Friday, February 15
Montgomery, Ala.
Noon
UT Martin
9
vs
8
Alabama A&M
Photo by: Jimmy Gartman
UT MARTIN SOFTBALL OPENS BLACK AND GOLD TOURNAMENT WITH VICTORY OVER ALABAMA A&M
2/15/2019 10:16:00 PM | Softball
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team opened its stay at the Black and Gold Tournament with a victory over Alabama A&M by a score of 9-8 on Friday afternoon behind 11 base hits and five stolen bases.
The Skyhawks (4-2) would trail by as much as five runs in the fourth inning before fighting back to notch the team's fourth win of the season and get their current tournament appearance off on the right foot. Meanwhile, the team's second scheduled game of the day against Western Carolina was suspended after three innings of play due to inclement weather. The Skyhawks and the Catamounts will attempt to complete the contest on Saturday evening.
UT Martin saw eight different players tally base hits on the day while the trio of Paige Clark, Haylee Short and Kenna Garst both tallied a pair of base knocks. Five Skyhawks contributed RBIs in the contest led by Short and Shelby Woodard's two-RBI afternoons.
Caitlin Karo got the start in the contest, pitching 5.1 innings of work while allowing four earned runs. She tossed 104 pitches and struck out five in the contest. Freshman Erin Gallagher (1-0) picked up her first career victory, tossing 1.2 innings of relief while allowing just two unearned runs.
Alabama A&M would just out to an early lead in the contest, scoring in the top of the second. UT Martin would then answer in the bottom half of the inning on a single to left by Garst to score Aalia Bivens on the play. The game did not stay tied for long though as Alabama A&M tallied a three-run home run in the third along with two additional runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-1 advantage.
The Skyhawks began their rally in the bottom of the fifth inning. A crazy play in the inning saw Clark score all the way from first to notch the team's second run while Bivens doubled to left center to score Woodard and cut the margin in half.
The squad finally tallied its big blow in the bottom of the sixth inning. With runners on first and second, Short would rope a double into the gap to score the pair. The Skyhawks would strike again on the following at bat as Alli Fulcher single to left field to score Clark while leaving a pair of runners on base. From there Woodward double to the opposite field gap to score both Short and Fulcher to take an 8-6 lead. The Skyhawks final run of the game scored on a double-steal by Woodard and Chelsey Gore to make it 9-6.
Errors would prove costly in the top of the seventh to score a pair of runs but Gallagher would shut the door and minimalize the damage to secure the 9-8 victory.
UT Martin will return to action with a loaded day of action on Saturday, Feb. 16. The Skyhawks will play Purdue Fort Wayne at 9:30 a.m. before matching up against North Alabama at noon. The Skyhawks also hope to conclude today's suspended contest against Western Carolina tomorrow evening.
The Skyhawks (4-2) would trail by as much as five runs in the fourth inning before fighting back to notch the team's fourth win of the season and get their current tournament appearance off on the right foot. Meanwhile, the team's second scheduled game of the day against Western Carolina was suspended after three innings of play due to inclement weather. The Skyhawks and the Catamounts will attempt to complete the contest on Saturday evening.
UT Martin saw eight different players tally base hits on the day while the trio of Paige Clark, Haylee Short and Kenna Garst both tallied a pair of base knocks. Five Skyhawks contributed RBIs in the contest led by Short and Shelby Woodard's two-RBI afternoons.
Caitlin Karo got the start in the contest, pitching 5.1 innings of work while allowing four earned runs. She tossed 104 pitches and struck out five in the contest. Freshman Erin Gallagher (1-0) picked up her first career victory, tossing 1.2 innings of relief while allowing just two unearned runs.
Alabama A&M would just out to an early lead in the contest, scoring in the top of the second. UT Martin would then answer in the bottom half of the inning on a single to left by Garst to score Aalia Bivens on the play. The game did not stay tied for long though as Alabama A&M tallied a three-run home run in the third along with two additional runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-1 advantage.
The Skyhawks began their rally in the bottom of the fifth inning. A crazy play in the inning saw Clark score all the way from first to notch the team's second run while Bivens doubled to left center to score Woodard and cut the margin in half.
The squad finally tallied its big blow in the bottom of the sixth inning. With runners on first and second, Short would rope a double into the gap to score the pair. The Skyhawks would strike again on the following at bat as Alli Fulcher single to left field to score Clark while leaving a pair of runners on base. From there Woodward double to the opposite field gap to score both Short and Fulcher to take an 8-6 lead. The Skyhawks final run of the game scored on a double-steal by Woodard and Chelsey Gore to make it 9-6.
Errors would prove costly in the top of the seventh to score a pair of runs but Gallagher would shut the door and minimalize the damage to secure the 9-8 victory.
UT Martin will return to action with a loaded day of action on Saturday, Feb. 16. The Skyhawks will play Purdue Fort Wayne at 9:30 a.m. before matching up against North Alabama at noon. The Skyhawks also hope to conclude today's suspended contest against Western Carolina tomorrow evening.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
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