The Golden Eagles baseball team (21-5) defeated the RedHawks of Miami (OH) (10-12) twice this week in a midweek series at Averitt Baseball Complex.
The Golden Eagles battled wintry conditions Tuesday afternoon, but cold winds and flurries could not cool down Tech’s bats.
Senior first baseman Zach Stephens brought in two RBIs on his first hit of the game, a single to left center that scored Daniel Miles and Jake Rowland.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Brazelton followed Stephens trend with an RBI single to the same area of the diamond. At the end of one the Golden Eagles led 3-0.
The RedHawks found life in the second inning as infielder Ryan Elble’s ground out scored Max Andresen. Elble’s RBI would be the only offense generated by Miami (OH). The Redhawks were held hitless from the third until the seventh inning.
The Golden Eagles added another run after a wild pitch allowed Brandon Thomasson to score in the bottom of the fifth.
Tech’s offensive attack was lead by Miles, who went 2-3 at the plate, including a RBI. His performance extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Wednesday’s match up brought no relief for the RedHawks as the Golden Eagles hot bats sizzled. Tech’s onslaught of offense would eventually lead to a 13-5 battering of the RedHawks. Senior outfielder Brandon Thomasson swung his way into the record books Wednesday as he hit for the cycle, becoming the first Tech player to do so in 20 years.
“I hit the triple after I had hit the double,” said Thomasson. “I told myself I was going for the cycle.”
The game began on a low note for Tech. Starting pitcher Jacob Honea gave up a home run and back-to-back hits to the RedHawks in the top of the first. Honea’s early jitters led to a mound visit from Coach Bragga.
Honea improved after the mound visit and cruised into the fourth inning. Honea struck out five batters before leaving the game.
In the bottom of the first, Daniel Miles came to bat with runners on the corners. He proceeded to rip a single that scored Brazelton, making the score 3-1. Next up was Thomasson, who laced a triple on the second pitch of the at-bat, scoring Miles.
An offensive explosion broke the game wide open in the second inning as the Golden Eagles scored four more runs with little to no resistance from the RedHawks.
The win over Miami (OH) completed the series sweep.
“It’s just awesome to beat other teams,” said Thomasson, “especially a sweep. Sweeps are great.”
Tech slugger Zach Stephens also had a career day. Stephens’ solo home run in the bottom of the third marked the 50th of his career.
Jake Rowland also found success at the plate for the Golden Eagles. Rowland, though not tallying multiple hits (1-3), did bring in three RBIs with his third long ball of the season. Only Thomasson had more RBIs with four.
Baseball travels to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville to take on the Cougars (9-13, 7-2) this weekend and will take on Alabama A&M (10-18) April 1 before returning home to face Austin Peay (10-14, 3-3).
