COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball lost a seesaw game with Tennessee Tech University, 8-6, Saturday afternoon in Cookeville, Tennessee. USI is 16-18 overall and 7-4 in the OVC, while TTU goes to 23-13 overall, 8-3 OVC.
USI wasted little time jumping in front of game two, scoring four times on four hits in the opening frame. The Screaming Eagles loaded the bases with the first three hitters before junior leftfielder Patrick McLellan put USI out in front with an RBI single left field for the 1-0 lead.
Junior first baseman Kannon Coakley sent the lead to 3-0 with a two-run single up the middle before junior shortstop Clayton Slack finished the scoring at 4-0 with a sacrifice fly. TTU would respond with three runs of its own in the bottom of the first to close the gap to 4-3 and took the lead, 5-3, with two more in the second.
USI would rebound to retake the lead, 6-5, with a pair of tallies in the top of the fourth. Junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens broke an 0-for-6 string in the series with an RBI single to center field to tie the game, 5-5, while McLellan struck again with an RBI infield single for the 6-5 advantage.
The Screaming Eagles’ lead would last until the bottom of the fifth when TTU scored three times on three hits to take an 8-6 lead and chase USI junior starting right-hander Blake Kimball. Kimball (4-4) would eventually take the loss after allowing eight runs on six hits and two walks in four-plus innings.
TTU would shut the USI offense down for the next four frames, allowing only one hit and two base runners to close out the 8-6 final.
On the mound, USI junior right-hander Andres Gonzalez had a strong appearance in his game out of the bullpen. Gonzalez kept USI close by throwing three scoreless innings and striking out three.
