By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – A litany of noteworthy offensive performances guided the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team to a doubleheader split against the Western Carolina Catamounts on Saturday afternoon, reaching a 6-2 victory in the two sides’ first-ever meeting to get the day started before a high-scoring 11-7 decision in the other way across the weekend nightcap.
Occupying the rightfield position for the day, sophomore Wil LaFollette seemed to be the most productive hitter in a competitive field for that moniker, reaching three RBI on four hits and two runs. The reigning all-conference member drilled his third home run of the season in Saturday’s curtain-jerker (before Houston Wright bombed his own in the next inning), landing a double in Game 2 to boot.
Elsewhere, the trio of Wright, Alec Beaman, and Casey Harford ended the day with six hits, seven runs, and three RBI between them. Altogether, the Skyhawks collected seven extra-base swings in the two-parter while boosting their total home run count to 16.
Moving to a 7-10 record after splitting the DH, UTM prepares for tomorrow afternoon’s third round with the Catamounts, beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Game 1 – UT Martin def. Western Carolina 6-2
Following up his complete-game shutout gem against Central Arkansas one week back with an equally-impressive showing on the mound for his fourth consecutive individual win, sophomore righty Rhett Fetner slung over 100 pitches in the Game 1 triumph to the tune of five strikeouts and only two hits allowed.
The defending Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week, Fetner’s dynamic performance helped UT Martin amass its second straight win on only four runs given up put together. Baylor Jones and closer Blake Davis ensured no WCU shenanigans down the stretch as the Skyhawks took the lead in the fourth at-bat and never looked back.
With Harford already on 2nd base, LaFollette’s 18th career homer in the first frame put the visitors ahead by a deuce. After Western Carolina responded with a single score later that same inning, the next four runs would belong to the navy and orange to signal the end of the bout, with Wright’s 2nd-inning shot continuing the good fortunes.
As Fetner and Jones kept the Catamounts quiet – holding WCU to zero hits in four of the next five innings – a two-run spurt from the Skyhawks hoisted the lead to 5-1 in the 7th on a two-RBI double by catcher Chance Merithew, the redshirt-freshman’s first two runs batted in of the semester.
Another run-scoring double in the top of the 9th (this one by second-baseman Beaman) put the finishing touches on the four-score victory, while Davis struck out a pair of batters in the final stanza to preserve the W.
Game 2 – Western Carolina def. UT Martin 11-7
The Catamounts wouldn’t do themselves any favors throughout the first half of Saturday’s second act, gifting the Skyhawks four straight runs with the bases juiced on a pair of walks, an HBP, and a wild pitch. From there, the game took on a seesaw nature with WCU escaping intact at the end.
The 5th and 9th innings would see UTM boost their offensive production on a five-hit outing, the former on an RBI-ground out that brought Harford home and the latter two off the bat of LaFollette and Jack Culumovic in the team’s final turn at the plate.
Junior Matt Dickey tossed the first three frames as the Game 2 starter, relieved by Seth Petry, Tucker Reed, and Warren Lee. That quartet gathered 10 strikeouts as a unit to bring UT Martin’s 2022 tally to 132 K’s.
Continuing the offensive-minded nature of the team’s three-game series at Western Carolina over the weekend, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball club saw two very productive innings behind the plate in the 5th and 9th frames on Sunday afternoon, eventually taking a 14-9 defeat against the Catamounts in a game displaying 23 hits and 24 runs combined.
As the Skyhawks hammered four doubles from four different hitters and one homer off the bat of third-baseman Hunter McLean (the sophomore’s second long-ball of the year), the Catamounts were just able to withstand a late UTM rally in Sunday’s finale, moving the visitors’ record to 7-11 just over one month into the season.
Sophomore rightfielder Wil LaFollette carried over an impressive two-game showing yesterday by swinging the outing’s first RBI in only the fourth at-bat of the day, sending a laser down the left side of the field to score Casey Harford. Counting Saturday’s doubleheader, LaFollette ends the series with a total of five hits, four runs, and four RBI.
The Skyhawks dished out some more offensive weapons in the top of the 5th, notching their second score of the contest with the bases loaded on a fielder’s choice scenario. Catcher Chance Merithew was able to race to home plate on an infield swing by Harford, paving the way for senior Ethan Whitley to blast a three-RBI double to left center to bring UTM within a pair at 7-5.
In their final turn of the weekend, the Skyhawks managed to make a dent in Western Carolina’s lead throughout the 9th frame, although coming just shy of completing the comeback. Appearing as a pinch hitter, second-year slugger Cameron Brady bounced a leftfield double that brought LaFollette home, setting the stage for McLean’s three-score bomb in the very next at-bat.
Accumulating 10 hits as a whole for a total of 24 over the past 48 hours, UT Martin brings their season-sum to 143. Whitley and McLean synced up for six of the Skyhawks’ nine RBI in the Western Carolina rubber match, while the entire roster now has 31 doubles next to 17 home runs to show for on their 2022 resume.
Cementing his second start on the mound in the past six days, junior Jacob Smith was backed up by the trio of Noah Walters, Trey Ricko, and J. Henry Hobson. That quartet struck out six WCU batters as the Skyhawks wrapped up a first-time-ever sequence of games with the Catamounts as the visiting side.
Only one more non-conference bout stands in UTM’s immediate path until OVC play officially begins, scheduled for this Tuesday in Martin against the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M. Weather permitting, the game’s first pitch will be held at 5:00 p.m. from Skyhawk Field.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information