Tech locks down doubleheader split with SIUE behind wild walk-off in series finale
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A comeback for the ages highlighted a long, windy, run-filled day of action at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex on Saturday, as the Tennessee Tech baseball team finished off a doubleheader split with Ohio Valley Conference rival SIUE.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 19 | 4 |
|
|
0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 16 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 3 |
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A comeback for the ages highlighted a long, windy, run-filled day of action at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex on Saturday, as the Tennessee Tech baseball team finished off a doubleheader split with Ohio Valley Conference rival SIUE.
After the Cougars (12-14, 5-1) claimed a marathon of an 18-12 win in the first contest of the day, the Golden Eagles (19-10, 4-2) turned in their most eye-popping win of the year in game two, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off the visitors 12-11.
The second tilt of the day, one that lasted over three-and-a-half hours, was a back-and-forth affair from the very beginning. Tech took the early 3-0 lead in the second inning, with catcher Ryan Lee leading off the frame with a home run to right-center field. Center fielder Jackson Green plated a run later in the inning with an RBI single through the right side before left fielder Nicho Jordan drove in the third run of the contest with a fielder's choice to second base.
SIUE responded immediately in the top of the third with a four-spot, taking the lead and expanding it to 5-3 with a single marker in the fourth. The Cookeville crew answered with one run in the fourth, courtesy of an RBI double down the left-field line off the bat of third baseman Preston Steele.
The Cougars pushed the lead back out to two at 6-4 thanks to a run-scoring ground out following a lead-off triple. Never deterred, the purple and gold went to work in the bottom half of the fifth, with first baseman Riley Black singling the other way through the left side for an RBI.
Later in the frame, shortstop Owen Lee knocked in a marker on a fielder's choice to second base, tying the game at 6-6 in the process. Black dented the dish to let Tech take back control at 7-6 during the next at-bat, as the Cougars' attempt at picking off Lee at first sailed wide for an error.
Continuing to push its offensive agenda, SIUE flipped the scoreboard for an 8-7 advantage in the sixth, scoring two runs on a long ball to right-center field. With both sides trading zeroes in the seventh, Tech looked to make its mark in the eighth.
Designated hitter Mack Whitcomb delivered the clutch hit in the frame, smashing a solo bomb to right-center field to tie the game at 8-8 with one out. The Cougars seemingly broke the hearts of the Tech faithful in the top of the ninth, taking advantage of an error by the Golden Eagle defense to score three unearned runs for a daunting, 11-8 lead.
The purple and gold donned its rally cap in the bottom of the ninth, with second baseman Eddie Garza leading the way by getting plunked with the second pitch of the inning. Owen Lee followed with a four-pitch walk before both runners advanced a base thanks to a passed ball.
Green followed with a sacrifice fly ball to deep, left-center field, pushing both runners up a base while plating one. No down just two, Jordan took his turn at the plate and drew an impressive, seven-pitch walk to put runners on the corners.
Falling behind in the count 0-2, Steele turned in an incredibly clutch turn with the stick, ripping an RBI single through the left side to pull the Golden Eagles within a run with only one out. Whitcomb followed by watching the next four pitches miss their mark, loading the bags for right fielder Jorsixt Jimenez.
The slugger put the ball in play and let chaos ensue by booking it to first base after smashing a chopper to third base. The Cougar third baseman stepped on the bag for the first out before trying to throw a dart to first for a game-saving double play.
The opposite was the final result, as the throw bounced in the turf past the outstretched glove of the SIUE first baseman, with the ball rolling up the fence line and into right-field foul territory. Jordan scored easily from third on the play to tie the game at 11-11 while Whitcomb turned on the afterburners from first.
The Tech sophomore raced around the bags before finally sliding in head first safely at the plate to cap the improbable comeback and salvage a win in the OVC series for the Golden Eagles. Lawson Stricklin earned the win after covering the final out of the ninth for the purple and gold, the first of the year for the reliever.
Juan Vargas covered the previous 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on two hits and three walks, albeit just two of them earned. He also punched out a game-high seven batters.
Tech dialed up 12 hits in the contest, with eight Golden Eagles securing at least one each. Four turned in multi-hit affairs, including Steele, Whitcomb, Ryan Lee, and Black.
Game one of the day was an old-fashioned slobber-knocker, with a combined 35 hits filling the state sheets in a contest that covered more than four-and-a-half hours. The contest also featured a nearly 30-minute rain delay.
SIUE opened the scoring with a four-spot in the second, rocking three doubles and five total hits. Tech answered by batting around and plating a whopping seven runs in the bottom half, with the first run scoring on a fielding error in right field after a single by Owen Lee. Jimenez, who had led off the frame with a single, scored all the way from first on the play.
Later in the frame, left fielder Luke Bragga found some empty turf down the left-field line to drive in run No. 2 for the purple and gold. After Jordan ripped an infield single to second base, the Cougars threw the ball away to keep the inning alive and allow another run to score.
The mistake was a big one, as Steele came to the dish and blasted a three-run bomb to center field to give Tech a 6-4 lead. Following a pitching change, Whitcomb made it back-to-back blasts with a solo shot to center field.
The Cougars answered back immediately in the third with three runs on the power of a two-run homer and RBI ground out before the skies opened up with heavy rain. Following a 29-minute delay, play was resumed, and Tech escaped without further damage.
In the fourth, SIUE kept applying the pressure with two solo round-trippers, retaking the advantage at 9-7. The Golden Eagles got one back in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI double to left-center field by Jimenez, but the visitors maintained a 9-8 lead.
They pushed the lead out to 11-8 with another two-run jack in the fifth and upped the ante to 14-8 in the seventh while smashing a three-run shot to right field. With the wind blowing out to right and right-center field consistently between 10 and 25 miles per hour all day, the long ball was a massive factor.
The Cookeville crew got two runs back in the seventh, courtesy of a two-run, ground-rule double to left center field off the bat of Jordan. SIUE responded once more in the eighth, gathering an RBI single and one more three-run dinger to move out front 18-10.
Tech scored twice in the bottom of the eighth behind a throwing error by the Cougars and an RBI single to right field by second baseman Aaron Moffitt. SIUE held down the stretch, securing the series win.
Jordan led the purple and gold in game one, finishing 4-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Whitcomb and Jimenez each delivered three hits. All nine Golden Eagles turned in a least one hit in the contest, while eight scored at least once. Steel led the way with three RBI.
The Golden Eagles will head to Knoxville on Tuesday evening for a 5:00 p.m. CT battle with No. 1 nationally-ranked Tennessee at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
File photo by Betty Myers
