Upper Cumberland Times

It was a tough day at the ballpark for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles fell in its rubber match with in-state rival ETSU at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, 12-0. The two sides played just seven innings, having agreed to a run rule prior to the beginning of the contest.

The visiting Buccaneers controlled things from the start, taking an early lead and using a great showing on the mound to hold the Tech offense at bay all day. ETSU jumped on top in the first inning with an RBI single.

A three-run home run in the second jumped the lead to 4-0. The Golden Eagles picked up their first hit of the ball game off ETSU hurler Nathanial Tate in the third, with shortstop Nick Spardone peppering a single up the middle, but it took just six pitches in the frame to retire the purple and gold.

The visitors blew the contest wide open in the fourth, scoring eight runs, including three unearned, behind five hits. Tech threatened to score in the fifth, with designated hitter Eddie Garza picking up an infield single to second base and advancing on a wild pitch. Second baseman Troy Baunsgard drew a walk to put two on, but the Bucs escaped with Tate retiring the next two Golden Eagles on punch outs.

Neither squad scored over the final three frames, as Tate finished his day with two hits allowed and a walk in six innings. Golden Eagle pitchers Parker MacCauley, Brock Smith, and Colt Taylor combined to complete three shutout innings down the stretch, each covering one frame. Taylor led the effort with a pair of strikeouts.

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