By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team competed throughout this evening at Illinois but the Skyhawks fell by a 7-3 margin in the first of three games at Illinois Field.
UT Martin (21-32) struck first and held a lead until the bottom of the fourth. The Skyhawks also held a brief advantage after the top of the sixth but the Fighting Illini (24-24) accounted for the final five runs of the contest.
Caleb Hobson led off the game with a homer while Blaze Bell also drove in a run for UT Martin. Will Smith scored twice as seven of the nine Skyhawks in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit.
On the mound, Seth Petry drew the start and shut out the Illinois offense through three innings. Tristan Walton (4-6) followed with three innings while Jordan Armstrong hurled the final two frames for UT Martin. That trio combined to allow four earned runs while whiffing five batters.
Hobson launched the third pitch of the game beyond the wall in left field, trotting around the bases for his sixth home run of the 2023 campaign.
Petry did a masterful job in the bottom of the first, stranding the bases loaded with a called strikeout to keep the Skyhawks on top. The senior righty from Murfreesboro, Tenn. also posted a scoreless inning in the bottom of the second, leaving a pair of runners on the basepaths. He concluded his evening with another zero on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, pitching around a harmless two-out single.
UT Martin took a 2-0 advantage in the top of the fourth. Smith doubled to left center to lead off the inning before advancing to third on a groundout. Bell then lifted a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Smith to score.
The Fighting Illini evened the score in the bottom of the fourth as one of the two runs were unearned. Walton bounced back to shut down Illinois in the fifth, receiving a key 6-4-3 double play to keep the ballgame knotted at 2-all.
The Skyhawks took another lead in their next at-bat, keyed by a Smith walk to lead off the top of the sixth. He moved up to second base on a groundout and advanced to third on a flyout before scampering home on a wild pitch to push UT Martin ahead by a 3-2 margin.
Illinois scored twice (including one unearned run) in the bottom of the sixth. The Skyhawks put a man in scoring position in each of the next two innings but could not manufacture a run. Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini crossed the plate once in the seventh and two times in the eighth and UT Martin could not mount a ninth-inning rally.
Junior third baseman Mac Danford cranked a pair of home runs this evening as the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad earned an impressive 6-4 triumph at Big Ten Conference foe Illinois.
Tonight’s result marks the third consecutive season that the Skyhawks (22-32) have knocked off a Power 5 opponent, also defeating Alabama out of the Southeastern Conference each of the past two seasons.
Danford’s two-homer performance was his second of the season as he also crushed a pair of dingers against Austin Peay on April 12. His second longball was his 10th of the spring, tying him with Jack Culumovic for the team lead in that category.
Andrew Fernandez had two hits and scored a run while Hunter McLean reached base safely three times (including a program-record 19th hit by pitch), drove in a run and scored once. Blaze Bell (run scored) and Slade Taylor (RBI) also helped guide UT Martin offensively.
The Skyhawks received several quality outings on the hill, beginning with three scoreless innings from J. Henry Hobson. The sophomore right-hander out of Fort Myers, Fla. made his first start since March 7 and allowed just two baserunners. Campbell Cleveland (2-4) was downright electric over his three frames, whiffing a career-best five batters while allowing only one hit on the way to the win. Zach Wager hurled the final three innings and came away with his fourth save of the 2023 campaign.
Just as it did last night, UT Martin got off to an early lead with plenty of offense in its first at-bat. After two quick outs, Will Smith singled and set up Danford for his first round tripper of the night. Bell then singled and after a Culumovic walk, McLean lined a single to center that plated Bell and made the score 3-0 in favor of the Skyhawks.
Hobson worked quickly in the bottom of the first, retiring the side in order on three groundouts. He then pitched around a leadoff single in the second to produce another zero on the scoreboard.
UT Martin tacked on another run with two outs in the top of the third. McLean worked a walk and moved up to second base on a wild pitch. Taylor followed with a clutch RBI single to push the Skyhawk advantage out to 4-0.
In his final inning of work, Hobson recorded two groundouts and a strikeout. UT Martin padded its lead with two more runs thanks to another blast from Danford. Fernandez singled to lead off the frame and four pitches later, Danford cranked his second home run of the game to extend the Skyhawk lead out to six runs.
Cleveland entered the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth as the Fighting Illini (24-25) had already gotten on the scoreboard with one run. Cleveland proceeded to blow the next three Illinois batters away, shoving for three consecutive strikeouts – winning an 11-pitch at-bat to end the frame.
Cleveland stayed in the zone in the fifth, striking out the first batter he faced before inducing a pair of groundouts. The Fighting Illini were able to load the bases in the sixth but Cleveland once again prevailed, posting a strikeout and flyout to end the frame unscathed.
Wager then notched the rare three-inning save, which included a three-up, three-down eighth inning sandwiched around key double plays turned in the seventh and ninth frames.
The regular season finale for the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad took place today as the Skyhawks fell by a 15-7 margin on the road against the Illinois Fighting Illini.
UT Martin (22-33) saw four players record multi-hit games today, led by leadoff man Caleb Hobson (three hits, walk, run scored, RBI, stolen base). Mac Danford doubled twice while driving in three runs while freshman Jackson Cooke creamed his first career homer, a two-run shot as part of a six-run top of the fourth.
Blaze Bell and Benny DeTrude each had two hits, a walk and scored a run for the Skyhawks while Alec Beaman, Jonah Wichman and Travis Stauter also scored once apiece.
Seven UT Martin hurlers made appearances on the mound today. Choyce Diffey started a series finale for the second straight weekend, going three solid innings. Tucker Reed, Colin Millar (0-2), Baylor Jones, Trey Ricko, Eli Martin and Nate Self also saw time on the hill this afternoon.
Diffey retired the side in order on just nine pitches in the bottom of the first before Illinois (25-25) scored twice in the second inning. He then kept the Fighting Illini scoreless in the bottom of the third, stranding the bases loaded to keep the score at 2-0.
A total of 11 Skyhawks marched to the plate during the aforementioned six-run top of the fourth as seven consecutive batters reached base safely after two outs were recorded. Bell led things off with a double before Cooke jumped on a 1-0 pitch for a two-run homer, evening the score. Stauter (hit by pitch), DeTrude (single) and Hobson (walk) loaded the bases for Beaman, who was hit by a pitch for an RBI. With the bases still juiced, Danford went the opposite way for a three-run double down the right field line, pushing UT Martin ahead by a 6- 2 margin.
Illinois scored twice in the bottom of the fourth but the Skyhawks got one run back in their half of the fifth. Wichman was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and advanced to second after DeTrude worked a walk. On the next pitch, Hobson lined an RBI single up the middle to plate Wichman for a 7-4 UT Martin advantage.
The Fighting Illini scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth and once in the sixth to reclaim the lead. The Skyhawks brought the tying run to the plate by loading the bases with one away in the top of the seventh but could not cut into their deficit.
Illinois was responsible for two runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings to provide the final 15-7 tally.
Following the conclusion of play across the Ohio Valley Conference today, UT Martin learned that it had earned the No. 3 seed in next week’s OVC Championship. The Skyhawks make their tournament debut on Wednesday, May 24 against the winner of the No. 6 seed Tennessee Tech and No. 7 seed SIUE contest. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Ill.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information