
By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
A six-run bottom of the fifth and a pair of gutsy relief appearances navigated the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad to an impressive 9-8 triumph over Southeast Missouri in the first game of the weekend set.
Jordan Armstrong (4-5) earned his second victory in the last four days, going 5.1 strong innings with only four hits and one walk allowed. He gave way to Zach Wager in the top of the eighth as the Columbus, Ind. native needed just 20 pitches to get the final five outs, allowing zero baserunners for the second save of his freshman season.
Offensively, Caleb Hobson was constantly on the basepaths as the junior centerfielder went 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBI’s, two runs scored and his Ohio Valley Conference-best 34th stolen base of the season. Blaze Bell had a big game-tying three-run triple in the aforementioned fifth inning while Jack Culumovic produced the go-ahead RBI that gave the Skyhawks a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
Andrew Fernandez added a pair of hits, two runs scored and an RBI for UT Martin (19-31, 12-10 OVC), who equals the 2017 and 2019 squads for the most single-season OVC victories in program history.
Senior Seth Petry made the start on the hill for the Skyhawks as he retired six of the first seven batters he faced. That included an eight-pitch top of the second where he retired the side in order with a strikeout, groundout and flyout.
Meanwhile, UT Martin put two runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. Hobson singled to center to lead off the frame and stole second before Fernandez smacked a double into the gap in left center for an RBI. Two batters later, Mac Danford lifted an RBI double to deep right center to make the score 2-0.
The Redhawks (26-24, 14-5 OVC) took their first lead of the ballgame in the top of the third after scoring four runs. Armstrong entered the game with runners on second and third with no outs and got three straight outs, allowing just one inherited runner to cross the plate. He received some help from his defense as Danford made a nice throw on a fielder’s choice to cut down a runner at the plate before catcher Cameron Brady fired a strike down to second base to nab a would-be basestealer.
The Skyhawks got one run back in the third as Hobson ignited the rally with a leadoff walk. Fernandez reached on an error and both runners moved up 90 feet on a Will Smith sacrifice bunt. Danford then brought Hobson in on a sacrifice fly to pull UT Martin within one run (4-3).
Southeast Missouri scored on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch in the top of the fourth but Armstrong soon found his rhythm. The senior righty from McDonough, Ga. retired eight Redhawks in a row at one point – sitting down the side in order in both the fifth and sixth innings.
A total of 11 Skyhawk hitters came to the plate in the fifth as all six runs scored with two outs. Fernandez looped a one-out single to shortstop before Smith lined a single to center. Hunter McLean drew one of his two walks on the day to load the bases for Bell, who ripped a 2-0 pitch for a three-run triple, tying the score at 6-all in the process. Following a pitching change, Culumovic skipped the first pitch he saw for an RBI single up the middle. Brady (single) and Zac Rice (walk) extended the inning for Hobson, who turned on a single through the left side to bring in the final two runs of the inning.
Armstrong’s shutdown inning in the sixth kept the momentum on UT Martin’s side. Southeast Missouri scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh and threatened in the eighth but Wager slammed the door. The lefty stranded the potential tying runner in scoring position during the eighth, inducing a flyout and inning-ending groundout. He then made short work of the Redhawks in the ninth, recording a flyout and back-to-back strikeouts against the top three hitters in the Southeast Missouri lineup.
The University of Tennessee at Martin clinched a winning season in Ohio Valley Conference play for the first time ever and also set a program record for OVC wins following a 7-4 triumph over Southeast Missouri at Skyhawk Field.
The victory improved UT Martin to 13-10 in league play, passing the 2019 and 2017 squads for most OVC wins in a single season. It also ensured the Skyhawks (20-31 overall) would wrap up their OVC slate with a league record above .500 as UT Martin has one conference game remaining on the 2023 schedule.
Today’s win also marked the Skyhawks’ first home series victory over the Redhawks since 2010, when they took two out of three games.
All seven UT Martin runs today scored via a pair of home runs. Jack Culumovic extended the Skyhawks’ school record for most grand slams in a season when he cranked the team’s seventh bases loaded jack in the bottom of the first. Hunter McLean then broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the fourth with a three-run shot and that run support was more than enough for yet another rock-solid pitching performance.
A trio of UT Martin pitchers set a new season-high with 12 strikeouts today. After Tristan Walton fanned eight batters in four innings of work, the bullpen tandem of J. Henry Hobson (2-2, three strikeouts over four shutout innings) and Zach Wager (third save, one strikeout in a scoreless ninth) coasted through the final five innings. In fact, that pair retired 15 of the final 16 Southeast Missouri batters – allowing just a leadoff single in the top of the eighth during that span.
