By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin outhit the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion while the Skyhawk pitching staff equaled a season-high in strikeouts but Southern Illinois escaped with a 6-2 win this evening.
UT Martin collected eight hits to the Salukis’ seven while six Skyhawk hurlers combined for 11 strikeouts on the bump. UT Martin led by a 2-0 margin through four innings but Southern Illinois (7-10) scored the final six runs of the contest – four of which came in the final two frames.
Zac Rice and Will Smith each produced multi-hit performances with two hits apiece while Slade Taylor and Caleb Hobson both drove in a run. Jack Culumovic and Hunter McLean each crossed the plate for the Skyhawks (5-13).
On the hill, freshman Zach Wager struck out a career-best four batters while conceding only three hits over three scoreless innings in his third career collegiate start. J. Henry Hobson followed with a career-high four punchouts and no earned runs allowed over two frames while Tristan Walton and Eric Steensma pieced together shutout frames with no hits allowed. Colin Millar (0-1) added to UT Martin’s strikeout total with one punchout before Tucker Reed closed out the game with two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work.
Wager stranded a Southern Illinois runner on third in the top of the first, picking up his third strikeout of the inning to get out unscathed. The lefty threw up another zero on the scoreboard in the second, which allowed the Skyhawks to take their first lead of the evening.
Culumovic went the other way for an opposite-field single to lead off the bottom of the second. Three pitches later, McLean was hit by a pitch and both runners moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt from Nate Self. UT Martin went ahead 1-0 after an RBI groundout by Taylor before Caleb Hobson shot an RBI single to centerfield that plated McLean.
Wager struck out the first batter he faced in the third before reaching his allotted pitch count, departing the game with a 2-0 advantage. J. Henry Hobson took over and promptly struck out the first two batters he faced before retiring the side in order in the fourth.
- Henry Hobson tacked on two more strikeouts in the top of the fifth but a pair of unearned runs by the Salukis knotted the score at 2-all.
Making his first relief appearance of the 2023 campaign, Walton looked sharp in the sixth as he was the beneficiary of an inning-ending double play in the sixth. Steensma entered the contest in the seventh and retired the side in order, needing only nine pitches to do so.
With the game still tied at 2-2 going into the top of the eighth, Millar notched a strikeout on the first batter he faced. However, Southern Illinois rallied as the next four hitters all reached base safely. Following a two-run double and a sacrifice fly, the Skyhawks found themselves trailing for the first time all evening at 5-2.
The Salukis scored once in the top of the ninth but UT Martin would not go down quietly. McLean was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom half of the inning and Self drew a walk to bring the tying run to the on-deck circle with no outs. Unfortunately, Southern Illinois was able to close out its comeback.
The Skyhawks go back on the road for their next three games as they will pay a visit to Samford this weekend. First pitch times for the series are 6 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 18 and 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 19.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information