Walk-off win caps Tech's series sweep of Southern Indiana
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Great play from all three facets of the game led the Tennessee Tech baseball team to not only a dominant, 13-3 win over Southern Indiana in seven innings on Sunday, but also a three-game series sweep over their Ohio Valley Conference rivals.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 0 |
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Great play from all three facets of the game led the Tennessee Tech baseball team to not only a dominant, 13-3 win over Southern Indiana in seven innings on Sunday, but also a three-game series sweep over their Ohio Valley Conference rivals.
Taking care of business for the third consecutive day at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, the Golden Eagles (24-13, 9-3) maintained sole possession of the first place in the league behind a stellar showing from their bats, pitching staff, and defense.
Tech starter Lawson Stricklin set the tone early for the purple and gold, tossing shutout frames in the first and second. The Screaming Eagles (16-19, 7-5) finally got to the Golden Eagle hurler in the third, using a base knock and two-run home run to right-center field to take an early 2-0 lead.
Following another base knock, Tech head coach Matt Bragga went to the bullpen, calling on Lucas Vega to come in and silence the visitors from Evansville. Another base knock eventually played to the favor of the Cookeville crew, as Vega induced a ground ball to the next batter, and third baseman Preston Steele rewarded him by touching third and making a great throw to first for the inning-ending double play.
The offense immediately got after it in the bottom of the third, with left fielder Jackson Green setting the tone with a lead-off double off the wall in right-center field. Two batters later, shortstop Owen Lee singled to center field to plate the first run of the game for the good guys and cut the deficit in half.
Lee stole second base for his third swipe of the year, setting up right fielder Jorsixt Jimenez for the game-tying knock. The junior slugger came through, ripping an RBI double down the third-base line to tie the game at 2-2.
In the fourth, the purple and gold loaded the bases with one out, setting up designated hitter Ryan Lee for the go-ahead RBI. The senior delivered with a sacrifice fly ball to the wall in deep, right-center field.
USI answered and applied immense pressure in the top of the fifth, putting runners on the corners with just one out before a wild pitch brought the tying run home. Another base knock from the Screaming Eagles seemed to bode well for the visitor's hopes, but the Tech defense quickly soured those feelings thanks to a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
The Golden Eagles replied to the newly squared ball game by putting it completely out of reach with one monster frame in the bottom of the fifth. Tech plated a half dozen markers to completely erase all momentum built up by Southern Indiana, starting with the first batter at the plate.
Catcher Mack Whitcomb hammered the second pitch he saw to deep center field for a lead-off blast, moving Tech in front 4-3 with his team-leading ninth long ball of the season. After a one-out base hit from center fielder Nicho Jordan, USI went to the bullpen to try stymie the Golden Eagle attack.
The plan seemed to be working with a quick second out, but the Cookeville crew didn't change its approach. Carter Vrabel plated Jordan with a single to left-center field, and second baseman Eddie Garza followed by pulverizing a 1-1 offering to left-center field for a two-run jack.
Far from done, Green drew a four-pitch walk to force another trip to the bullpen for the Screaming Eagles and welcomed the new arm by promptly stealing second base. The move paid off right away as Ryan Lee poked an RBI single up the middle. Owen Lee followed with a base knock to right field, and Whitcomb drove in the sixth Golden Eagle of the inning with another single to center field.
The purple and gold continued to pour it on in the sixth, greeting another new Screaming Eagle arm with a six-pitch walk by Jordan. He swiped his second base of the game and moved to third on an errant throw by the catcher, setting up Steele for a sac fly down the left-field line.
Vrabel poked another base hit to right field to keep the pressure on, bringing the scorching-hot Garza to the dish for more damage. The junior continued to show off, blasting his second two-run nuke in as many innings to left field for a 12-3 Tech lead.
After entering in the bottom of the sixth for the third and final out, southpaw Jared Herzog worked a quick, 1-2-3 frame in the seventh, inducing a pair of ground balls and a routine fly out to center field. With a chance to end the ball game in the bottom half with the league's run rule of 10 after seven innings, the Golden Eagles applied the pressure yet again.
Whitcomb walked on five pitches to lead things off, advancing to second on a wild pitch before Southern Indiana picked up its second out of the inning. After fighting off a couple of foul balls, Steele provided the game-winning knock for the purple and gold, lacing a flare to center field to drive in Whitcomb for the walk-off victory.
Vega moved to 5-1 on the season after completing 3.1 innings out of the bullpen, scattering seven hits and allowing just one run. Stricklin punched out a team-high three batters while tossing the first 2.1 innings, while Herzog retired all four batters he faced.
Garza led the Golden Eagles with an impressive 3-for-4 showing and four RBI, while Green, Owen Lee, Whitcomb, Jimenez, and Vrabel each turned in multi-hit efforts. All nine Tech batters tallied at least one hit in the ball game. The purple and gold also stole a season-high five bases on the day, with Jordan and Green racking up two apiece.
Next on the docket for Tech is a trip north to Charleston, Ill. and a three-game OVC series at Eastern Illinois starting on Thursday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. CT tilt. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. for the final two games on Friday and Saturday.
Photo by Jim Dillon