Walton stranded a pair of runners after striking out his second batter of the first inning. Caleb Hobson stroked the first pitch he saw in the bottom half for a double to left center and eventually swiped third base for his 35th stolen bag of the spring. Following a Will Smith walk and Mac Danford hit by pitch, Culumovic’s first swing of the day was a beauty – a towering grand slam over the wall in right field to put the Skyhawks ahead by a 4-0 margin. It marked the third grand slam for Culumovic this season alone as he also accomplished that feat on April 2 against SIUE and April 14 against Southern Indiana.
In the top of the second, Walton left two more Redhawks on base in another scoreless frame. Southeast Missouri (26-25, 14-6 OVC) scored twice in the third inning – one run being unearned – before two more runs crossed the plate in the fourth despite Walton generating all three outs via punchouts.
The Redhawks made a call to their bullpen before the fourth and UT Martin took advantage of the pitching change. Bell and Culumovic each drew walks to start the frame before McLean got every stitch of an 0-1 fastball, depositing the pitch way past the left field wall to make the score 7-4 in favor of the Skyhawks.
Henry Hobson entered the contest in the fifth and immediately silenced the Southeast Missouri offense. He retired the first nine batters he faced, needing only a dozen pitches to record his first five outs. At one point, the sophomore righty from Fort Myers, Fla. struck out three consecutive batters as he eventually would fire 31 of his 48 pitches for strikes.
After a scoreless top of the eighth put a dazzling end to J. Henry Hobson’s day, Wager was called upon for his second save opportunity in as many days. As has been shown all season long, absolutely nothing fazed the freshman lefty out of Columbus, Ind. as Wager mowed down the top three hitters in the Redhawk lineup in short order – not allowing a ball out of the infield.
A two-out double by Andrew Fernandez in the bottom of the ninth scored Zac Rice all the way from first base and capped off an impressive end to the Ohio Valley Conference schedule for the University of Tennessee at Martin, who completed a sweep over Southeast Missouri with a 5-4 victory.
One day after the Skyhawks set a new program record for OVC victories in a single season, the squad added one more to the win column as they wrap up the league slate with a 14-10 record. Although it will have to wait until the rest of the league concludes the regular season next week for its exact seed, UT Martin has already clinched a top-four spot in the upcoming OVC Championship tournament, which will be held at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Ill. on May 24-27.
The Skyhawk pitching staff once again was on top of their game today, holding a Redhawk offense that entered the series as the league leader in on-base percentage and RBI’s to just five hits on the day. That effort helped UT Martin sweep the Redhawks for the first time since 2006 and extend its winning streak out to six games – the longest for the program since another six-game stretch from April 19-30, 2011.
Choyce Diffey began the game – making an emergency start after probable starter Eric Steensma was a late scratch – and retired the first seven batters in order. He eventually tied a career-high in both innings pitched (three) and strikeouts (four) during his first career start.
Five Skyhawk relievers then combined to allow just two hits over the final six frames. Colin Millar (0.1 innings), Baylor Jones (2.2 innings) and Tucker Reed (0.1 innings) all had scoreless appearances while Eli Martin did not allow a hit in two frames and Zach Wager got two outs in the ninth. Reed (2-2) got the final out of the ninth and received the win for UT Martin, who is now 21-31 overall.
Rice went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI’s, including a go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the seventh. After Southeast Missouri tied the game in the top of the ninth, he singled with one away to set up Fernandez, who smoked his third hit – and second double – of the contest the opposite way for his third RBI of the game.
Diffey was the story early on as the hard-throwing righty out of Sallis, Miss. simply overpowered the Redhawks during the first three innings. He whiffed three of the first four batters he faced and stranded a runner at third base in the top of the third with another strikeout.
The Skyhawks got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Rice and Hobson led off the inning with back-to-back singles through the left side before Fernandez skipped a line-drive double just inside the third base line to plate a pair.
Southeast Missouri scored on a sacrifice fly and groundout in the top of the fourth to even the score at 2-2. UT Martin quickly reclaimed the advantage in the bottom half as a Rice double into the gap in left center scored Cameron Brady, who reached on a two-out infield single.
Another sacrifice fly off the Redhawk bat equaled the score at 3-all in the top of the fifth. Millar and Jones combined to hold Southeast Missouri scoreless in the sixth as Jones stranded the bases loaded following a strikeout on a 3-2 count.
Jones needed only 10 pitches to get through a perfect top of the seventh. Three pitches later, Rice launched his solo homer – the sixth of the season for the junior rightfielder out of Fort Mitchell, Ala.
Jones once again got out of a potential jam in the eighth. After quickly getting two outs, a Redhawk double put the tying run in scoring position. Jones ended the threat by inducing a groundout to first base to end the inning.
After Southeast Missouri tied the contest at 4-4 in the top of the ninth, Reed needed just two pitches to strand a runner on the basepaths. That set up Fernandez’s heroics as the Skyhawks won their second OVC contest in walkoff fashion in 2023 (also accomplishing that feat against SIUE on April 1).
Before the OVC Championship tournament begins, UT Martin puts the finishing touches on the regular season with a three-game series at Illinois on May 18-20.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information