Tech baseball off to 5-2 start
Liberatore shares Pitcher of the Week award
James Schiermeyer
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Sports
The Golden Eagles returned home from South Carolina with a pair of one-run victories over Marshall and The Citadel, improving Tech's record to 5-2.
In the tourney opener, Adam Liberatore and A.J. Kirby-Jones pitched a combined shutout and Heath Cheverton's sacrifice fly provided all of the offense as the Golden Eagles upended Marshall 1-0.
Liberatore went seven innings, striking out eight and only allowing two hits.
Kirby-Jones pitched the final two innings for his first save of the season.
Against The Citadel, the Golden Eagles needed timely hitting and a great bullpen effort to earn a 7-6 victory.
The Golden Eagles rallied three times before finally going ahead for good on a solo home run by Kirby-Jones in the top of the 15th inning.
The Golden Eagles received big plays when they needed them most.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Tate McMillan was able to tie the game with an RBI single to center field.
Junior Lee Henry pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings for his first victory of the season.
"It was a good weekend. We got clutch hitting when needed," Coach Matt Bragga said. "That's the fun thing about baseball sometimes you have to win one-run games."
Adam Liberatore was one of three players to share the pitcher of the week for the Ohio Valley Conference.
Liberatore is 2-0 for the year with a 0.00 ERA and 17 strikeouts while only allowing 6 hits in 14 innings of work.
Tech has 12 of their next 13 games at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, starting this weekend with a four-game set against Toledo.
Belmont visits on Wednesday for a mid-day showdown in Cookeville.
In the tourney opener, Adam Liberatore and A.J. Kirby-Jones pitched a combined shutout and Heath Cheverton's sacrifice fly provided all of the offense as the Golden Eagles upended Marshall 1-0.
Liberatore went seven innings, striking out eight and only allowing two hits.
Kirby-Jones pitched the final two innings for his first save of the season.
Against The Citadel, the Golden Eagles needed timely hitting and a great bullpen effort to earn a 7-6 victory.
The Golden Eagles rallied three times before finally going ahead for good on a solo home run by Kirby-Jones in the top of the 15th inning.
The Golden Eagles received big plays when they needed them most.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Tate McMillan was able to tie the game with an RBI single to center field.
Junior Lee Henry pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings for his first victory of the season.
"It was a good weekend. We got clutch hitting when needed," Coach Matt Bragga said. "That's the fun thing about baseball sometimes you have to win one-run games."
Adam Liberatore was one of three players to share the pitcher of the week for the Ohio Valley Conference.
Liberatore is 2-0 for the year with a 0.00 ERA and 17 strikeouts while only allowing 6 hits in 14 innings of work.
Tech has 12 of their next 13 games at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, starting this weekend with a four-game set against Toledo.
Belmont visits on Wednesday for a mid-day showdown in Cookeville.
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