By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
MEMPHIS – The Tennessee Tech softball team will get back in action this weekend as the Golden Eagles look to build on their 4-0 start with contests at the Blues City Tournament, hosted by the University of Memphis.
The Golden Eagles had an unexpected open week last weekend after their games at the Defend the Bluff Tournament in Baton Rouge, La., were canceled for impending weather.
This weekend's event will see Tech take on DePaul and Indiana State on both Friday and Saturday, before taking on the host Tigers in a Sunday matinee.
The schedule looks like this:
Friday, Feb. 23
- DePaul | 3 p.m.
- Indiana State | 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 24
- DePaul | 11:30 a.m.
- Indiana State | 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 25
- Memphis | 2 p.m.
Sunday's game vs. Memphis will be streamed on ESPN+.
Tech opened up the season with two wins over Norfolk State and two wins over Presbyterian in the Blue Hose Invitations, putting up solid numbers and looking to put the 2023 season squarely in the rear-view mirror.
As a team in the opening weekend, the Golden Eagles batted .376 with 26 RBI – an improvement of .143 and a fifth of last season's total RBI production. Carmen Betts led the RBI parade with eight driven in, while Abby Shoulders and Sydney Kirby both had five and Meaghan Houk knocked in four. Shoulders also had a team-best eight runs scored and Tech's first home run of the season. Aline Schlageter led the team with four of Tech's seven stolen bases in the opening weekend.
In the circle, Tech collected a cumulative ERA of 1.08 in 26 innings of work as the Golden Eagles walked four and struck out 24 – already a fourth of last season's strikeout total. All four Tech pitchers recorded a victory with Faith Rush and Morehead State transfer Lennon Spicer going the distance in their triumphs. Freshman hurlers Rush and Emily York presently have 0.00 ERAs to open the campaign.
DePaul has opened the season 0-9 so far, dropping games to varied collection of programs, including Furman, UNC Wilmington, Queens of Charlotte, Northern Kentucky, North Dakota State, Michigan State, Boise State, Texas-Arlington and Missouri-Kansas City. Only three of those losses have been by five or more runs, so the Blue Demons are still playing teams close, leaving their record a bit deceiving even if they're still looking for the first victory in the win column.
DePaul is currently batting .236 on the year with 17 RBI. The Blue Demons can hit for power though as 17 of their 54 hits are for extra bases with 11 doubles and six home runs. Brooke Johnson leads the team with a .357 average, three home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored.
In the circle, Brenna Smith has the team's best ERA with a 1.87 across 15.0 innings of work, striking out 13. Bella Nigey (0-4, 4.27 ERA) has four of the team's nine starts, while Katey Pierce (0-3, 10.27 ERA) has three.
Indiana State has started the year 4-5, going 1-4 at the Houston Tournament earning a split with Colgate along with two losses to Houston and a single loss to Rutgers. They had an improved weekend last week at the Roar City Invitational in Nashville going 3-1. The Sycamores topped Ohio Valley Conference foes Tennessee State 2-0 and UT Martin 10-1 and also got a 2-0 win over Western Michigan before falling to Saint Louis in the finale.
Kenzie Cornwell is leading ISU in average with a .412 mark, but Kennedy Shade has been leading the production with 10 RBI and seven runs scored. Isabella Henning also has six RBI and two home runs, crossing home six times. As a team, the Sycamores are batting .260 with 34 RBI and four home runs.
In the circle, ISU has a 5.70 ERA with 24 walks and 37 strikeouts. Lauren Sackett (4.79 ERA, 11 Ks) has a 3-2 record thus far, while Cassi Newbanks (5.68 ERA) is 1-3. Hailey Griffin (0-0, 9.19 ERA) leads the team in strikeouts with 15.
Memphis, meanwhile, is also looking for its first win of the season, starting off 0-10 entering the weekend. The Tigers went 0-4 at the LSU Tournament, dropping a pair of games each to Pittsburgh and the host LSU Tigers. Memphis went 0-5 at the Littlewood Classic with losses to Cal State-Fullerton, Grand Canyon, BYU, Arizona State and California, then had a midweek loss to Northern Iowa.
As a team, Memphis is batting .191 with 18 RBI and four home runs. Zoe Adebayo leads the team with six runs driven in and a home run, while Khamiyah Brown and Madison Berner have each driven in three. In the circle, Memphis has a 10.13 ERA with 64 walks and 28 strikeouts. Taniya Brown (0-6, 7.79 ERA) has seen the most innings with 32 1/3 frames of work.
Tech will continue its road action next week as the Golden Eagles added a single game Tuesday at Western Carolina with a 3 p.m. Central first pitch. Tech will then open the month of March at the Georgia State Panther Invitational next weekend down in Atlanta before coming home the following week to open Ohio Valley Conference play against Southern Indiana on March 9-10.
