Golden Eagles take on Redhawks in massive OVC series in Cape Girardeau
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team continues its four-game road stretch with a massive Ohio Valley Conference series at Southeast Missouri this weekend, squaring off with the Redhawks at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Mo., starting Friday evening with a 6:00 p.m. CT tilt.
| Final (11) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
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1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 1 |
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0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 4 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
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1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech baseball team continues its four-game road stretch with a massive Ohio Valley Conference series at Southeast Missouri this weekend, squaring off with the Redhawks at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Mo., starting Friday evening with a 6:00 p.m. CT tilt.
Game two of the weekend will feature a 2:00 p.m. first pitch on Saturday afternoon, while the series finale will open on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. All three contests are slated to be streamed on ESPN+.
THE SERIES
Friday's opener represents the 109th match-up since 1949 between the two programs, with the Redhawks owning a 61-47 lead in the series. The Golden Eagles picked up a big series win with SEMO last season, bouncing back from an extra-innings outing in the opener to take the final two contests in Cookeville.
In the first match-up of last year's series, the Redhawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead, and the contest played out that way all the way to the bottom of the ninth. Nicho Jordan spoiled things for a moment, leading off the ninth with a game-tying home run, but the Redhawks answered in the 10th with a three-run shot of their own to take a 4-1 win.
Tech fired back in game two, bursting out of the gates to a 6-0 lead over the first two innings courtesy of a Theo Bryant IV grand slam and a two-run double from Hayden Gilliland. The Golden Eagles increased it to a 10-0 advantage before finishing things off for a 10-2 victory to square the series.
The finale took the form of a heavyweight boxing match, with a punch-for-punch mentality rolling throughout the contest. SEMO took a 1-0 lead in the third before Troy Baunsgard answered with a game-tying long ball in the bottom half of the frame. Tech jumped on top, 2-1, in the seventh with an RBI sac bunt, but the Redhawks responded with a round-tripper of their own to tie the game once more in the eighth.
Preston Ford delivered the big upper cut in the bottom of the eighth, smashing a two-run blast to right-center field to push the purple and gold out front by a score of 4-2. SEMO tried to extend the fight in the ninth, scoring once on a two-out rally before Jack Brafa came on for the final out, a strikeout looking.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Eagles enter Friday's series opener after making some history on Tuesday evening, as head coach Matt Bragga became the program's all-time winningest leader with the 555th victory of his Tech tenure. The offense went to work, dialing up 12 hits, eight walks, and three hit-by-pitches to earn a 15-11 win in Nashville.
The purple and gold picked up a huge Ohio Valley Conference series win over in-state rival UT Martin over the weekend. The purple and gold earned an improbable victory in Friday's opener, tying the game in the eighth inning with an unearned run and rallying from a one-run deficit in the bottom of the 10th.
Tech took advantage of two costly errors by the Skyhawks with two outs in the 10th, tying the game on a throwing miscue and walking things off, 6-5, on an RBI single by Riley Black. Mack Whitcomb raced home from second base, delivering a perfect swim move to avoid the tag and plate and dent the dish for the winning run.
In Saturday's affair, UT Martin's Zach Wager tossed a gem for the visitors, holding Tech to just two runs over 8.0 innings of work before passing things to the bullpen for a 4-2 win. The Cookeville crew swung back in the finale on Sunday, again providing a late rally to earn the win.
Trailing 6-4 heading into the eighth, the purple and gold used a pair of RBI singles to tie the contest before Whitcomb delivered the game-winning sacrifice fly to left-center field. Reece McDuffie finished things off with a perfect ninth on the mound.
THE OPPONENT
The Redhawks scored 11 runs on eight hits en route to beating Murray State on Tuesday night by a final score of 11-3 at Capaha Field. SEMO scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by third baseman Andrew Ramirez.
The blast marked the first of his Redhawk career and gave SEMO a 7-0 advantage after the first frame. The bullpen shut down the high-powered Racers for the rest of the night as the Redhawks picked up win number 27 on the season.
SEMO swept Morehead State this past weekend in epic fashion as the Redhawks won Saturday's doubleheader with 5-1 and 21-7 victories before clinching the sweep with an 11-10, come-from-behind victory. The sweep marked the first time since 2004 that the Redhawks swept the Eagles in Morehead, Ky.
CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARD
Four-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year Matt Bragga is back for his 19th overall season at the helm of the Golden Eagle program and fourth after making his return to Cookeville in 2022. The Tech legend continues to climb the OVC's all-time coaching wins list, currently ranked fifth overall in league history with a Golden Eagle program-record 555 victories. This season, Bragga passed TTU Sports Hall of Famer David Mays on the all-time list, and the Tech duo represents the only pair of coaches from the same school to rank in the league's top eight of OVC wins.
| 1. | Gary McClure, Austin Peay (1988-15) | 847 | ||
| 2. | Johnny Reagan, Murray State (1958-93) | 776 | ||
| 3. | Jim Ward, Eastern Kentucky (1980-01) | 628 | ||
| 4. | Jim Case, Jacksonville State (2004-21) | 564 | ||
| 5. | Matt Bragga, Tennessee Tech (2004-18, 22-present) | 555 | ||
| 6. | David Mays, Tennessee Tech (1974-98) | 554 | ||
| 7. | Mark Hogan, Southeast Missouri (1995-12) | 526 | ||
| 8. | Jim Schmitz, Eastern Illinois (1997-15) | 480 | ||
| 9. | John Stanford, Middle Tennessee (1974-87) | 402 | ||
| 10. | Steve Peterson, Middle Tennessee (1988-00) | 401 |
PRESEASON OUTLOOK
The purple and gold were selected to finish third in the OVC in a preseason vote of league head baseball coaches and communications directors, falling behind only defending tournament champion Southeast Missouri and defending regular-season champ Little Rock.
During its 2025 OVC Season Preview, D1baseball.com selected southpaw Jared Herzog as the No. 1 prospect in the league for the 2025 MLB Draft while outfielder Jorsixt Jimenez was ranked 11th. The D1baseball crew listed catcher Mack Whitcomb as the No. 2 prospect from the OVC for the 2026 MLB Draft, right-handed pitcher Jack Brafa No. 7 and right-handed hurler Juan Vargas No. 9. Rookie righty Carter Casabella was selected as an Impact Freshman, sitting at No. 10.
OVC HONORS
On Monday, junior hurler Reece McDuffie was honored with his first career OVC Pitcher of the Week accolade, sharing the honor with Lindenwood's Josh Newell. The right-hander completed 6.1 innings out of the pen, allowing just three base runners while striking out four and picking up a pair of wins in three appearances.
Earlier this month, on Apr. 14, junior infielder Eddie Garza picked up the first OVC Player of the Week honor of his career after helping lead the Golden Eagles to a three-game sweep of Southern Indiana. The second baseman hit .667 with three home runs, four runs scored, and nine RBI during the week, slugging a ridiculous 1.417.
Back on Mar. 24, senior outfielder Nicho Jordan was recognized as the OVC Player of the Week for the first time in his career, slashing .583/.688/.1.417 over four games with three home runs, six RBI, and eight runs scored. After opening Tech's first OVC series at Little Rock 1-for-4, Jordan exploded in the second contest, tallying two home runs (including one of the inside-the-park variety) on a 4-for-4 day with five RBI, five runs, a walk, and a stolen base.
On Feb. 17, sophomore catcher Mack Whitcomb earned his first career OVC Player of the Week nod, batting .385 with five extra-base hits, six RBI, and five runs in a four-game sweep over Le Moyne on opening weekend. He slugged 1.154 while turning in an OPS of 1.625, smashing two long balls along the way.
Twitter: @TNTech_Baseball
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Current Week Schedule
Tuesday, Apr. 29 | at Lipscomb | W, 15-11
Friday, May 2 | at Southeast Missouri | 6:00 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 3 | at Southeast Missouri | 2:00 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 4 | at Southeast Missouri | 1:00 p.m. CT
TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES
2025 Record: 29-17
2025 OVC Record: 11-7
Head Coach: Matt Bragga
TTU: 555-496-2 (19th Season)
Career: 606-572-3 (22nd Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Mack Whitcomb (.349)
2B: Whitcomb (12)
3B: Jackson Green (2)
HR: Whitcomb (9)
RBI: Whitcomb (38)
R: Whitcomb (39)
BB: Nicho Jordan (32)
SLG%: Whitcomb (.596)
OB%: Whitcomb (.476)
SB: Nicho Jordan (14)
ERA: Reece McDuffie (3.02)
W: Jack Brafa (6)
APP: Drew Mattox / Logan Moller (17)
IP: Jaxson Pease (53.2)
K: Pease (45)
BAA: Juan Vargas (.226)
SV: Vargas (6)
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI REDHAWKS
2025 Record: 27-18
2025 OVC Record: 13-5
Head Coach: Andy Sawyers
SEMO: 244-215 (9th Season)
Career: 332-242 (10th Season)
STATS LEADERS
AVG: Cole Warehime (.310)
2B: Bryce Cannon (16)
3B: Liam Forsyth (3)
HR: Warehime (11)
RBI: Warehime (44)
R: Michael Mugan (39)
BB: Brooks Kettering (36)
SLG%: Warehime (.576)
OB%: Shea McGahan (.429)
SB: Cannon / Ty Stauss (6)
ERA: Jackson Kranawetter (2.23)
W: Nathan Mertens (6)
APP: Gavin Johnston / Kranawetter (19)
IP: Mertens (61.0)
K: Haden Dow (54)
BAA: Caden Kickhaefer (.190)
SV: Kranawetter (8)
Photo by Jim Dillon
