Golden Eagles handed pair of losses in Kennesaw State Tournament
KENNESAW, Ga. -- Tennessee Tech saw its three-game winning
streak come to a halt Friday, dropping a pair of games at the
Kennesaw State Tournament. Tech lost to Wright State, 5-3, then
fell to the newest member of the OVC, SIU Edwardsville, 3-0.
The Golden Eagles (3-4) will face host Kennesaw State (3-1) on
Saturday at noon.
Banging out 10 hits wasn’t enough to get a come-from-behind
victory in the first game as the Golden Eagles could muster only
three runs in the contest. Wright State jumped out to an early
lead, holding a 4-0 advantage after two innings following a bases
loaded, two-out single. The Raiders added a single run in the
fourth to make it 5-0.
The Golden Eagles began their comeback in the sixth when a single
by sophomore Katie Betry drove in freshman Brooke Basten from
second to make it 5-1.
After holding Wright State to a third consecutive scoreless inning,
Tech came up swinging in the seventh. After back-to-back singles by
freshman Cassidy Skeen and sophomore Lacie Coquerille, a clutch
double by sophomore Whitney Cummings drove in a run and put two in
scoring position. Freshman Holly Thomas singled, scoring Coquerille
and put runners at the corners, including the tying run at first.
Wright State relief pitcher Ashleigh Jackson earned a save, getting
a strikeout and groundout to end the game.
Sophomore Maddie Schmissrauter (2-2) suffered her second loss of
the season in the circled, pitching four innings and allowing four
earned runs. Schmissrauter got six strikeouts while walking
three.
Starter Sharon Palma pitched the first 6.1 innings for the Raiders
to earn the win. She scattered nine hits, walked one and struck out
three Golden Eagle hitters.
Tech’s bats cooled off for game two as the Golden Eagles
managed just four hits off SIU-Edwardsville pitcher Kaitlin
Colosimo (2-1) in the 3-0 shutout. She tossed the complete game and
didn’t walk a batter while getting five strikeouts.
The Cougars pounced in the top of the second against Tech starter
Holly Thomas, after a leadoff walk set up a two-run home run by
senior Amanda Pucel for a 2-0 lead. The scoreboard didn’t
change until the bottom of the sixth when the Cougars added a third
run with a couple of singles and a stolen base.
Thomas (1-2) took the loss for Tech, pitching six innings and
allowing three runs on five hits while striking out six.
