May 11, 2011

Final home series this weekend features Senior Day Sunday

The Tennessee Tech baseball team will plays its final home games of the year this weekend with a three-game OVC series against UT Martin, and Sunday will be Senior Day as the team bids farewell to six departing seniors.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- A poignant combination of emotion and drama will surround Tennessee Tech's final home series of the 2011 season as the Golden Eagles host UT Martin for three games this weekend in Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.

Following a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, the teams will take the field Sunday for a single game at 1 p.m. in what will be Senior Day for the Golden Eagles, who bid farewell to six players wrapping up their collegiate careers under coach Matt Bragga.

"Senior Day is always kind of an emotional time for the players, their families, and the coaching staff," Bragga said. "It's the final time they will play on their home field and it's always a special day with special memories."

For the team, however, the drama of the Ohio Valley Conference race will overshadow the emotion as the Golden Eagles are fighting to reach the post-season and the OVC Tournament. With just six games left on the schedule, the Golden Eagles need some wins to keep playing.

Entering this weekend Tech is 8-10 in OVC games, leaving the Golden Eagles in seventh place. Only the top six teams advance to the May 25-28 OVC Tournament in Jackson, Tenn.

It's not bleak, however, as Tech is only 1.5 games out of third place. Breaking the chase down to the simplest terms, six Golden Eagles wins would clinch a tournament berth. Winning five of the final six would most likely put Tech in the tourney field, too. Winning four of six would complicate matters, depending on who the wins come against.

"We just need t go out and play the best brand of baseball we can play," Bragga said. "We need to play the baseball we're capable of playing, and we're looking forward to the challenge."

Austin Peay owns the league lead with a 13-4 OVC record, while Southeast Missouri is second at 10-6. Jacksonville and UT Martin are tied for third at 9-8, with Eastern Illinois next at 9-9. Eastern Kentucky is just ahead of the Golden Eagles at 10-11 with just one league series remaining.

Following the UT Martin series this weekend, the Golden Eagles wrap up the regular season with a trio of games at Murray State next Friday and Saturday (May 20-21).

The six seniors who will get a proper sendoff on Sunday are Frankie Beech, Jared Dobbs, Casanova Donaldson, Chad Oberacker, Trice Powers and Devin Rivers.

The Golden Eagles are 20-25 overal this season, including a 14-12 record at home. The latest win was a 12-9 victory Tuesday night with two comebacks against Lipscomb. Tech's lineup features six regular starters above the .300 mark, led by Frazier's .333 mark. The others are Donaldson (.328), Zach Stephens (.312), Austin Wulf (.310), Zephan Guyear (.305) and Oberacker (.303). Tech owns a .291 team batting average with 37 home runs.

Bragga is settled on his pitching plans for Saturday, sending Matthew Shepherd (3-5. 5.06) and Tristan Archer (5-4, 6.23) to the hill. Sunday's starter, however, isn't determined. The Golden Eagles have used three different Sunday starters this season, including Oberacker (1-2, 4.38), Nick Price (3-4, 5.44) and Justin McWhirter (0-4, 8.10). Tech's pitching staff has a 5.75 ERA with four saves.

UT Martin, meanwhile, is 18-28 overall including a 5-17 record away from home after dropping two games at Belmont Wednesday night. The Skyhawks had won eight of their last nine prior to the Belmont setback, including seven in OVC play to improve to 9-8 in league games. Five regulars are hitting above the .300 mark, paced by Phil Sorenson's .376 mark. Drew Mason (.370), Cody Terry (.343), Matt Haynes (.328) and Erik Larsen (.304) are also above that plateau. The Skyhawks own a .278 team batting average with 24 home runs.

The Skyhawk starting rotation will feature Dan Tobik (3-6, 5.47) and Dannie Kelley (1-5, 5.16), but the third UTM weekend starter, Wes Patterson (0-4, 9.00), is doubtful after suffering an injury last weekend. The UTM pitching staff has a 6.18 ERA with four saves.

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