Tech softball heads east to take on No. 21 Tennessee on Tuesday
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – It’s never easy to play on the road. It’s even tougher when you’re going in to face a ranked opponent. When the Tennessee Tech softball team heads to Knoxville on Tuesday to take on No. 21 Tennessee, the Golden Eagles know they’re going to be in for a battle. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Central, with the second game following approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. The last week was not kind to Tech. After entering last week with five wins in their last six games, the Golden Eagles ran into challenging matchups on the road at Jacksonville State and at home with Austin Peay. They enter Tuesday’s contest with a six-game losing streak, dating back to the second contest against Eastern Illinois on March 26.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – It's never easy to play on the road. It's even tougher when you're going in to face a ranked opponent. When the Tennessee Tech softball team heads to Knoxville on Tuesday to take on No. 21 Tennessee, the Golden Eagles know they're going to be in for a battle.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Central, with the second game following approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
The last week was not kind to Tech. After entering last week with five wins in their last six games, the Golden Eagles ran into challenging matchups on the road at Jacksonville State and at home with Austin Peay. They enter Tuesday's contest with a six-game losing streak, dating back to the second contest against Eastern Illinois on March 26.
The Lady Vols dropped one game of their weekend series against Kentucky and have won eight of their last 11 games, dating back to March 19, when Tennessee dropped two of three against Alabama. After the series against the Crimson Tide, UT swept Kennesaw State and Furman in doubleheaders and took a single game against Liberty before returning to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Tennessee has been no stranger to the Ohio Valley Conference this season, sweeping Eastern Kentucky 10-0 in five innings and 3-2, Southeast Missouri 7-0 and 5-3 and UT Martin 10-1 in five innings. In addition to Tuesday's doubleheader against Tech, the Lady Vols also have a twinbill scheduled against Tennessee State on April 14. Their game against Austin Peay on March 10 was cancelled.
UT enters the contest with a 28-6 overall record – 4-5 in the Southeastern Conference, 24-1 outside of the league.
It comes to no surprise that the Lady Vols can hit. Nine batters are over .300 at the plate. Nine batters have double-digit RBI totals. They have a team total of 48 home runs and have stolen 67 bases in 72 attempts.
In the runs scored and RBI categories, the difference between them and their opponents is staggering. Tennessee has scored 220 runs and collected 198 RBI. Their opponents? Sixty-nine runs scored and 61 RBI. The Lady Vols are batting .337 as a team, opponents .164 against them.
But in their past experience against Tennessee, that doesn't surprise the Golden Eagles. Over the years, Tech has seen Monica Abbott in the circle, current assistant coach Megan Rhodes Smith pitched against the Golden Eagles in the 2006 NCAA Regional. They know they're going to see some of the best pitching they'll face all season.
In 21 previous meetings against the Lady Vols, Tech has yet to claim a victory. However, 11 of those games have been decided by four runs or less. Twice – in 2005 in Cookeville and 2008 in Knoxville – it was decided by a 1-0 decision.
Kiki Milloy is a one-woman wrecking crew for Tennessee this season, leading the team in runs driven in (27), runs scored (37), home runs (11) and stolen bases (24). But it's not just her – Amanda Ayala has 26 RBI and a team-best 42 hits and 79 total bases. Ivy Davis has 10 home runs. Rylie West has a squad-best .407 batting average.
Needless to say, they're going to make the opposing battery work.
The matchup doesn't get any easier in the circle. Ashley Rogers, in 107 innings of work, has 170 strikeouts and 23 walks with opponents hitting .108 against her. She has five shutouts, 13 complete games and 16 starts in 21 appearances, posting a 1.05 ERA and a 16-4 record.
The Tennessee pitching staff as a whole has a 1.69 ERA, 225 strikeouts and a .164 opposing batting average.
Callie Turner (6-1, 1.94 ERA), Bailey McCachren (5-0, 2.47 ERA), Samantha Bender (1-1, 2.58 ERA) and Anna Hazelwood (0-0, 4.20 ERA) all could see action during Tuesday's twinbill.
Tech enters Tuesday's set with a 13-17 record. As a team, the Golden Eagles are hitting .260, opponents .231. Tech has 108 runs scored to opponents' 130 and 97 RBI to their 112. Opponents have also stolen 56 bases on 60 attempts to the Golden Eagles' 24 steals on 27 tries.
Beth McCulley is back at the top of the batting average chart, striking at a .342 rate. Six Golden Eagles, led by Nicolle Nysted's 17 RBI, had double digits in the category, while Nysted also leads the team with six home runs. Mackenzie Fitzgerald has 15 RBI and 13 runs scored, as Jessie Lowery has 14 RBI and 15 runs scored. Fitzgerald also leads the team with a perfect 13-for-13 effort on stolen bases.
In the circle, the Golden Eagles have a combined 3.71 ERA across 198 innings of play. In 101 frames, Alyssa Arden has collected a 3.33 ERA with a 7-9 record and 69 strikeouts, opponents hitting .209 against her. Haeli Bryson (5-4, 3.24 ERA) has 36 strikeouts in 54 innings of work, while Kendall Durard (1-3, 5.97 ERA) has 16 Ks in 34 innings.
Following the series in Knoxville, Tech hits the road to take on Murray State this weekend. The Golden Eagles return home on April 17 for the first of five straight home games against SIUE and Jacksonville State.
