By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
MARTIN, Tenn.
Game 1
In an OVC-opening game that emphatically epitomized the phrase “pitcher’s duel”, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team ended their first of 24 matchups against league competitors with a 4-3 impediment against Eastern Illinois in a defensive lover’s dream, calculating a whopping 34 strikeouts between both sides on Friday evening.
Sophomore righty Rhett Fetner and Panther starter Trevor Nicholson – a senior southpaw – waged war on one another from the mound in the Ohio Valley Conference’s first chapter, garnering nine K’s in seven innings for the former next to 14 for the latter over the same length. Even the relief pitchers picked up where Fetner and Nicholson left off, tossing 11 more batters between the three of them as defense prevailed more often than not.
Pitching may have taken center stage in the series-opener, although the Skyhawks looked as if the game was veering in a different direction after an RBI-single from first-baseman Ethan Whitley in the bottom of the 1st. The base-hit (scoring lead-off centerfielder Will Smith) gave UTM an early lead they would hold until the 4th frame, putting the pressure back on the offense to respond.
The navy and orange were up to the challenge despite the surgical precision of both starting pitchers, landing a pair of runs in the 7th inning courtesy of infielders Nate Self and Alec Beaman landing back-to-back hits that brought Chance Merithew home. Continuing the rally on a wild pitch with the bases juiced, the Skyhawks found themselves within a single run thanks to the terrific work of Fetner and reliever Tucker Reed not allowing EIU an avenue to score late.
Following the visitors’ three-run burst in the top of the 4th, Fetner and Reed canned a combined 10 players over the final five innings for a season-best 14 as a unit. Unfortunately, the comeback attempt fell just shy due to Eastern Illinois’ mirroring of UT Martin on the mound.
Game 2
Ramping up their offensive production after a defensive slugfest the previous evening in the Ohio Valley Conference opener, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball club saw a late-game rally come up short against the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Saturday afternoon, taking a 9-4 loss in the halfway portion of the weekend three-part series at home.
On a day where the wind at Skyhawk Field was as strong as any appearance this year, UTM was able to reel off 10 hits compared to EIU’s 13, including a 6/12 combined effort at the plate from shortstop Casey Harford, first-baseman Ethan Whitley, and catcher Cameron Brady. Due to the aforementioned high winds, a would-be three-run homer from Jack Culumovic was unfortunately waved off in the bottom of the 5th, sailing past the first-base line after initially floating fair.
Third-baseman Nate Self brought UT Martin an early 1-0 advantage for the second straight day in the bottom of the 2nd via an RBI-single to score leftfielder Hunter McLean. After McLean himself landed on first base, the speedy sophomore stole both second and third (his fourth and fifth steals of the spring in 14 starts) to put himself in an optimal position to hand the Skyhawks the lead.
Following a flurry from the visitors, Brady cemented his ninth RBI of the season in the bottom of the 8th after bringing Harford around the bases on a single down the third-base side of the field. In only nine appearances since February, the second-year catcher sits only one RBI off from tying for the second-most on the roster (alongside McLean, Jack Culumovic, and Wil LaFollette).
Trailing by seven entering the final inning, the Skyhawks rallied for back-to-back runs with two outs already secured, the first of which came off an EIU walk with all bases occupied. In the next at-bat, pinch-hitter Houston Wright drilled a single to rightfield to score Whitley, amounting to the final five-run decision.
Three right-handers – Matt Dickey, Seth Petry, and Noah Walters – split time on the mound for UT Martin on Saturday, the first eight innings from Dickey and Petry. The former only surrendered a single hit in three frames of work.
Game 3
Continuing the defense-heavy theme of this weekend’s Ohio Valley Conference opener versus the Eastern Illinois Panthers, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team came intimately close to snaring a Game 3 victory over the opponent with the highest winning percentage in the league, eventually succumbing to a 3-2 decision in another highly-entertaining bout on Sunday afternoon.
Junior pitcher Jacob Smith was sensational once more in his third start of 2022, tossing the first five innings while giving up only a single hit to an offense averaging nearly eight scores per contest. Baylor Jones, Blake Davis, and Trey Ricko rounded out the rest of the Skyhawks’ bullpen in the weekend finale, limiting the Panthers’ batting to five less hits than the previous day.
Speaking of offense, every single player in UTM’s original batting order tallied at least one hit in the third chapter against Eastern Illinois, highlighted by leftfielder Jack Culumovic and shortstop Casey Harford’s combined 4/8 mark at the plate. Harford concludes the first conference series of the spring with four hits next to three runs and three walks, scoring today in the bottom of the 6th.
Before the aforementioned run to give the Skyhawks a 2-0 advantage, cleanup hitter Ethan Whitley firstly got the navy and orange on the board in the opening inning, bringing lead-off rightfielder Will Smith around the bases with his second RBI-single of the weekend.
Harford’s score five frames later bumped UTM’s advantage to a deuce after Alec Beaman nailed a single into deep centerfield, the ninth run for the roster since Friday on 26 total hits. Whitley’s base hit in the 1st and Beaman’s similar shot in the 6th move the Skyhawks’ 2022 RBI accumulation to 103 as five different players have hit double-digits in that category.
Designated hitter Wil LaFollette gave UT Martin their fourth extra-base hit of the series in the bottom of the 4th on a double that bounced off the rightfield wall, inches away from the sophomore’s fourth home run of the year.
Following Sunday’s one-run final – the second time in the last three outings that the result lingered on a single score – the Skyhawks will now hit the road for the next five dates on the spring schedule, facing Southern Illinois for a second occasions on Tuesday in Carbondale. The Salukis came to Martin nearly two weeks back in a 5-2 victory for UTM, moving the Skyhawks’ overall record to 7-14 near the end of the month.
First pitch against SIU is on pace for 6:00 p.m on Tuesday
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information