Wednesday, March 4
Martin, Tenn.
6 p.m.
UT Martin
vs
Evansville
UT MARTIN BASEBALL IS SET TO OPEN UP PLAY AT HOME TOMORROW AGAINST EVANSVILLE
3/2/2020 2:15:00 PM | Baseball
To start the season, the University of Tennessee at Martin's baseball club has seen 11 straight road games against top tier competition. Now a little over three weeks into the season, the Skyhawks are headed home to open up play tomorrow at 6 p.m. on Skyhawk Field against Evansville.
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This week UT Martin (4-7) is tabbed with two stints as they are set for a weekday game and a weekend series. Starting the home set of four games is the matchup against Missouri Valley opponent Evansville (3-8). The Skyhawk series is a two-part event that features a home game tomorrow and a road game on April 1.
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All eyes will be on the pitching staff tomorrow as right-handed Sophomore Seth Petry is set to take the mound. Petry has struggled at times but seems to have found himself in recent games. His start to the season was rocky as he gave up four runs in 1.2 innings pitched against Saint Louis University. Since that point, Petry has been on a tear as he has allowed just one earned run in 5.1 innings pitched.
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Backing up the starter will be a plethora of pitching talent as the Skyhawk bullpen has been a core strength. Freshman Ryan Insco, senior David Hussey and senior Jefferey O'Doherty all have ERA's under four when coming out of the bullpen. That unit is all held together on the back end by junior Nick Wohlbold, who leads the team with two saves.
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These factors will be a crucial component against a struggling Evansville team that has yet to find their consistency from the plate. Thus far on the season, the Purple Aces are hitting .230 as a squad while averaging 4.5 runs on 7.7 hits per game.
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Over the weekend, the Skyhawks struggled at times to find an offensive voice but is set to be the deciding factor for this game. Before averaging season lows against Mercer, UT Martin placed fourth in all-most every statistical category in the OVC. Leading the way for the Skyhawks is Freshman Christian Hall, who is batting .361 with six RBIs in his 10 starts. While the Freshman is hitting marks team-high marks, the veterans of the group are standing right next to him. Senior Sean Dixson holds not only a team-high for home runs but a career-high with four home runs already in this young season. Junior Ethan Whitley is the hottest hitter of the bunch as he produced two straight multi-hit games against the Bears this weekend. Along with his successful pinch-hit against Alabama, Whitley increased his average to .333 after batting .500 on the week.
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In the 34th installment of this rivalry, the matchup proves to be an interesting one with the Skyhawks being successful in the early goings and Evansville riding high from their series sweep of Butler. Regardless, the series always seems to favor the Purple Aces as they hold a 12 game tiebreaker all-time versus the Skyhawks with an 18-6 lead. UT Martin will hope to showcase history is in the past and they mean business tomorrow before heading into conference play.
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For live-stats, follow the link above and follow @utm_baseball for live-stats all season long.
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