By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team dropped its first two games of the Ohio Valley Conference season to visiting Eastern Illinois on Friday afternoon, falling 5-1 in Game 1 before an uncharacteristically sloppy Game 2 resulted in a 10-0 setback.
The Skyhawks (6-10, 0-2 OVC) and their top offense in the league was held in check on the opening day of OVC play despite tallying 11 hits in the twinbill. Junior Kaci Fuller paced the team with three hits on the day – including the squad’s lone extra base hit with a triple in Game 2. Fellow junior Anna Hazlewood and freshman Kyrsten Brown also had multi-hit efforts on the day with the pair both recording a pair of singles.
Five pitchers saw action in the pitching circle as Kiersten Nixon (0-3) and Brooklynn Linneman (2-3) got the starting nod in the circle. Nixon started Game 1 and struck out seven in 5.2 innings of work while allowing just two earned runs. Linneman toed the rubber to start Game 2 but some defensive miscues and home run balls shortened her afternoon to just four innings.
Eastern Illinois improved to 12-9 on the season and 2-0 in the OVC with the sweep. Three players hit home runs for the Panthers including Kendall Glover, Lindy Milkowski and Briana Gonzalez while the trio combined for 11 of the team’s 15 runs on the afternoon. Meanwhile in the circle, Olivia Price (4-2) and Rachel Kaufman (3-2) picked up complete game victories.
Game 15: Eastern Illinois 5, UT Martin 1
The first game of the day got off to a slow start as both pitchers found their groove early until Eastern Illinois jumped on the board in the top of the fourth inning. Aryn Henke led off the inning with a seven-pitch walk before coming home two batters later on a two-run home run by Grover to take the lead.
Eastern Illinois looked for some breathing room in the top of the seventh inning. Three walks and a hit-by-pitch in the inning proved costly for the home squad as the bases were loaded with two outs before Jaylen Prichard drew an RBI-walk to give the squad a three-run cushion. The lead grew some more on the following at bat as Grover capped off her big game with a two-run double down the left field line to take a 5-0 advantage.
After stranding four runners through the early portion of the game, the Skyhawks went into the bottom of the seventh looking to break the shutout. A pair of walks by Katie Dreiling and Annie Gutierrez extended the inning before Kyrsten Brown singled through the left side to load the bases. With a scoring opportunity in hand, Fuller ripped a single through the left side to score a run and bringing the game-tying run to the plate. Despite the late rally attempt, the Skyhawks would strand the bases loaded and fall in the league opener 5-1.
Game 16: Eastern Illinois 10, UT Martin 0 (Five innings)
Game 2 of the day got out of hand for the home squad before the baseline paint was dry as three defensive errors and two home runs helps the Panthers jump out to a quick 5-0 lead in the top half of the first inning. Milkowski got the scoring started with a three-run home run before Gonzalez capped off the big frame with a two-run shot of her own.
A sacrifice fly off the bat of Glover notched her fifth RBI of the day in the top of the second to take a six-run advantage.
The score remained the same until the top of the fifth inning when the Panthers exploded once again. Two more errors in the inning for the home squad proved costly as a single by pinch hitter Macey McElravy resulted in two runs coming home to score before Henke laced a ball off the left field wall for a triple to give the Panthers a 10-run cushion.
UT Martin had three more outs to work with in the bottom of the seventh and received hits from Hazlewood and Maddi Long, but the rally would fall short with the final out.
MARTIN, Tenn. – In a contest which remained scoreless through the first seven innings, Eastern Illinois found a big inning in the top of the eighth to steal a series sweep of the University of Tennessee at Martin softball team by a final score of 5-2.
The Skyhawks (6-11, 0-3 OVC) played clean defensively and received strong pitching through the first seven frames of the contest before the tide shifted in extra innings. Junior Kiersten Nixon (0-4) kept the Panthers at bay for much of the contest while tossing a no-hitter through the first five innings of the game and recording seven shutout innings.
The momentum shifted for the Panthers in the eighth inning as a pair of walks sandwiched a single to load the bases on the first three batters. The big hits came on the ensuing at bats as Lindy Milkowski snapped the scoreless tie with a two-run single up the middle before Rachel Kaufman broke the game wide open with a three-run blast to left center.
Facing a sudden five-run deficit, the Skyhawks mounted a rally in the bottom of the eighth. Despite seeing her 18-game hitting streak come to an end, Kaci Fuller stayed in the play by reaching base on a wild pitch following a strikeout to lead off the frame. With a base runner on, Kallie Pickens cut into the Panthers lead with a two-run home run down the left field line to make it a 5-2 contest. Unfortunately, that’s where the rally ended for the Skyhawks as the next two batters were set down in order to end the extra-innings affair.
The Skyhawks were limited to two hits on the day with Pickens and junior Katie Dreiling each reaching the hit column. Meanwhile in the circle, Nixon was hit with the loss after tossing 7.0 innings and striking out three. Brooklynn Linneman also saw action on the rubber, entering in the eighth inning and striking out three.
UT Martin returns to action with a doubleheader against Christian Brothers on Wednesday, March 15. First pitch from Bettye Giles Field is slated for 2 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information