By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill. – It's down to the final week of competition for the Ohio Valley Conference race and there's still a lot to play out.
It'll all come to a close this weekend as the Tennessee Tech softball team heads to Charleston, Ill., to take on Eastern Illinois for a three-game set. With rain in Charleston, Saturday's doubleheader has been pushed back to a 4 p.m start, while Sunday's single game will begin at 1 p.m.
The games will not be streamed online, but live stats will be available.
The Golden Eagles (31-18, 13-12 OVC) can't finish any lower than their current standing in sixth as SIUE, Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Tennessee State cannot catch them. Those four teams, meanwhile, are still jockeying for the final two spots in next week's tournament field.
As for the top, Belmont and Murray State have already locked up the top two seeds as UT Martin, Southeast Missouri, Austin Peay and the Golden Eagles can't catch them – all standing five or six games back from the Racers and plus-one from the Bruins, who currently hold the final spot.
So what does it mean for the Golden Eagles? Well, a three- or four-spot is still possible, but it will take help. Regardless to have a chance to move up that high, they need to sweep all three games this weekend at Eastern Illinois, and even then they'll potentially need help. UT Martin has a three-game set at Tennessee State, Belmont is at Southeast Missouri and Austin Peay hosts SIUE.
If the Golden Eagles sweep EIU (23-29, 8-17 OVC) and Tennessee State (6-19 OVC) takes all three over the Skyhawks (14-8 OVC), Tech will surpass UTM. If Tech takes two more games than Austin Peay (14-11 OVC) does against the Cougars (9-16 OVC), the Golden Eagles will pass the Govs. If SEMO (13-10 OVC) is swept by Belmont (20-5 OVC) and the Golden Eagles take all three, Tech will pass the Redhawks.
It's possible, but there's a lot of wheels to have to be in motion and things to work out perfectly – and that's before possible ties come into play as Tech would win a tie with SEMO and lose a tie to Austin Peay.
The biggest thing for the Golden Eagles is to control what they can control. No matter what happens this weekend, the Tech softball team is back In the Ohio Valley Conference tournament for the first time since 2017 and, as longtime Golden Eagle fans can attest, anything can happen when the tournament starts.
The Panthers host their final series of the season against the Golden Eagles after coming off of a three-game sweep at Belmont, falling 1-0, 7-4 and 10-8 in the series. After starting off with a 6-5 mark in league play, EIU is 2-12 in its last 14 conference outings.
Tech hit a speed bump last week, splitting a midweek twinbill against Morehead State and was swept by second-place Murray State. Since April 1, the Golden Eagles are 8-9 in league play after starting 5-3.
Despite the Panthers' record, their offensive numbers are pretty solid. As a team, EIU is hitting .280, collecting 249 RBI with 269 runs scored, 73 doubles and 45 home runs. Compare that to the Golden Eagles, who are hitting .279 with 239 RBI, 271 runs scored, 57 doubles and 47 home runs.
In conference play, EIU is hitting .269 with 107 RBI and 116 runs scored, 34 doubles and 16 home runs. Tech is batting .262 with 104 RBI, 117 runs scored, 26 doubles and 26 home runs.
Hannah Cravens, EIU's top slugger, has 13 home runs on the year, but has only hit three in league play. That doesn't make her any less dangerous of a hitter as she has a team-best 16 RBI and .311 batting average in conference contests. Over all of the Panthers' 52 games, she is batting .344 with 43 RBI, 37 runs scored and 18 doubles.
Lindy Milkowski has driven in 39 runs, while Megan Burton has 39 runs scored and 34 more driven in to go along with a 14-for-21 performance on stolen bases.
In the circle, Alexa Rehmeier has seen the most work, throwing 101 2/3 innings in 32 appearances. She has a 10-9 record on the season with a 3.72 ERA, walking 60 and striking out 96 with opponents hitting .232. Rachel Kaufman (4-9, 3.89 ERA) has walked 32 and struck out 50 with opponents hitting .280, while Olivia Price (5-5, 4.24 ERA) has walked 33 and struck out 36 with opponents hitting .264.
Haeli Bryson leads the Golden Eagles in batting with a .391 average, while also posting team-bests in hits (61), doubles (10), home runs (38) and total bases (100) and striking out just five times this season. Mackenzie Fitzgerald (.343) leads the team in runs scored (49), triples (three) and stolen bases (25), while also collecting 60 hits, six home runs and 90 total bases. Carmen Betts is also hitting .315, while collecting eight doubles and four home runs with three steals.
In the circle, Alyssa Arden leads Tech in victories with 13 in 21 starts, posting a 3.86 ERA with 54 walks and 98 strikeouts. Tyler Erwin has a 12-3 mark in her freshman campaign and a 3.79 ERA, while Bryson is 6-4 on the year with a 3.79 ERA.
The OVC Softball Championships begin next week in Oxford, Ala., at Choccolocco Park. The conference will announce the bracket following the completion of Sunday's action.
Photo | Jim Dillon
