By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
MARTIN, Tenn. – Unscrewing the cork on the 2022 regular season this weekend, the University of Tennessee at Martin’s opening series awaits on Friday-Sunday with hosting duties against the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks. Tomorrow afternoon’s first pitch – slated for 3:00 p.m. at Skyhawk Baseball Field – will cement the first ever meeting between the two programs separated by just over six hours.
Eagerly anticipating the genesis of the semester’s 51-game schedule, UTM and fifth-year head coach Ryan Jenkins carry a uniquely-balanced roster of potent hitters and throwers into an intriguing campaign, off the heels of a 19-29 finish a year ago next to a 10-17 figure in Ohio Valley Conference territory.
Placing inside the top five in school history across home runs (58, second), pitching strikeouts (413, third), saves (eight, fourth), and fielding percentage (.963, fifth), the 2021 version of the Skyhawks posted a 5.24 ERA from their pitching staff, which serves as the best mark over a single season since UT Martin became an NCAA Division I member in 1993.
While 70% of that throwing core have since departed the program, a promising mix of new faces will help fill the void on the mound. Meanwhile, the Skyhawks bring back five players who started at least 40 games last season inside the batter’s box, among them All-OVC Newcomer Team recipient Wil LaFollette and 2022 preseason all-league second baseman Will Smith.
One of the most powerful first-year performers in the conference a season ago before an injury sidelined his tenure on the field, LaFollette blasted 12 homers (more than any other freshman in the conference) alongside a .573 slugging percentage in 82 at-bats against OVC opponents. Other key contributors to the UTM offense include senior catcher Blake Davis, – whose 404 putouts led all other players in the OVC last spring – Ethan Whitley (who ranks fourth all-time with 30 home runs in a Skyhawk uniform), and Casey Harford – whose 111 RBI place the shortstop in fifth-place all-time for the navy and orange in that category.
Sophomore right-hander Rhett Fetner is expected to make the start during Friday’s series opener at the pitching spot, transferring to UT Martin after a spectacular stint at Chattahoochee Valley CC. Totaling seven complete games and three shutouts – both more than any other junior college slinger in 2021 – Fetner will throw out the Skyhawks’ first pitch before southpaw Lawson Russell does the same in Game 2 on Saturday, scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Fetner’s Chattahoochee Valley teammate Matt Dickey stands as the probable starter for Sunday’s Game 3 at 1:00, striking out a remarkable 75 batters in only 50 innings of action last spring at the junior college level.
Picked to finish in sixth-place across the 11-team Mid-American Conference, Miami (Ohio) enters the 2022 trek under the direction of eighth-year head coach Danny Hayden, going 25-31 last year beside a MAC record of 18-22. Facing three schools that ultimately advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including a three-game sweep over eventual ASUN champion Jacksonville by a combined score of 17-7, the Redhawks will see senior Jonathan Brand on the mound to combat Fetner in Friday’s Game 1.
Kenten Egbert will gain the starting nod in the middle of the three-game set on Saturday, finishing last season with an impressive ERA of 1.51 in over 35 innings of action, holding opposing batters to a .147 average. Michigan Wolverine transfer Colin Czajkowski will complete the weekend set as Game 3’s starter for the Redhawks, a redshirt-sophomore lefty from nearby Brownstown, Ohio.
Following the three-game order with Miami, UT Martin will engage in eight consecutive road matchups over a period of two and a half weeks all in the state of Alabama. As a matter of fact, this weekend’s series with the Redhawks will mark the only three-game set at home for UTM over the entirety of the team’s 27-game non-conference slate.
Stat links for all three contests at Skyhawk Baseball Field can be found below, as well as at the top of this article:
(Game 1) – http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=397498
(Game 2) – http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=397499
(Game 3) – http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=397500
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information