By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Casey Harford. Wil LaFollette. Nate Self. Cameron Brady. What do those four Skyhawks have in common? They all blasted home runs in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday afternoon as the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team pulled off their second consecutive Alabama upset to knock off the Crimson Tide, 7-6.
Trailing by a single run approaching the top of the 6th inning, the Skyhawks stunned their Southeastern Conference opponent with back-to-back homers by Harford and LaFollette, another from Self in the 7th, and the game-clinching torpedo from Brady in the final inning to improve to 3-4 on the year.
Having accumulated three HR’s over the first six games of the year going into Tuesday’s battle, UTM more than doubled that amount over the course of just four innings this afternoon as Alabama sulked to their fourth straight defeat.
Seven different pitchers saw time in the spotlight at Sewell-Thomas Stadium for the navy and orange, including starter Noah Walters and closer Blake Davis. JUCO transfer Matt Dickey was credited with his first win in a UT Martin jersey for his efforts in the bottom of the 8th, preserving what was a 5-5 tie until Brady’s moonshot to end proceedings.
Junior centerfielder Reid Halfacre allowed the Skyhawks to strike first in the 3rd frame, releasing an RBI-double after consecutive walks to score Self. In the next at-bat, Will Smith – who filled in at leftfield on Tuesday – produced a sacrifice fly ball that brought Brady home for the 2-0 advantage.
Alabama would retaliate by scoring the game’s next three runs with five innings gone. It was here that head coach Ryan Jenkins’ club was galvanized with the bat in their hands, going yard four times in the final four stanzas to snag the W away from the Tide’s clutches.
The entire bomb trilogy from Harford, LaFollette, and Self came in solo format to send Alabama’s spirits crumbling down to the tune of a 5-3 deficit. Harford and LaFollette are no strangers to success against the crimson SEC powerhouse, having synced up for four hits, four RBI, one double, one triple, and one dinger in Tuscaloosa last year during a 9-4 triumph over a then-nationally-ranked Tide.
Following Self’s explosion to left center in the 7th – the first collegiate homer of the sophomore’s career – Alabama finally punched back with an HR of their own that scored a pair. As the game evolved into a long-ball contest, the Skyhawks would snare the last laugh via Brady’s two-run projectile in the final inning, mirroring Self with the first ever homer of the catcher’s stint in Martin.
Sacrificing two outs in order to bring one player home during their last attempt to avoid the upset, the Crimson Tide couldn’t seize the game-tying run from Davis, who tossed a ground ball to first-baseman Ethan Whitley that solidified the monster win.
Besting a team that pushed top-ranked Texas to the limit last weekend – falling to the #1 Longhorns by a combined three runs over the first two outings in Austin – Alabama’s 12 hits versus the Skyhawks this afternoon were not enough to deny UTM their second straight W in Tuscaloosa and third win over an SEC opponent over the last 12 months.
On the pitching side, four different hurlers surrendered a single hit or less in the landmark victory. Rhett Fetner, Trey Ricko, Baylor Jones, and Davis were instrumental pieces in keeping Alabama guessing offensively, as the latter earned his second save of 2022.
Now riding a tidal wave of momentum entering the final stop in the team’s seven-game road trip across the Yellowhammer State, the Skyhawks will take on North Alabama this weekend for another three-game slate in Florence. Beginning with Friday’s opener at 5:00 p.m., all three meetings with the Lions will be aired live through ESPN+.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information