
As a team, USC Upstate is hitting .376 with 47 RBI. The most of those RBIs have come from Peyton Darnell (.417), who has driven in 13 runs with four home runs. Madison Lanoux (.577) and Sarah Price (.222) have each driven in seven. Summer Johnson leads the team in average with a .591 clip, collecting 13 hits with two doubles and a homer.
The Spartans are also a threat to steal, swiping 22 of 23 tries.
USC Upstate has a team ERA of 1.19. Hannah Houge has a 5-0 record, throwing 25 frames while walking three and striking out 38. She has a 1.68 ERA. Alyssa Kelly (2-0, 0.90 ERA) also has 26 strikeouts.
Cleveland State enters the tournament with a 4-5 record, going 0-4 last week at the FIU Panther Invitational in Miami. The Vikings had a strong showing in the first weekend at Incarnate Word's tournament, topping the host and Prairie View twice while taking a loss to Green Bay.
Melissa Holzopfel leads the Vikings with a .485 average, collecting 16 hits, while Jenna Deang (.286) and Sydney Bajusz (.241) each have a team-high six RBI. Becky Hurosky (.292), Courtney Fernette (.333) and Aly Packish (.222) each have a home run.
Holzopfel has a 2-2 record in the circle in nine appearances with 25 1/3 innings of work, compiling a 4.70 ERA with 11 walks and 36 strikeouts. Jenna Watts (1-1, 1.94 ERA) and Torrie Jenkins (0-1, 2.17 ERA) have seen significant innings, while Taylor Betz (1-0, 3.94) also has a victory this season so far.
The Golden Eagles are 1-1 all-time against Cleveland State, beating the Vikings 9-0 in 2005 and falling 2-0 in 2012.
Tech is coming into the event with a 7-3 record. The Golden Eagles finished 3-2 last weekend at the Chattanooga Challenge with a five-inning 16-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne and a 5-0 victory over Northwestern State before topping host Chattanooga 4-1. Indiana State and Radford claimed a pair of one-run wins over the Golden Eagles, the latter a two-run walk-off home run.
Mackenzie Fitzgerald had a strong week on offense, posting a .579 average for the tournament and taking over the team batting average lead for the season with a .486 mark. She went 3-for-4 twice during the weekend, collecting four of her five RBI against Purdue Fort Wayne, while stealing four bases and coming home to score nine times. She leads the Golden Eagles in hits with 16.
Haeli Bryson leads Tech in RBI with 16 after the first two weeks to go along with her .345 batting average, collecting 10 hits, including a triple and two home runs. Carmen Betts, who had 10 RBI all of last season, has surpassed that total in the opening weekends, collecting 11 through the first 10 games to go along with her .345 average and five runs scored.
Bryson has also seen success in the circle, throwing 20 1/3 innings and collecting a 2-0 record with a 1.72 ERA, walking five and striking out 22. Alyssa Arden has seen the most work, throwing 25 innings and posting a 1.12 ERA with four walks and 18 Ks. Opponents are hitting .126 against Arden and .203 against Bryson.
Friday's action opens with Pitt at 10 a.m., followed by USC Upstate at approximately noon. On Saturday, Tech will play Pitt at 10 a.m., followed by Cleveland State at 2 p.m. Sunday's single game will be against the Spartans at noon.
