BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL PRODUCE IN 5-4 WIN OVER SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

Saturday, February 16

Russellville, Ark.

1:00 PM

UT Martin

1-1

South Dakota State

1-1

South Dakota State

UT Martin

BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL PRODUCE IN 5-4 WIN OVER SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

2/16/2019 6:03:00 PM | Baseball

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RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad picked up a 5-4 victory over South Dakota State this afternoon.

UT Martin (1-1) was led at the plate by Jordan Stoner as the Puyallup, Wash. native racked up a pair of hits and drove in a trio of RBIs. Casey Harford and Ethan Whitley were also credited with driving in a run apiece. Tyson Cox tallied a team-high three hits in the contest while Sean Dixson, Blake Daniels, Blake Davis, Billy Edwards and Harford all connected for a base hit each.

Left-handed pitcher Sam Folks shined in his start as he allowed just two earned runs and gave up five hits but did not issue a free bag in his 5.2 innings on the hill. He managed to sit down a pair of Jackrabbits in his time on the mound and was also helped out by some superb defense. Righty Zach Denney (1-0) was credited with the victory. Denney tossed 2.1 innings in relief and did not allow an earned run along the way while fanning a pair of South Dakota State batters. Right-handed pitcher Nick Wohlbold came in to close the door and did just so as the sophomore claimed his first save of the young season.

Folks came out dealing as the southpaw retired the side in order to open the game. He rung up the first batter of the frame before getting a pair of friendly ground balls to end the inning.

The Skyhawks drew first blood in the second inning as Davis got things going with a four-pitch walk before Edwards reached on an error by the centerfielder. Cox would beat out a hit to the shortstop to load the bases with just one out. Stoner then stepped in and plated Davis via a sacrifice fly to right field to take a 1-0 lead.

South Dakota State would answer with a run of its own in the third inning to knot things up a 1-1.

Folks once again retired the side in order as he found a trio of groundball outs on 12 pitches in the fourth inning.

UT Martin struck again in the fourth as Cox tallied a single back to the pitcher just before Stoner ripped a double to bring Cox in and claim a 2-1 advantage.

The Jackrabbits took a 3-2 lead in the fifth as they tacked on a pair of runs on a pair of back-to-back home runs to open the frame. Folks kept a cool head though as he induced a groundout to first base and a flyout to right field. He conceded a base knock to center but worked a fielder's choice to get out of the inning.

Dixson got things going in the UT Martin fifth as he led off with a single through the left side. He then went on to swipe second and then took third base as well. Whitley grounded out to shortstop but it would be enough for Dixson to cross the plate and knot the score up at 3-3

Folks received a quick, friendly ground ball to open the sixth and recorded the second out of the inning via the groundball as well but not before a seven-pitch at bat to call for Denney to enter the game. Denney found a ground ball of his own to close out the inning.

UT Martin reclaimed the lead in the sixth as Davis opened up the inning with a single through the left side followed by an Edwards base knock to center. A wild pitch would move up both Davis and Edwards to put the duo in scoring position. Stoner then flew out to right field and allowed Davis to cross the plate and take a 4-3 lead. A Harford hit to center followed by an error allowed Edwards to come home and saw the Skyhawks push their advantage out to 5-3.

South Dakota State attempted a ninth-inning rally as the Jackrabbits saw the first two batters reach base safely. Wohlbold would come on to close things out as he worked around a single and a walk to claim the 5-4 win.

"This was a great win," head coach Ryan Jenkins said. "Sam gave us an outstanding start and was really good today on the mound. Denney came in behind him and did a great job to keep South Dakota State at bay while pitching in some tough situations but was able to work out of them. Nick came into a really tough situation late in the game but got a couple of ground balls that allowed us to finish up the ballgame. Across the board, the back end of our offense did a great job today providing us with baserunners. They did a great job with situational hitting that gave the front end of the lineup a chance to drive runs in. Overall, we still have some areas to work on as we fumbled a couple of balls in the outfield that allowed South Dakota State to get back into the game and make it closer than it should have been. In the end though, this was a great win to build off of."

UT Martin wraps up its series with South Dakota State tomorrow with first pitch slated for noon.