By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech Softball has seen its share of championship success over the years as three teams will be recognized next weekend during the Golden Eagles' doubleheader against Eastern Illinois next Saturday.
The three teams celebrating anniversaries of their Ohio Valley Conference championships next weekend include the 30th anniversary of the 1995 championship team, the 20th anniversary of the 2005 title team and the 10th anniversary of the 2015 squad.
The 1995 team, coached by Bobby Holloway, gave the Golden Eagles their first OVC tournament championship. Tech defeated Tennessee State (10-2), Austin Peay (9-0) and Southeast Missouri (8-2) in succession, then Eastern Kentucky forced the if-necessary game with a 2-1 win. Tech topped the Colonels 8-0 to claim the tournament title and the program's first NCAA appearance with a play-in series against DePaul. The Golden Eagles went 33-25 overall, 17-4 in the OVC.
The team earned first-team All-Conference selections for Candice Clark, Kathy Hammill and Stacy Hughes, while Tammy Lambert and Sheree Liverman were on the second team and Angel Berry an honorable mention.
The 2005 squad, helmed by Tory Acheson, won 14 of their final 15 regular-season games to get into the tournament field, then swept the postseason event with a 6-0 win over Samford then a 4-0 victory and 6-2 win over host Jacksonville State. Tech advanced to the NCAA Athens Regional against host Georgia and Kansas. Tech went 35-28 overall, 16-8 in the OVC.
Bonnie Bynum and Ashley Potts were named first-team All-Conference, while Kacy Bennett and Samantha Lovelady were second-team picks
The 2015 team, coached by Bynum, went 33-28 overall and 15-11 in the OVC as the Golden Eagles topped tournament host SIUE twice to take the tournament championship and advance to the NCAA Auburn Regional, falling to Auburn, beating Chattanooga and ending the season with a loss to South Alabama.
Danielle Liberatore was a first-team All-Conference selection, while Angi Sakamoto was named to the second-team and Sabrie Neeb was named an honorable mention.
The current Golden Eagles will be on the road this weekend at Southern Indiana for a conference series, starting with a doubleheader Friday and a single game on Saturday, both starting at noon.
Meanwhile, the team has set its alumni weekend event for Saturday, Sept. 6 with the alumni game at 10 a.m. before the kickoff of Tech Football's contest against Chattanooga.
