By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team hung with No. 20 Alabama for the first five innings today but a big sixth inning lifted the Crimson Tide to a 10-0 win at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Skyhawks received a sound performance on the mound from freshman southpaw Zach Wager (0-1), who earned the starting nod for the first time in his young UT Martin career. The Columbus, Ind. native kept the high-powered Alabama offense off the scoreboard through the first three frames before running into some bad luck in the fourth. In that inning, the Crimson Tide scored three runs (two earned) on four hits – three of which were infield singles.
Trey Ricko (two innings) and Eli Martin (0.2 innings) each made their season debuts out of the Skyhawk bullpen while Tucker Reed also threw 0.2 innings in his second appearance of the spring.
Zac Rice and Alec Beaman each had a hit for UT Martin (3-3) today while Andrew Fernandez, Blaze Bell, Will Smith and Hunter McLean each drew a walk.
Rice led off the contest with a single and soon stole second base for his fourth swipe of the early 2023 campaign. He eventually advanced to third base on a groundout but was left stranded.
Wager left an Alabama baserunner stranded in scoring position in the bottom of the first before pitching around a harmless two-out walk in the second to keep the game scoreless.
The Skyhawks loaded the bases in the top of the third but couldn’t cash in. Beaman led off the inning with a single but was soon retired on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Caleb Hobson. The speedy centerfielder from Pontotoc, Miss. then swiped both second and third base for his team-best fourth and fifth stolen bases of the young season. Fernandez and Bell showed good patience at the plate by drawing back-to-back walks but a screamer off the bat of Jack Culumovic was lined right to the Crimson Tide second baseman for the last out of the inning.
The wacky bottom of the fourth followed as Alabama scored three runs despite one ball leaving the infield. Ricko entered the game mid-inning and helped strand a pair of Crimson Tide runners by recording the final two outs.
Ricko breezed through the fifth inning, needing just 12 pitches to retire the side.
Alabama scored six runs in the sixth to go ahead 9-0. UT Martin saw a pair of pinch-hitters reach base in the top of the seventh in Travis Stauter (hit by pitch) and McLean (walk) but could not push a run across the plate.
The Crimson Tide added an unearned run in the seventh to provide the final 10-0 margin.
The Skyhawks will play in front of their home crowd for the next nine games, starting with a weekend set against Valparaiso on Feb. 24-26. First pitch times for the series are 5 p.m. on Friday, 3 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. for the Sunday finale.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information