Could Tennessee Tech be to baseball what Loyola Chicago was to basketball?

Al Lesar
For Knoxville News Sentinel
Nick Osborne homered twice and drove in four runs to lead Tennessee Tech to a 7-6 non-conference victory over Tennessee Wednesday night.

In the context of the Tennessee Tech baseball team, Nick Osborne is a lightweight.

The 6-foot-2, 196-pound junior outfielder/pitcher from Sevier County High School came into Wednesday night’s 7-6 win over Tennessee with just six home runs (one of four starters with single-digit homers) and a .321 batting average (second-lowest among the starters).

He did some catching up against the Vols (24-9).

More:Tennessee Tech puts nation's longest win streak on line vs. Tennessee

Osborne homered twice, drove in four runs and had five hits to lead the Golden Eagles (35-5) to their 26th straight victory.

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“It starts in (batting practice),” said Osborne. “Get in the game, take the same approach: If (the pitcher) throws it inside, pull your hands in; if he throws it outside, stay on it.

“I’m not thinking about power until I get into an ‘advantage’ count (2-0 or 3-1). That’s when I try to drive gap-to-gap.”

Osborne, who was primarily a pitcher as a freshman, started the season as a sub.

“Before the year, I told a scout Osborne was going to have 15 home runs before the year is over,” said Tennessee Tech coach Matt Bragga. “He’s a guy who’s not that huge of a surprise. He’s got some juice that a lot of people don’t know he’s got.

“He’s a great hitter; free-loving spirit; a great young man.”

An injury forced rightfielder Kevin Strohschein into the designated hitter role, opening a spot for Osborne.

At Sevier County, he was teammates for three years with Vols reliever Zach Linginfelter. He had two singles off the hard-throwing righty, who pitched four innings Wednesday.

“We’ve been texting back and forth during the week – not smack talking, just catching up,” Osborne said. “I know a bunch of those guys. It was nice to beat them.”

A two-run homer by freshman Zach Daniels in the seventh cut the Vols' deficit to 7-6. Closer Ethan Roberts pitched two scoreless innings for his 10th save.

All of it impressed UT coach Tony Vitello.

“The biggest thing is (Tennessee Tech is) physical,” said Vitello. “It’s amazing what it will do for you when you’re older and you’re bigger. It gives you a sense of confidence. 

“It’s a lot easier to believe in yourself and your team if you’ve done it.”

Eight more to go?

The conquest of the Vols extend Tennessee Tech’s streak that started with an 8-0 win over West Virginia on March 13. The NCAA record, shared by Texas (1977) and Florida Atlantic (1999), is 34.

If the Golden Eagles (35-5) are going to reach that mark, they would have to beat Vanderbilt in Nashville May 8 (that would be their 33rd straight win). Tennessee Tech is 17-1 against Ohio Valley Conference teams.

“Outside of our son Luke, who’s 13 (who brought it up after 12 straight wins), we haven’t thought about it at all,” said Bragga. “We understand baseball is what baseball is. You play as good as you can and, hopefully, at the end of the day, you come out at the winning end on the scoreboard.

“Baseball, sometimes you lose. We believe, because we’re a good baseball team, we can win every team we play.” 

Tennessee Tech adds to nation's most home runs

The Golden Eagles came into Wednesday’s game leading the country in homers (95) and team batting average (.358). Last year they hit 99 homers.

Besides Osborne, one of the sluggers is 6-1, 250-pound lefthanded hitting senior first baseman Chase Chambers, a Farragut High School grad. He had two hits against the Vols and drove in what turned out to be the winning run.

Chambers came into the game hitting .397 with 11 homers and 55 RBIs.

Putting up those sorts of numbers has the Golden Eagles convinced they could be to baseball what Loyola Chicago was to men’s basketball.

“We knew we had a chance to be something special,” Osborne said. “We keep telling ourselves that every day. It starts in the fall, the first day: ‘We’re going to Omaha (to the World Series).’ That’s been our goal the whole time.”

“We were shooting pretty high; we were shooting for Omaha, to be honest,” Chambers said of the team’s preseason goals. “Everybody here believes we can make it to Omaha." 

Al Lesar is a freelance contributor.