By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Locked in a scoreless contest heading into the fourth, the University of Tennessee at Martin softball squad plated five runs in a breakout inning to propel the team to a 7-1 road victory over Tennessee State in the opening game of the team’s final Ohio Valley Conference series of the season.
The win improved the Skyhawks to 30-17 on the season and 15-8 in league play to rank the team in third place in the conference standings heading into the final day of the regular season. The victory also secured the team’s 30th win of the season, marking the first time the Skyhawks have eclipsed that threshold since the 2017 season when the squad ultimately earned the program’s third postseason berth with an appearance in the inaugural National Invitation Softball Championship.
Fresh off of graduating with their bachelor’s degree in Martin earlier this morning, the trio of Emily Gilstrap, Kaitlyn Kelley and Kallie Pickens still made it to Nashville in time for first pitch while Kelley and Pickens celebrated by going 2-for-4 at the plate. While three players tallied multi-hit outings in the contest, it was graduate outfielder Paige Clark’s lone hit of the contest – a three-run double to clear the bases in the fourth inning – which broke the game open to cap off a five-run fourth inning.
While the offense came through with a big inning to propel the team to victory, it was the team’s consistent pitching through all seven innings which left no doubt in the final result. Alexis Groet (13-7) picked up her 26th win in a Skyhawk uniform after allowing just one run while striking out six over five innings of work. Following her strong start were two impressive innings of shutout relief by Katie Dreiling who allowed just one hit and forced six groundouts.
Tennessee State (15-37, 6-20 OVC) was officially eliminated from contention for an OVC Championship berth with today’s loss. The Lady Tigers saw five different players register base hits while Ryla Traylor came through with the team’s lone RBI in the contest. Raven Loveless (4-16) was hit with the loss in the circle after allowing seven earned runs in a complete game effort.
Neither team could find much of an offensive rhythm through the first three innings of play with the Skyhawks being limited to just one hit until the Skyhawks changed the game’s momentum in the fourth. The frame opened with three consecutive hits by Shyanne Sheffield, Kelley and Katie Dreiling – with the latter driving in the game’s first run with a single through the left side. Later in the inning with two outs, UT Martin would load the bases with back-to-back walks by Maddi Long and Gilstrap to set up Clark for a key plate appearance which she cashed in by lacing a three-run double off the center field wall to clear the bases and give the Skyhawks a 5-0 lead.
TSU scratched a run back in the bottom half of the inning as Kayli Mothershed singled up the middle before being relieved by pinch runner Mikayla Duke. A bunt single by Anayah Baker put runners on first and third with no outs to set up Traylor who drove in the team’s lone run with a sacrifice fly to left.
The score would remain a four-run margin until the Skyhawks added two more runs in the top of the seventh. Kaci Fuller started off the scoring sequence with a single before moving into scoring position as Sheffield worked a walk to put a second runner on the basepaths. After a passed ball moved the pair into scoring position, Kelley added two runs to her RBI total with a single up the middle and brough the score to its final tally of 7-1.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team went on the road for its final series of the regular season and came away with a sweep of Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State after picking up a pair of victories on Sunday afternoon by final margins of 11-0 and 3-1.
Finishing the regular season with an overall record of 31-17 while going 17-8 in league play, the Skyhawks will enter next week’s OVC Softball Championship as the #3 seed and earn an automatic bye into the double elimination portion of the tournament.
In today’s action the Skyhawks used a balanced team effort featuring a high-powered offense which scored 14 runs on 26 hits while the pitching staff allowed just one run in the doubleheader. With the offense posting a .406 batting average and the pitching staff recording a 0.54 ERA in 13.0 innings of action, the stage was set for a promising final day of the regular season.
Kallie Pickens led the way for the team by going 7-for-8 at the plate with a double, a triple and three RBIs while scoring two runs. Shyanne Sheffield also posted a big day by tallying four hits while scoring four runs and driving in three runs. Six other Skyhawks tallied multi-hit outings with Katie Dreiling blasting a home run and driving in four RBIs while Kaitlyn Kelley notched three RBIs on the afternoon.
Three pitchers contributed in today’s stellar performance in the circle. Erin Gallagher (13-7) picked up the shutout victory in Game 1 after striking out seven and scattering four hits over six innings. Game 2 saw Emily Brown earn the start and strikeout three while allowing one earned run in four innings. Seeley Layne (5-2) picked up the win with three shutout innings of relief, striking out one and allowing just one hit.
Game 48: UT Martin 11, Tennessee State 0 (Six inning)
The Skyhawks jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the top of the first inning of today’s doubleheader. Paige Clark led off the game with a single down the left field line before swiping her 93rd career stolen base to move into scoring position. Then after back-to-back walks to Kaci Fuller and Sheffield loaded the bases for Pickens, the team’s leader in RBIs added three more to her season total with a bases-clearing double to left field.
The game remained a three-score margin until the fourth inning when Avry Blume, Maddi Long and Emily Gilstrap opened the frame with three consecutive singles to load the bases. With the bases still juiced, Clark tallied her second hit of the day – lacing a single up the middle – to drive in the team’s fourth run. Two batters later, Sheffield added a single to her total to drive in a pair before scoring herself on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kaitlyn Kelley on the next at bat to give UT Martin a 7-0 advantage.
UT Martin put the finishing touches on a dominating offensive performance with three more runs in the top of the sixth inning. Clark led off the inning by drawing a walk before Fuller reached on a throwing error to move the pair into scoring position. Much like in the fourth, Sheffield tallied a two-run single to push the margin above the eight-run mark while Kelley added her second sacrifice fly of the contest. The Skyhawks added two final runs as Pickens tallied a triple to left field before Katie Dreiling drove a two-run home run for her eighth of the season.
Along with the offensive breakout, Gallagher posted her third shutout of the season after striking out seven in six innings of work.
Game 49: UT Martin 3, Tennessee State 1
The second game of the doubleheader saw the Skyhawks jump out to an early lead behind Kelley’s third RBI of the afternoon. UT Martin saw the trio of Sheffield, Pickens and Kelley team up in the top of the first inning to tallying three consecutive singles for an early 1-0 lead.
Tennessee State came back in the bottom half of the inning and found the equalizing run on a RBI double by Peyton Fointno to score Lauren Farias.
The game remained tied at one run apiece until the top of the seventh when the Skyhawks found the winning formula with two runs which proved to be the difference in the contest. Sheffield and Pickens tallied back-to-back singles to open the frame before a fielding error at first resulted in both runners coming around to score the game-winning runs.
With a lead in hand for the first time since the first inning, Layne closed the door with three consecutive groundouts to preserve the 3-1 victory and 11th win of her career.
UT Martin now moves on to the OVC Softball Championship as the third seed and will play the winner of the Game 1 matchup between sixth seed Tennessee Tech and seventh seed Eastern Illinois on Wednesday, May 11 at 3 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information