By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team dropped the opening game of its three-game Ohio Valley Conference series to SIUE on Friday afternoon by a final score of 4-1.
The Skyhawks (25-14, 10-5 OVC) tallied six hits in the contest – one less than the Cougars – but fell victim to a big fifth inning by the hosts. After both teams scored one run in the early frames, the game came down to a three-run fifth inning to lift SIUE to a series-opening victory.
Junior Kallie Pickens paced the team with two hits on the day – including the team’s lone RBI on her 12th double of the season in the second inning. She was joined in the hit column by a top-heavy batting order with five of the first six batters in the lineup scratching a hit as Paige Clark, Kaitlyn Kelley, Katie Dreiling and Shyanne Sheffield added to the team’s total.
The pitching staff saw three different Skyhawks in the circle in the opener as Erin Gallagher earned the start and scattered three hits over 2.1 innings. Dreiling was the first reliever out of the bullpen but was hit with the loss after being charged with three runs in 3.1 innings. The day was wrapped up by a strikeout from Emily Brown.
SIUE (15-26, 6-12 OVC) jumped on the board in the first inning after a leadoff walk came back to haunt the Skyhawks. Lexi King drew a leadoff walk before moving over to third on a sacrifice bunt and pop fly on consecutive at bats. The go-ahead hit came from Lauryn Yslava as she lined a single to center to tally the RBI.
The Skyhawks quickly responded in the following half inning after Sheffield tallied an infield hit to set up the scoring chance. With speed on the basepaths, Pickens ripped a double down the left field line to score Sheffield from first, tying the game at one run apiece.
The score remained the same until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Cougars saw their first two batters reach safely on a hit and a walk before a successful sacrifice moved the pair into scoring position. The following play saw the lead sway to SIUE’s advantage on a RBI groundout by Grace Lueke before Yslava gave the squad some extra cushion with a two-run home run to center – making the score 4-1 and ultimately deciding the contest.
The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team used its high-powered offense to lift the team to a doubleheader sweep and ultimately the series victory in Ohio Valley Conference action after going on the road and defeating SIUE by final margins of 8-5 and 9-5, respectively.
The Skyhawks (27-14, 12-5 OVC) picked up a pair of victories to make up for yesterday’s series opening loss and win another key series in the final weeks of the regular season. With the win, UT Martin has officially clinched a berth in the upcoming OVC Softball Championship for the first time since 2019.
Saturday’s recipe for success came on the shoulder of the team’s offense which tallied 25 hits while scoring 17 runs in the doubleheader. Seven different players contributed at least two hits for the team on Saturday with junior Kallie Pickens leading the way by going 5-for-8 at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs. Sophomore Katie Dreiling also made the most of her two hits to pace the team with four RBIs coming on a three-run home run and a RBI single. Meanwhile, both Paige Clark and Shyanne Sheffield tallied multiple hits in both contests to wrap up the day with four hits each.
In the circle, the Skyhawk pair of Alexis Groet (10-6) and Erin Gallagher (10-2) picked up their respective victories in the twinbill while Dreiling notched her third save of the season. Groet struck out five in the Game 1 complete game victory after settling down over the final half of the game to shutdown the SIUE bats. Gallagher meanwhile pitched 4.2 innings in the finale before being relieved by Dreiling who tossed 2.1 scoreless innings to persevere the series clincher.
Game 40: UT Martin 8, SIUE 5
UT Martin wasted very little time trying to get back on track after Friday’s disappointing setback by scoring three runs in the opening half inning of play. Clark opened the game with a single to short before later advancing into scoring position on an opposite field single by Kaitlyn Kelley. With two runners on and one out, Dreiling pulled a three-run home run to right – her sixth of the season – to give the Skyhawks an early 3-0 advantage.
SIUE (15-28, 6-14 OVC) chipped away at the margin in both the first and second inning with one run each. The first inning being highlighted by a sacrifice fly from Grace Bretveld and the second off a RBI single by Lexi King.
The Skyhawks advantage trimmed to one run, they looked to add in the third and did just that with two more runs of their own. After a leadoff walk by Clark , she came around to score from first just two pitches later off a RBI-double from Kaci Fuller. With the speedsters switching places on the bags, Fuller later used her wheels to motor around to home on a single through the left side from Sheffield to push the visitor’s lead back out to three runs.
The Cougars immediately answered back however with three runs of their own in the bottom of the third to tie the contest at 5-5. The big hit came on a two-run homer from Amber Storer before a single later in the inning from Micah Arps scored the tying run.
The contest remained knotted up until the top of the sixth inning when the Skyhawks broke through with another run. A pair of hits in the inning by Maddi Long and Clark set up the inning before a defensive miscue by the Cougars resulted in the go-ahead run.
UT Martin found a little insurance in the top of the seventh inning off two more defensive errors by the home team. A pair of errors resulted in the Skyhawks loading the bases with one out before a fielder’s choice RBI off the bat of Long saw both Dreiling and Sheffield score on the play to register the game’s final runs.
Game 41: UT Martin 9, SIUE 5
Unlike in Game 1, it took a bit for both offenses to find the needed hit with runners in scoring position. The Skyhawks broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third inning when the squad scored two runs on RBI singles from Dreiling and Pickens to take an early 2-0 lead.
The Cougars also cracked the scoreboard in the third inning when King tallied her second RBI of the contest, this time on a double to right field to cut the deficit in half.
The Skyhawks kept their foot on the pedal however by scoring four runs in the fourth. The first came on a RBI single by Clark before she later came around to score the team’s fourth run on a passed ball. The inning continued with back-to-back walks to Kelley and Dreiling followed by a single from Sheffield to load the bases with two outs. Staring down a scoring opportunity, Pickens delivered in the clutch with a two-run single to push the contest out to a 6-1 score in favor of the visitors.
Things got interesting the fifth inning after the Skyhawks added to their margin and took a six-run lead on a RBI single by Fuller in the top half of the inning. While the game looked to be in the bag, the Cougars would not go away as Grace Lueke cranked a three-run home run followed by a solo homer from Lauryn Yslava to go back-to-back and bring the score to 7-5.
After their first rough inning of the contest, the Skyhawks struck right back for two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Following back-to-back hits by Sheffield and Pickens to put the pair in scoring position, Avry Blume tallied the knockout punch with a two-run single to right field for the game’s eventual final score of 9-5.
UT Martin will return to action with a road doubleheader at reigning OVC regular season champion Southeast Missouri on Wednesday, Apr. 27. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. from Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information