Ninth inning rally lifts Golden Eagles to 6-5 win and series sweep from EIU
Chason Choate and Stephen Pryor held Eastern Illinois to one hit over the final eight scoreless innings and Chad Oberacker's third hit of the day capped a three-run ninth inning rally as Tech swept the three-game OVC series with a 6-5 win Sunday in Bush Stadium.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Good things come to those who wait,
and Tennessee Tech waited a long time Sunday before rallying in the
final two innings for a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Eastern
Illinois. The win allowed Tech (18-19/4-5 OVC) to sweep the
three-game series from the Panthers.
Chad
Oberacker (photo) capped Tech's three-run charge in the bottom
of the ninth, bouncing a bases loaded single up the middle as the
tying and winning runs raced home.
Tech has now won five in a row, its longest winning string of the
season.
It was an unlikely win for Tech, which saw Eastern Illinois
(9-25/4-8 OVC) jump to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
The Panthers opened with two walks off starter Nick Price and followed
with three singles and a sacrifice bunt to build their lead.
Chason
Choate took over with one out in the first and got out of the
inning with just one single, then worked five scoreless innings
without another hit. He walked one and struck out four.
Stephen
Pryor (3-3) took over with one out in the sixth and continued
the shutout string. He worked 3 2/3 innings and allowed just one
hit. He didn't walk a batter and struck out six.
After Tennessee Tech pitchers tossed back-to-back shutouts Saturday, the visiting Panthers didn't wait long before getting on the scoreboard with five in the top of the first Sunday.
Curt Restko and Zach Borensein walked to get things underway and
Ben Thoma beat out a perfectly placed bunt to load the bases. Alex
Gee singled up the middle to score Restko, and the second run came
home on a groundout.
Cam Strang singled to score Thoma and make it 3-0, bringing Choate
in from the bullpen. Ryan Dineen's sacrifice bunt toward second
allowed Gee to score and Gerik Wallsten finished the rally with a
single up the middle, plating Strang. It was the only hit allowed
by Choate, who got out of the inning with a strikeout.
EIU starter Josh Mueller was untouchable into the sixth inning,
holding Tech scoreless through four before the Golden Eagles
notched two unearned runs in the fifth. Chad Hayes and Zephan Guyear
singled and Austin
Wulf reached on an error to load the bases with one out.
Mueller walked Tate McMillan for
the first run, but got a huge out when he struck out the nation's
home run leader, A.J. Kirby-Jones,
on a 2-2 pitch. Oberacker drew a two-out walk for the second run,
before Mueller got the final out on a strikeout to leave the bases
loaded.
With Pryor stifling the Panther hitters, the Golden Eagles got
one run back in the bottom of the eighth to make it 5-3. Oberacker,
who finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBI and a walk, singled
sharply to center to start the frame and raced all the way around
to third when the ball got through in the outfield for a two-base
error. He scored on a groundout as reliever Brent McNeil got out of
the inning without further trouble.
Pryor put the Panthers down in order in the ninth, setting the
stage for the winning rally, as EIU brought in closer Dillon Roark.
He got the first out on a pop fly, but Guyear laced a line drive to
left. Wulf bounced a ball up the middle that went for a single when
it was mishandled behind the base, putting two runners aboard, and
Tate McMillan's blooper to left was just out of the reach of the
diving Thomas, allowing Guyear to score and make it 5-4.
A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, so EIU chose
to intentionally walk Kirby-Jones with one out to load the bases,
and Oberacker bounced the first pitch up the middle for the two-run
single and the victory.
In addition to the 3-for-4 effort from Oberacker, McMillan went
3-for-3 with two RBI and Guyear had two hits. Five different
Panthers had one hit apiece.
The Golden Eagles will visit Middle Tennessee State Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. non-conference game against the Blue Raiders. Following that, Tech will return to OVC play by hosting Morehead State next weekend in a three-game series with play starting at 1 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
