SKYHAWK BASEBALL MAKES PROGRAM HISTORY BEFORE SPLITTING DOUBLEHEADER AGAINST NORTH ALABAMA

Sunday, February 24

Jacksonville, Ala.

Noon

UT Martin

3-2

North Alabama (DH)

1-4

Tennessee-Martin

North Alabama

SKYHAWK BASEBALL MAKES PROGRAM HISTORY BEFORE SPLITTING DOUBLEHEADER AGAINST NORTH ALABAMA

2/24/2019 7:34:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 PDF Boxscore Game 2 PDF Boxscore

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad split today's doubleheader against North Alabama today, making school history in Game 1's 1-0 win before falling in heartbreaking fashion in Game 2 by a 7-6 margin.

The 1-0 shutout in Game 1, which followed the 1-0 victory from yesterday, marked the first time in the program's Division-I history that UT Martin tallied back-to-back shutouts.

On the day, the Ethan Whitley led the Skyhawks in run production as he plated a trio of runs. Jordan Stoner and Robert Worley both tallied a pair of RBIs to account for the rest of the scoring for UT Martin. Stoner's five hits paced the club. Casey Harford and Whitley followed with three hits, Tyson Cox and Blake Daniels racked up a pair of hits and the gang of Worley, Hayden Cooper, Creighton Eldridge, Billy Edwards, Sean Dixson and Blake Davis all accounted for one knock each.

As a whole, the UT Martin pitching staff was superb as Sam Folks (1-0) was lights out in his six-inning start in the first game. He racked up five strikeouts and allowed just three hits and a walk in the start. Nick Wohlbold came on in relief of Folks in Game 1 and tallied his second save of the season. Wohlbold was also great as he issued three hits and a free base in his three innings and fanned a team-high six batters. Bullington got the starting nod in Game 2 and was tagged for five earned runs in his three innings on the hill. The trio of Dom Bazzani, Jeff O'Doherty and Marcus Eusebio provided some much-needed stability following Bullington as they combined for five innings of one-hit baseball. Between the three relievers, they also whiffed six batters. Zach Denney (1-1) came on in the ninth but was touched up for a pair of runs as North Alabama kept the Skyhawks from claiming the series sweep.

Game 1

In the first game of the day, UT Martin was led by Whitley as he drove in the game's lone run on a pair of hits. The duo of Stoner and Harford also tallied two hits apiece while Dixson, Eldridge and Cox also rapped out base knocks.

Folks was electric in his six-inning start on the bump. The lefty conceded just three hits and issued one free base during his time on the mound while he fanned five Lions along the way. Wohlbold tallied his second save in as many weekends as he logged three innings out of the bullpen. He was a shutdown force as he allowed just three hits and whiffed six in his outing.

The Skyhawks struck early as Harford reached first on an error and then moved on up to second in time for a Whitley RBI single to give UT Martin the edge it would need.

North Alabama opened the bottom of the first with a leadoff single but the runner would be caught trying to swipe second. Folks then forced a flyout and a groundout with a Lion reaching on an error sandwiched between the latter outs.

Folks was dealing in the second inning as he fanned the side in order. In the third inning, he opened the frame with a strikeout followed by a single then used a nifty pickoff move wiped the runner from the base paths. An error would allow another runner but the North Alabama threat would end with a groundout to short.

The fourth inning was a quick one for Folks as he needed just 12 pitches to get out of the frame. He also flew through the fifth as he sat down the side in order once again, this time with the help of a lineout, a groundout and a flyout, respectively.

Wohlbold would relieve Folks in the seventh and worked around a leadoff single to escape trouble. He then fanned the side in the eighth inning before evading a pair of base runners in the ninth to claim the Skyhawk victory.

Game 2

Stoner led the way for UT Martin in the second game of the day as he tallied a game-high three hits and two RBIs. Whitley drove in a pair of runs while Worley's near-heroic pinch-hit two RBIs rounded out the scoring opportunities. Harford and Daniels rapped out a pair of hits while Edwards, Davis, Cooper and Cox all tallied one hit apiece.

Bullington clocked in for three innings of work in his start as he issued five earned runs but struck out a pair of North Alabama batters before his day was through. Bazzani came on in relief for two innings and did not allow a hit as he rung up two Lions in that span. O'Doherty worked around a trio of walks in his one inning of no-hit baseball and retired the side via the strikeout. Eusebio logged two innings, allowing just one hit and a walk and sat down one batter on strikes. Denney took the tough loss as he gave up two earned runs but not before ringing up a North Alabama batter.

UT Martin jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first as Stoner opened the game with a single. Harford then ripped a base knock in time for a Whitley single to drive in Stoner and give the Skyhawks the advantage.

In the second, UT Martin tacked on another run as Cooper led worked the count for a seven-pitch free base. Daniels then collected a single before Cox would move both runners into scoring position via a sacrifice bunt. A Stoner flyout to right field would be enough to drive Cooper in and push the Skyhawk lead to 2-0.

North Alabama rallied for a pair of runs in the second to knot things up and then added three more runs in the third to take a 5-2 advantage.

UT Martin reclaimed the lead in the ninth as Daniels tallied a one-out base knock followed by a Cox single. Stoner then ripped a single to plate Daniels followed by an Edwards base hit to juice the bases. Then Worley stepped into the batter's box and roped a double to bring in Cox and Stoner. A Whitley flyout to right would be good enough to drive Edwards home and give UT Martin a 6-5 lead.

The Lions then put up a pair of runs to walk things off and take the 7-6 win.

UT Martin now turns its sights to Southeastern Conference foe Ole Miss. The Skyhawks take on the Rebels on Tuesday, Feb. 26 with first pitch slated for 4 p.m.