Golden Eagles clinch series with dominating win over Cleveland State
Through three and a half innings Sunday the Tennessee Tech baseball team looked like it was in for a tightly contested battle as it faced Cleveland State in the finale of a three game series.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Through three and a half innings
Sunday the Tennessee Tech baseball team looked like it was in for a
tightly contested battle as it faced Cleveland State in the finale
of a three-game series. But with a 2-2 tie heading into the bottom
of the fourth inning, Tech’s bats came through in a big way
as the Golden Eagles combined for 18 runs in the middle innings en
route to a 21-3 series-clinching victory.
Tech freshman Tristan Archer got the start on the mound and went
six innings, allowing one earned run and four hits while striking
out five Cleveland State batters in his first career win. The
Golden Eagles improve to 4-2 on the season while Cleveland State
falls to 1-5.
Tech piled up 21 runs on 21 hits and committed three errors, while
the Vikings managed three runs on five hits with one error.
Seven different Tech batters had multiple hits, including three
with three hits each, and a four-hit game for Casanova Donaldson.
Donaldson went 4-for-5 at the plate with six RBIs, Tate McMillan
went 3-for-5 with five RBIs, Chad Oberacker went 3-for-5 with and
RBI and Austin Wulf went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Freshman Zephan
Guyear went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and hit his first career home
run, while A.J. Kirby-Jones went 2-for-2 and Chad Hayes finished
2-for-4 at the plate.
Donaldson’s four hits were one shy of tying Tech’s
single-game record, which he shares after going 5-for-5 against
East Tennessee State last season. His six RBIs were also one short
of tying Tech’s single-game record with three players.
Oberacker pitched the final three innings for Tech, allowing just
one hit while fanning four batters. Cleveland State went through
six pitchers in the game, with starter Nate Dick getting the loss
after allowing six runs.
With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Donaldson put
Tech on the board with a two-run single to give Tech a 2-1 lead.
Cleveland State tied the game in the top of the third, but Tech
would bat around and score six runs in the fourth, bat through and
add five runs in the fifth, and bat around and plate seven runs in
the sixth to put the game out of reach.
The Golden Eagles will visit Vanderbilt Tuesday for a single-game
non-conference showdown before returning home to host Bradley in a
three-game weekend series beginning with a double-header on
Saturday (March 6). Admission to all Tech home baseball games is
free.
