By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the second straight weekend, University of Tennessee at Martin left-handed pitcher Tristan Walton overpowered the opposition while the Skyhawks tied a season-high with five home runs in a 16-2 Ohio Valley Conference triumph over Tennessee Tech.
The day began with a resumption of the series opener from last night as UT Martin fell 13-7. The game was suspended in the bottom of the seventh inning and picked up today before the two sides played their regularly scheduled nine-inning contest.
In the first two games of the series, Caleb Hobson (.556, team-best five runs scored) and Andrew Fernandez (.455, three doubles, one homer) each have five hits apiece while Jack Culumovic has driven in a team-high five RBI’s. Blaze Bell, Culumovic, Mac Danford, Zac Rice and Fernandez each went yard in Game 2 alone, tying last Friday’s mark against Southern Indiana for the most home runs in a single game in 2023.
On the mound, Walton (3-4) displayed a full repertoire of filthy stuff in Game 2. He compiled a career-best nine strikeouts – the most by any Skyhawk pitcher this spring – over a career-high seven innings of work. The Clay, Ala. native conceded just four hits (including three singles) while turning in his third quality start of the 2023 campaign.
Choyce Diffey (three strikeouts over two innings in Game 1), Baylor Jones (one inning in Game 2) and Tucker Reed (one inning in Game 2) also combined for four scoreless frames out of the bullpen to start the series.
UT Martin (13-27, 7-7 OVC) will go for the series win tomorrow at 1 p.m. as redshirt junior righty Eric Steensma will start on the mound.
Game 1
The Skyhawks put three runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning but a big bottom of the third guided the Golden Eagles to the 13-7 win on Friday.
Hobson led off the game with a walk before moving to third base on a Fernandez single. Will Smith lifted a sacrifice fly to break the scoreless tie before Culumovic (single) and Danford (walk) both reached to load the bases for Bell, who lined a two-run single into right center.
Seth Petry (3-4) made the start on the hill for UT Martin and kept Tennessee Tech off the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. The Golden Eagles scored once in the bottom of the second and eight times in the third before heavy rainfall forced a 2-hour-and-34-minute delay.
After the resumption of play, Tennessee Tech (12-25, 3-8 OVC) pushed across one run in the fourth but the Skyhawks got back in the scoring column in the top of the fifth. Hobson was issued yet another walk and advanced to third on a Fernandez double. Smith followed with an RBI double before Culumovic plated Fernandez with an RBI groundout to the right side.
The Golden Eagles responded with two runs in the fifth but again, UT Martin had an answer in its next at-bat. Bell greeted a new Tennessee Tech reliever with a leadoff double to start the top of the sixth and eventually came into score on a Hobson RBI single, making the score 12-6.
Diffey held the Golden Eagles scoreless in the bottom of the sixth but the storms and lightning returned to the area in the bottom of the seventh, suspending action until this afternoon. Colin Millar took the hill and stranded a pair of runners, resulting in another zero on the scoreboard for Tennessee Tech.
The Golden Eagles scored one run in the eighth and although the Skyhawks got it right back in the ninth (Fernandez RBI double scoring Hobson, who singled), the deficit was too large to overcome.
Game 2
Walton was dealing while the UT Martin offense tallied season-highs in hits (17) plus total bases (36) to win 16-2 and force a winner-take-all rubber game tomorrow.
Tennessee Tech crossed the plate once in the bottom of the first but Bell’s first round-tripper of the 2023 season in the top of the second evened the score at 1-all.
Walton struck out a pair of Golden Eagles in the bottom of the second and the Skyhawk offense rewarded him with three runs in the third. Rice doubled down the left field line and soon came in to score on a Fernandez RBI groundout. With two away, Smith (walk), Hunter McLean (walk) and Culumovic (hit by pitch) loaded the basepaths for Danford, who singled in a run. McLean then scored on a wild pitch to extend UT Martin’s advantage out to 4-1.
That turned out to be plenty of run support for Walton, who closed out his day by retiring 14 of the final 17 hitters he faced. That stretch started with by stranding a pair of runners in a scoreless third before shutting out Tennessee Tech in the fourth. The Golden Eagles hit a two-out solo home run in the fifth but could not touch the lefty otherwise. He retired the side in order in the sixth and accumulated two more strikeouts in the seventh, including the last batter he squared off against.
Meanwhile, the relentless Skyhawk offense refused to let up. McLean doubled to lead off the fifth and trotted home three pitches later after Culumovic launched his team-high eighth homer of the season.
UT Martin then scored 10 combined runs from the seventh inning on. Danford connected for a three-run homer in the top of the seventh, scoring Smith (single) and McLean (hit by pitch). Rice led off the eighth with a solo homer before Culumovic came through with a two-run single, plating Hobson (single) and Fernandez (reached on an error). Four runs crossed the plate in the top of the ninth as Bell and Rice both singled to set up a Hobson two-run double. Two pitches later, Fernandez ripped a two-run homer to provide the final scoring margin of 16-2.
The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team dropped an 11-0 decision this afternoon in its final game of the Ohio Valley Conference series against Tennessee Tech.
The Skyhawks (13-28, 7-8 OVC) fell behind 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning and only trailed by a 4-0 margin through five innings of play. However, Tennessee Tech (13-25, 4-8 OVC) was able to push across seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away.
Jack Culumovic reached base safely in all three plate appearances today, singling and drawing a pair of walks. Andrew Fernandez safely reached base twice (single and hit by pitch) while Will Smith provided a double for UT Martin, who could not generate any offense less than one day after scoring 16 runs on a season-high 17 hits.
Skyhawk starting pitcher Eric Steensma (2-3) was charged with the loss after going three innings. Campbell Cleveland made a scoreless appearance out of the UT Martin bullpen, using only seven pitches to toss 0.2 frames.
After the Golden Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the first, the Skyhawks opened the second inning with back-to-back singles from Hunter McLean and Culumovic. However, Tennessee Tech turned an inning-ending double play to escape the jam.
The Golden Eagles managed one run in the third to go ahead by a 4-0 margin. UT Martin once again threatened in the fourth, putting baserunners on the corners after a Fernandez single and Culumovic walk but Tennessee Tech wiggled out unscathed.
- Henry Hobson entered the game in the fourth inning and shut down the Golden Eagle bats through the next two frames. The sophomore righty out of Fort Myers, Fla. breezed through the fourth on just nine pitches before coasting through a scoreless fifth on only 14 pitches, picking up a strikeout to end the inning.
The Skyhawks put a pair of runners on the basepaths in the sixth after Caleb Hobson drew a leadoff walk and Smith registered a hard-hit double. Unfortunately – just as it did in the second inning – Tennessee Tech was able to turn a key double play to shut down UT Martin’s momentum.
After the Golden Eagles scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth, Culumovic (walk) and Mac Danford (single) reached base to lead off the seventh. Tennessee Tech again escaped with no runs allowed to take the final game of the weekend set.
The Skyhawks close out their four-game road swing against in-state foes on Tuesday, April 25 when they travel to Memphis for a 6 p.m. matchup.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information