By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
OXFORD, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team tallied 15 hits and scored eight runs in a high scoring battle against Southeast Missouri before ultimately falling just short in the elimination contest of the Ohio Valley Conference Softball Championship by a final score of 10-8.
With the loss, the Skyhawks finish the season with a 34-19 overall record after finishing third in the league standings with a 17-8 league mark.
UT Martin posted its best offensive performance in the tournament with 15 hits with Kaci Fuller leading the way by going 4-for-4 at the plate while Paige Clark tallied three hits out of the leadoff spot. Katie Dreiling also enjoyed a nice game against her former team by going 2-for-5 with three RBIs while Clark also drove in a pair. Three other players also recorded RBIs from Kaitlyn Kelley, Kallie Pickens and Emily Gilstrap.
Erin Gallagher (12-5) garnered the start but was hit with the loss after allowing four earned runs in 1.1 innings. Coming in relief was Alexis Groet who tossed 5.2 innings, scattering three hits and two earned runs over that span.
Southeast Missouri (30-23) outlasted the Skyhawks behind timely hitting while Kaylee Anderson, Tori Bradley and Sydney Dennis each drove in two RBIs to headline to the team’s offensive outing. Marisa Davis (5-7) picked up the victory while Rachel Rook recorded the save in the circle.
The Redhawks jumped out to an early advantage with four runs in the top of the second inning as both Bradley and Dennis tallied a pair of two-run hits in the frame.
The Skyhawks began to dig themselves out of their early hole in the bottom half of the inning as Fuller laid down a bunt single before Shyanne Sheffield followed that up with an infield single of her own for the second baserunner. After Avry Blume was hit by a pitch on the wrist to load the bases, Gilstrap put down a bunt which bounced in the dirt and back off the catcher as Fuller slid into home for the team’s first run. The Skyhawks added two more runs on back-to-back RBIs by Clark and Dreiling to trim the Redhawks margin back to one.
The fourth inning saw UT Martin complete its comeback attempt as Blume worked a long eight-pitch at bat for a walk before coming around to score on a RBI single down the first base line from Clark to knot the score at 4-4.
The score wasn’t tied for long as UT Martin’s steady defense became rattled in the fifth as two errors on the first three plays of the inning resulted in two runs coming home to score for SEMO. The Redhawks added a third run on a sacrifice fly by Kynzie Wrigley to give her squad a 7-4 lead heading into the sixth.
After the Redhawks added a fourth run on a passed ball in the top of the sixth, the Skyhawks once again faced a four-run deficit for the second time in the contest. UT Martin began its response with a double down the right field line by Blume before Clark was hit by a pitch to set up Dreiling who singled up the middle for her second RBI of the game. The Skyhawks then received back-to-back RBI singles to center by Kelley and Kallie Pickens to bring the score back to a one-run margin at 8-7.
Unfortunately, the Redhawks found a little cushion in the top of the seventh after Anderson blasted a two-run homer to left center to push SEMO’s advantage back out to three runs.
With their season in the balance, the Skyhawks looked to make one final comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Autumn Eleazer laid down a pinch-hit bunt single before Gilstrap re-entered and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The team’s second hit of the inning – Clark’s third of the game – put runners on the corners for Dreiling who cut the margin down to two with a RBI groundout. However, that would be as close as the Skyhawks would get down the stretch as the final score tallied 10-8.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information