Tech Prepares for Tennessee with Victory Over Maryville

By Rob Schabet
TTU Sports Information
April 23, 2002

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles prepared for a showdown with the Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday, April 24, with a 14-5 victory over visiting Maryville College.

The Golden Eagles pounded out 16 hits en route to their 20th win in 39 outings this season. Tech Cole Helms was 2-for-4 on the night to keep his 14-game hitting streak alive. The Southside, Alabama native has hit safely in 37 of Tech's 39 games this season. The Maryville Scots fell to 23-14 on the season.

The Golden Eagles got on the board first and often as Tech scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning and a solo run in the third to take an early 5-0 advantage. Jake Allen doubled and then scored on a single by Ryan Hay. Carlos Martin then slammed a double to the wall in right center to score Hay and Mike Meihls. Martin later scored on a single by Ben Shannon. Jesse Johnson scored in the third on a ground out by Casey Benjamin.

The two teams exchanged runs with the Scots getting a solo tally in the fourth inning and the Golden Eagles responding with a single run in the fifth. Maryville tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth on four hits, including a run scoring double by Justin Bowen.

Tech put the game out of reach with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to push its advantage to 10-3. Martin started the surge by doubling down the right field line to score Hay and Meihls. Shannon then doubled to score Martin and Tech's final run of the inning came when Helms knocked in Shannon with a single to third base.

Maryville was able to cut the Tech margin to 10-4 with a single run in the top of the seventh inning. However, the Golden Eagles scored three runs in the seventh and after spotting the Scots another run in the eighth, ended the scoring with their 14th run of the game with a single tally in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Tony Suber got the start for the Golden Eagles and went six full innings to pick up the win. He allowed three runs on eight hits, while striking out four Maryville batters. Randall Brown came on in relief to pitch the last three innings. Kevin Cable started the game for the Scots and went three innings to earn the loss. He allowed five runs on six hits. Josh Ringley, Jason Phillips and Daryl Randles came on in relief.

The Golden Eagles will visit the Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday, April 24, in Knoxville. The game time is set for 6 p.m. CST.