By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – A six-run sixth inning for the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad buoyed the Skyhawks to an impressive 10-6 triumph over Toledo this afternoon.
UT Martin set season-highs in scoring (10 runs) and walks drawn (10) while the Skyhawk pitching staff established a season-best with 11 strikeouts. In the process, UT Martin improved to 4-10 overall and forced a series split against a Rockets squad that finished third in the Mid-American Conference last spring.
Will Smith went 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI’s while Hunter McLean reached base safely in all five plate appearances (3-for-3, walk, hit by pitch). Nate Self delivered the big blow with a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth while the trio of Jack Culumovic, Blaze Bell and Jackson Cooke each scored two runs apiece. Andrew Fernandez also had a two-hit day with a walk as the Skyhawks outhit Toledo by a 10-9 margin.
On the hill, reliever Tucker Reed (1-2) earned the victory after tossing two shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts. Campbell Cleveland fanned two batters in a scoreless ninth while Choyce Diffey and Colin Millar also made appearances out of the bullpen today. That quartet backed up starting pitcher Zach Wager, who conceded two earned runs on three hits while whiffing four batters over a career-best four innings.
Wager recorded a pair of strikeouts in the first frame but the Rockets (6-5) jumped out to a 2-0 advantage. The freshman out of Columbus, Ind. settled in and retired seven of eight batters during one stretch, including retiring the side in order on just 11 pitches in the top of the second.
That momentum allowed UT Martin to even the score at 2-all in the bottom half of the second. Smith singled through the left side to lead off the inning before Cooke drew a walk. Smith then crossed the plate off an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Self and Cooke came around to score on a McLean single through the left side.
Wager once again put up a zero in the third, working around a harmless two-out single to get through the inning on only nine pitches.
The Skyhawks tacked on two more runs in the third. Culumovic was issued a leadoff walk and scampered home on a double just inside the third base line off the bat of Bell. Following a pitching change, Smith ripped a double to left field to plate Bell and give UT Martin a 4-2 lead.
Toledo scored an unearned run in the fourth and added two runs in the fifth to go back on top by a 5-4 margin.
That lead was very brief as the Skyhawks sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth. Fernandez singled with one away to start the rally before Culumovic and Bell each drew back-to-back four-pitch walks. After the Rockets summoned another pitcher out of the bullpen, Smith lined an RBI single to left to knot the score at 5-5. Cooke was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the go-ahead run before Self’s blast – a no-doubter that cleared the left field wall by plenty for a grand slam.
Reed, who had already held Toledo scoreless in the sixth, returned for the seventh and remained sharp – getting a called strikeout for the final out of the frame.
The Rockets got one run back in the eighth but Millar stranded the bases loaded with an inning-ending foulout to third base. Cleveland came on in the ninth and was filthy, compiling a pair of called strikeouts to give UT Martin the victory.
The Skyhawks now go on the road for 10 of their next 12 outings – starting with a three-game nonconference set at Central Arkansas this weekend. Weather permitting, first pitch times for the series are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, March 10, 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 11 and 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 12.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information