By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
Game 1
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Dealing most of the damage in the early stages of Friday evening’s three-game prelude with the Hornets of Alabama State, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad utilized another rock-solid hitting effort alongside a workmanlike performance on the mound to take down the Hornets in Game 1, 5-3.
Snatching the lead in the top of the 2nd and never relinquishing it on their way to a clutch road victory, UTM never allowed the Hornets to reach closer than a two-run gap while leading by as many as four, improving to 2-2 on the young season as a result.
Redshirt-junior outfielder Jack Culumovic and senior shortstop Casey Harford electrified the Skyhawk lineup whenever the bat was in their hands, adding up to reach four hits and three RBI that initially sparked the UT Martin hot start. Throw in another pair of base-hits and a driven-in run by starting catcher Cameron Brady, and the Skyhawks featured more than enough batting progression to get the job done in Friday’s opener.
Alabama native Rhett Fetner was another instrumental piece in UTM’s success over the Hornets, tossing out nine batters in nearly six innings of work as the series’ starter. Redshirt-freshman Baylor Jones and Blake Davis relieved Fetner after a productive night, where the latter shed six consecutive batters to effectively close out the contest.
Already on third-base thanks to a couple of singles and a sacrifice bunt in the 2nd inning, Harford got the Skyhawks on the board first once a wild pitch from ASU starter Jeremy Rivera sailed past catcher Hunter May. Culumovic then followed suit to hoist the lead to a deuce after Brady sliced a base hit to leftfield.
Duplicating the two-run output from the previous frame, UTM doubled the lead to 4-0 in the 3rd in Culumovic’s second appearance at the plate, blasting the ball to the right side to bring Will Smith and Wil LaFollette around the diamond.
Answering the Hornets’ first score of the night with one of their own in the top of the 5th period, the Skyhawks jolted the lead back where it was at 5-1. Harford was again the culprit offensively, driving in LaFollette once more on a leftfield double shot.
Two more Alabama State runs over the second half of the game weren’t quite enough to complete the comeback as UTM transitioned from Fetner to Jones on the mound, letting Davis put the finishing touches on the W in the 8th and 9th as he did in Sunday’s home triumph over Miami (Ohio).
Fetner finished his time in the spotlight with his first individual win of the season in a second try, while Davis – a long-time catcher in the navy and orange – was credited with his first collegiate save for his efforts in keeping the Hornets away.
Asserting themselves as the two most proficient swingers in the infant stages of 2022, Culumovic and Harford have added up for 13 hits next to 11 RBI in only four outings thus far. Culumovic in particular has been sensational batting fifth in the lineup, securing a .583 average in 12 at-bats over the past week.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In what was a drastic shift opposed to the previous night’s 5-3 victory to begin a three-game set with the Hornets of Alabama State, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad embarked in both Games 2 and 3 of the series on Saturday afternoon to avoid a potential weather issue at the tail end of the weekend, dropping both outings when all was said and done, 13-0 and 3-2.
Landing six hits (one of which was a solo home run from Ethan Whitley early in the finale), the Skyhawks fall to 2-4 on the young 2022 season by virtue of a single win each over Miami (Ohio) last week and yesterday’s victory in the Alabama state capitol.
Game 2 – Alabama State def. UT Martin 13-0
Producing his second starting nod of the year to begin the midway portion of the series, sophomore Lawson Russell tossed six full innings against ASU to the tune of 11 strikeouts before exiting for relief from J. Henry Hobson and Addison Parker. The Hornets were simply scorching offensively in the win, reeling off 15 hits while hurler Breon Pooler notched the W after facing 27 batters.
The top two batters in UTM’s order – centerfielder Reid Halfacre and second-baseman Will Smith – tallied both hits for the navy and orange in a losing effort, the former on the very first swing of the day while the latter echoed on a base hit in the top of the 7th.
Once the Hornets evened up the series at one win apiece, the Skyhawks tightened up their defensive efforts in the ensuing Game 3, ultimately falling narrowly by a single run.
Game 3 – Alabama State def. UT Martin 3-2
JUCO transfer Matt Dickey earned his second consecutive series-closing start at the pitching spot for UT Martin, striking out four players in only two innings before Seth Petry landed that same number over the next five frames.
Nearly completing a three-run comeback with one score each in the 3rd and 6th periods, the Skyhawks were granted their first score of the afternoon following Whitley’s solo bomb, the senior’s second time starting at the first-base slot of the young season.
Halfacre continued the rally three innings later once shortstop Casey Harford cast a sacrifice fly ball to right field, slimming the deficit to a single run. Despite UTM’s best efforts preventing the Hornets from scoring over the final seven innings, the visitors fell just a step shy of tying things up, totaling four hits and eight pitching strikeouts in the end.
Continuing the team’s seven-game streak of road matchups in the Yellowhammer State, the Skyhawks will now prepare to face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa next Tuesday. The non-conference one-and-done will mark the first of three contests versus SEC opponents this spring, having knocked off the Tide – then ranked 22nd in the nation – last season by a 9-4 margin at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. three days from now.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information