By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – For the first time in the University of Tennessee at Martin’s NCAA Division I Era, the Skyhawks swept a season baseball series from Murray State as UT Martin defeated the Racers by a 7-6 margin this afternoon.
The Skyhawks, who had previously beaten Murray State on the road back on Feb. 21, took the lead for good in the fourth inning and received clutch performances from the backend of the bullpen to improve to 12-26 overall.
Jordan Armstrong (2-4) put together one of his best starts in a UT Martin uniform, equaling a season-high with six innings while allowing only one earned run with five strikeouts. Tucker Reed (one inning) and Baylor Jones (0.2 frames) did not concede an earned run in relief before Zach Wager picked up his first career save, firing all eight of his pitches for strikes in a perfect ninth inning.
Offensively, Will Smith had three hits, an RBI and a run scored while Andrew Fernandez collected a pair of doubles with two RBI’s and a run scored. Caleb Hobson produced two hits, a walk, two stolen bases and two runs scored while Slade Taylor and Jack Culumovic each homered for the Skyhawks.
The Racers (20-18) took the first lead of the contest as they scored twice (one earned) in the top of the first.
Armstrong was locked in from there, shutting out Murray State for the remainder of his appearance. The McDonough, Ga. native induced an inning-ending double play with a pair of runners aboard in the second before retiring the side in order on just 10 pitches in the third.
UT Martin got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third as Taylor smoked the first pitch he saw for a home run out to deep left center. Hobson followed with a one-out single and two pitches later, Fernandez went against the shift for an RBI double to left field, evening the score at 2-2.
Armstrong struck out a pair of batters in the fourth and received some help behind him as Smith gunned down a Racer baserunner trying to go from first to third on a single.
In the bottom of the fourth, Culumovic pushed the Skyhawks ahead for good as the left-handed slugger from Simpsonville, SC smacked his team-best seventh home run of the spring. The solo shot out to right center put UT Martin on top by a 3-2 margin.
Armstrong stranded a pair of runners in the fifth and once again went 3-up, 3-down in the sixth, needing only 11 pitches to accomplish that feat.
Meanwhile, the Skyhawk offense padded their lead in the bottom of the fifth with three more runs. Zac Rice was issued a leadoff walk and stole second, advancing to third on a throwing error. Hobson followed with a similar situation as he drew a walk, stole second and moved up to third on an errant throw from Murray State’s pitcher which allowed Rice to score. Fernandez then lined a double to right center to plate Hobson before Smith came up with an RBI single, bringing in Fernandez and making the score 6-2.
One unearned run crossed the plate for the Racers in the top of the seventh but UT Martin quickly got it back courtesy of a pair of sacrifice hits in the bottom half. Smith singled to lead off the seventh and after a Hunter McLean walk, Culumovic laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up 90 feet. Mac Danford then lifted a sacrifice fly to center to extend the Skyhawk advantage out to 7-3.
Three Murray State runs crossed the plate in the top of the eighth before Baylor Jones did a masterful job of keeping UT Martin on top. Entering the game with one away and the tying run in scoring position, the right-hander out of Spring Hill, Tenn. induced a groundball before striking out Dustin Mercer – who entered the game hitting .591 with 12 RBI’s over his last four games – for the final out of the inning.
Wager did not flinch one bit during his first save opportunity of his career. The freshman from Columbus, Ind. continually pounded the strike zone to close out the win and lower his season ERA to a microscopic 1.84 on the season.
The Skyhawks return to Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend, traveling to Cookeville for a three-game series at Tennessee Tech from Friday, April 21 through Sunday, April 23.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information