By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MOREHEAD, Ky. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team led early, but could not hold off a surging Morehead State squad on its home turf, ultimately dropping the Ohio Valley Conference series opener on Friday afternoon by a final margin of 4-3.
The Skyhawks (15-9, 8-7 OVC) jumped out to an early lead but a big fourth inning saw the Eagles tie up the contest before later finding their eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a four-game losing streak to UT Martin.
Graduate infielder Kaitlyn Kelley had a big day as she went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Meanwhile, junior outfielder Avry Blume was also impressive as she notched a two-hit afternoon while driving in a pair of runs.
Brooklynn Linneman got the start for the Skyhawks and struck out seven batters in 3.2 innings but was held responsible for three earned runs. Katie Dreiling (8-6) was hit with the losing decision after allowing a pair of inherited runners to score while also giving up the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
Morehead State (11-17, 6-7 OVC) picked up its first win against the Skyhawks since 2021 after mounting a comeback. Three players tallied multi-hit afternoons for the Eagles as Trinity Spear, Kirya Kingery and Madeline Gailor led the way. Kingery posted arguably the best performance of the trio as she drove in all three of the team’s RBIs. Madi Ogden was strong in the circle to earn her fourth win after pitching 4.1 shutout innings.
The Skyhawks jumped out to an early advantage as Kelley bashed a solo home run to left center in the top of the first inning. The home run marked the 32nd of Kelley’s career, sitting just one homer shy of second place in program history.
The visitors added to their margin with two more runs in the top of the third inning. After the bases became loaded in the frame with two outs, Blume singled up the middle to score a pair of runners and give the Skyhawks a 3-0 advantage.
Morehead State started to chip away at the three-run deficit in the bottom half of the third inning. Following a double by Spear with one out, Kingery recorded her first RBI of the day via a single to left center to score the first run for the home team.
The Eagles completed their comeback attempt in the fourth inning. After back-to-back singles led off the inning and a sacrifice bunt moved the pair into scoring position, the home squad had a prime scoring opportunity. After a pitching change was followed by a hit batter to load the bases, Kingery popped a single which fell in no-man’s land and resulted in two runners coming home on the play to tie the game at 3-3.
Following a scoreless fifth inning, Morehead State put the finishing touches on its rally by taking its first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth. A pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt moved two players into scoring position for the home squad. Then on the next play, a fielding error proved costly for the Skyhawks as the Eagles took a 4-3 lead which proved to be the difference in the game.
The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team left Morehead State with a series victory after sweeping Saturday’s Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader with a convincing 7-2 win in Game 2 before holding on to pull out a 4-2 extra-innings decision in the series finale.
The Skyhawks improved to 17-19 on the season while improving their OVC record to 10-7. The squad has now won four of their six league series and enter the home stretch of the regular season currently positioned in third place.
UT Martin had a total team effort in the Saturday sweep as eight players recorded multi-hit days while the trio of Kaci Fuller, Kiersten Nixon and Jordyn Hustey led the way with three hits each. The long ball also played a big role in the two wins as the trio of Maddi Long, Kallie Pickens and Kaitlyn Kelley each bashed home runs in Game 1. Pickens led the way in the RBI column with four on the day while Long was close behind with three of her own.
The pitching staff saw both Katie Dreiling (9-6) and Brooklynn Linneman (6-5) earn victories. Linneman started both contests and finished her day by striking out five and allowing just one earned run in 7.0 innings of work. Dreiling also pitched seven innings in the two contest while striking out seven and allowing zero walks.
Game 35: UT Martin 7, Morehead State 2
For the second day in a row, Kelley got the scoring started with a solo home run in the top of the third inning. The home run marked the 33rd of her career, putting her in a tie for second place on the program’s all-time leaderboard with Lauren Smith.
The game remained a one-score margin until the top of the fourth inning when Fuller reached on a pair of fielding errors and moved over to second base. After being moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, her stay was short-lived as Long cranked a two-run home run over the left field wall to take a 3-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks added two more runs in the sixth inning when Long lofted a sacrifice fly into left field to score Kennedy Brown on the play while Fuller also scampered home courtesy of a throwing error.
UT Martin’s lead eventually got pushed out to seven runs in the top of the seventh when Pickens launched a two-run home run to left field. The blast set a new single-season high for the graduate infielder while marking the 15th of her career.
After being shutout for the first six innings by Linneman, Morehead State finally found the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh. An RBI groundout off the bat of Taylor Rhea snapped the scoreless streak before a single up the middle by Madeline Gailor gave the Eagles their second run of the game. The rally proved to be a little too late as the Skyhawks still pulled out the five-run victory to even up the series.
Game 36: UT Martin 4, Morehead State 2 (Eight innings)
After trailing all of Game 1 of the doubleheader, Morehead State jumped on the board first in the finale. Trinity Spears led off the bottom of the first inning by cranking a home run to left field.
The next few innings featured a pitcher’s duel with neither team allowing another run until the top of the sixth inning. UT Martin scratched its first run across after Long singled to center field and scored Avry Blume on the play. Then the following at bat by Nixon saw Long come around to score as well on a RBI single to take a 2-1 advantage.
Down to their finale three outs, the Eagles found the game’s equalizer in the bottom of the seventh inning when Emily Williams hit a solo home run which cleared the centerfield wall and knotted the game up at 2-2.
The Skyhawks stayed resilient however as they used the top of the eighth inning to ultimately win the game. A pair of errors proved costly for the Eagles as they put two runners in scoring position for Pickens who then converted on the opportunity by lacing a single up the middle to clear the bases and take a 4-2 advantage which proved to be the final margin.
UT Martin returns to action when playing host to Lindenwood next weekend, beginning on Saturday, April 22. The series will wrap up on Sunday with Senior Day festivities slated to take place before first pitch of the finale.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information