Golden Eagles head to Nashville for midweek battle at No. 6 Vanderbilt
Less than a year removed from pulling off the biggest upset in program history, the Tennessee Tech baseball team will look for lightning to strike twice as it goes for a second straight upset of in-state rival Vanderbilt Tuesday afternoon in Nashville.
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By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Less than a year removed from pulling off the biggest upset in program history, the Tennessee Tech baseball team (11-1) will look for lightning to strike twice as it goes for a second straight upset of in-state rival Vanderbilt (10-2) Tuesday afternoon in Nashville.
A 4 p.m. CT start will kick off a slugfest between two of the best programs in the state of Tennessee. Both teams already have double digit wins this season and the Golden Eagles are in the middle of a 10-game winning streak and the second best start in school history.
Strength will match-up against strength as the potent Golden Eagle offense will look to outduel one of the better pitching staffs in the country. The Tech squad leads the Ohio Valley Conference in 12 different offensive categories, averaging just under 10 runs per game. As a team, the Golden Eagles are batting .335 and own an on-base percentage of .442.
Vanderbilt's arms have been nearly unhittable on the year, allowing opponents to muster a measly .167 average and only 22 runs in 12 games. The staff is striking out nearly 10 batters per game and features just one player with an ERA above 3.00.
Tech fans will have the opportunity to listen to Tuesday's game live on the radio or internet, as the Golden Eagle Sports Network will be bringing all the action on FM 106.1 The Eagle. Dylan Vazzano will provide Tuesday's play-by-play, while Mike Lehman will be doing color commentary.
TENNESSEE TECH (11-1)
at
NO. 6 VANDERBILT (10-2)
| Tuesday, Mar. 4 |
||
| 4 p.m. |
Hawkins Field (3,626) – Nashville, Tenn.
FOLLOWING THE ACTION
Webcast: vucommodores.com
Live Stats: GameTracker
Radio: FM 106.1 The Eagle (Dylan Vazzano & Mike
Lehman)
TV: none
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Junior Dylan Bosheers
has vaulted his way to top of the Tech stat sheets, leading the
Golden Eagles with a vicious .460 batting average. He has raked in
13 RBI while scoring 18 runs of his own and accruing seven extra
base hits. He ranks second among Tech starters with a .620 slugging
percentage and third with a .500 on-base percentage. The shortstop
is also in the middle of a nine-game hitting streak, tied for the
longest of his career. He also leads the team with four stolen
bases.
• A crazy 12-for-17 week at the plate earned leadoff man Zach Zarzour
OVC Co-Player of the Week honors as the senior batted .706 while
slugging .824 with a .714 on-base percentage. He ranks second on
the Tech squad with a .449 average, 14 RBI, .509 slugging
percentage, and three stolen bases.
• Senior Brandon
Thomasson has been a monster at the plate for the Golden
Eagles, crushing five home runs, two triples, and two doubles while
leading the team with an .841 slugging percentage and 17 RBI. He
has also scored 13 runs.
• Tech will look for its 11th straight win after sweeping Big Ten opponent Northwestern over the weekend. The Golden Eagles piled up 31 runs in three games and another 10 in its midweek affair with in-state rival Lipscomb, defeating the Bisons 10-9.
• Vanderbilt enters the contest after mixed results last week. The Commodores dropped its first two games of the year, losing midweek match-ups to Western Kentucky and Evansville. The team rebounded with a three-game sweep of Stanford, allowing Vandy to remain in the top 10 in every major poll.
Here's a look at the pitching match-up between Tech and Vanderbilt:
TENNESSEE TECH'S PROBABLE STARTING PITCHER
| Day | Pos. | Name | Yr. | Ht. | Wt. | ERA | W-L | GP-GS | IP | H | R-ER | K/W |
| TUE | RHP | Austin Tolle |
Jr. | 6-2 | 175 | 3.86 | 2-0 | 3-1 | 11.2 | 13 |
8-5 | 12/3 |
| or | ||||||||||||
| TUE | RHP | Jacob Honea | Jr. | 6-0 | 183 | 7.36 | 1-0 | 6-1 | 7.1 | 10 | 6-6 | 6/6 |
VANDERBILT'S PROBABLE STARTING PITCHER
| Day | Pos. | Name | Yr. | Ht. | Wt. | ERA | W-L | GP-GS | IP | H | R-ER | K/W |
| TUE |
RHP | Walker Buehler |
So. |
6-1 | 160 | 2.57 |
1-1 | 3-2 |
14.0 | 17 |
5-4 | 12/4 |
