By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information Intern
MARTIN, Tenn. –
Game 1
Undergoing the penultimate Ohio Valley Conference series of the 2022 campaign and the last three-game set to be held at Skyhawk Field this spring, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team ended Friday evening with an 8-1 setback at the hands of in-state opponent Belmont during a contest that thoroughly felt like a game much closer than the final score indicated.
A productive six innings of work from UTM starter Seth Petry – including 103 tosses and four K’s against the current #2 seed in the league – paved the way for reliever J. Henry Hobson to finish out the weekend’s first act in the 80th all-time meeting between the two Volunteer State foes.
Posting possibly the most eye-catching performance of his freshman season in Martin, Blaze Bell proved to be the most dangerous swinger against Belmont starting hurler Andy Bean, who threw a complete game on Friday with 116 pitches. Bell – transitioning out of the DH spot into the first-base position for the opener – connected on his first three trips to the plate, becoming the third time this year and second consecutive occasion overall that the first-year player picked up a trio of hits within a single nine-inning period.
The arms of centerfielder Will Smith and the legs of base-runner Alec Beaman put the Skyhawks on the board in the bottom of the 3rd, paying off a single and a steal from the latter with a stiff shot up the middle from the former.
On a chilly and cloudy night where rain sneaked its way in and out of the fray, defense took center stage for both sides over the majority of the matchup before the Bruins would ultimately pull away, moving UT Martin’s record to 10-30 with five OVC meetings left on the spring calendar.
Game 2
On a much brighter and warmer afternoon than the previous evening’s cool and cloudy atmosphere, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team honored three remarkable seniors before taking the field for Game 2 against Ohio Valley Conference adversary Belmont on Saturday afternoon. When all was said and done, the Bruins left the midway portion of the three-game set with a 16-1 win, taking the series in the process.
Scattering seven hits as a unit – including a pair each from lead-off centerfielder Will Smith and second-baseman Alec Beaman – the Skyhawks landed their second score of the weekend in the bottom of the 4th after a sharp single from Wil LaFollette to bring Casey Harford sprinting home. The run from Harford (one of the three aforementioned seniors on the UTM roster) stands as the 105th of his career after securing his 205th hit moments earlier.
Sophomore righty Lawson Russell took the starting role in Saturday’s outing on the mound, finding relief from the quartet of Noah Walters, Trey Ricko, Addison Parker, and Warren Lee. Belmont’s Joshua South was credited with the Bruins’ victory after 115 tosses over the game’s first seven innings.
LaFollette’s 4th-inning RBI – his 23rd of the spring to put the rightfielder in 2nd place on the orange and blue roster – helped bring the Skyhawks’ hit count to 339 this season while Harford delivered the team’s 68th double since February only two at-bats prior.
Alongside Harford, both Ethan Whitley and Blake Davis were recognized for their tremendous accomplishments to the UT Martin program over the past five years. That trio has combined for a grand total of 534 hits, 100 doubles, 73 home runs, and 336 RBI while helping collect 70 wins during that span.
Game 3
Putting a button on the home calendar in 2022, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad wrapped up their penultimate Ohio Valley Conference series on Sunday afternoon against in-state foe Belmont, ultimately coming up short by a final margin of 15-5. The Skyhawks would finish the three-game set by tallying their highest hit-count of the weekend alongside a three-run bomb in the 2nd frame from senior infielder Ethan Whitley.
Currently sitting in 3rd place among all previous UTM players across career home runs with his 34th long-ball while wearing the navy and orange, Whitley’s rightfield cannon wrangled in Jack Culumovic and freshman Blaze Bell to effectively cut a six-run deficit in half. Serving as the 36th HR of the semester for the Skyhawks and the 17th RBI for the first-baseman since February, UT Martin was able to expand upon that 2nd-inning jolt with their sixth and seventh scores of the series in the 4th and the 5th.
The highlight of three straight hits from sophomore Nate Self – a new season-best for the third-baseman – came two stanzas after Whitley’s slingshot on an RBI-double that secured Culumovic his second run of the afternoon. Designated hitter Blaze Bell then grabbed his 15th RBI in the 5th inning on a base-hit that brought Alec Beaman around the bases, one of ten different Skyhawks this year with double-digit runs-batted-in.
Bringing their 2022 accumulation to 113 extra-base swings with four more over the past 72 hours, UTM featured a quartet of pitchers in the Game 3 setback, namely Matt Dickey, Tucker Reed, Blake Davis, and Baylor Jones who added up for six strikeouts.
The Skyhawks will make the trip to Southeastern Conference representative Kentucky on Tuesday evening for the team’s second-to-last midweek nonconference affair, seeing first pitch against the Wildcats at approximately 5:30 p.m. UTM already boasts one SEC victory earlier in the year when visiting Alabama just over two months back, scooping up a 7-6 triumph over the Crimson Tide after booming four home runs in the final four innings.
Tuesday’s meeting with UK will be broadcasted live via SEC Network +.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information