STARTING PITCHING EXCELS AS SKYHAWK BASEBALL SPLITS SERIES-OPENING DOUBLEHEADER AT EASTERN KENTUCKY

Saturday, March 20

Richmond, Ky.

11 a.m.

UT Martin

7-7, 3-1

Eastern Kentucky

6-10, 1-3

UT Martin

Eastern Kentucky

STARTING PITCHING EXCELS AS SKYHAWK BASEBALL SPLITS SERIES-OPENING DOUBLEHEADER AT EASTERN KENTUCKY

3/20/2021 9:24:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 PDF Boxscore (Game 1)PDF Boxscore (Game 2)

RICHMOND, Ky. – The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad received quality starts out of both starting pitchers today during its doubleheader at Eastern Kentucky, winning the first game by a 7-3 score before falling 6-1 in Game 2 at Earle Combs Stadium.

The Skyhawks (7-8, 3-2 Ohio Valley Conference) collected a 3.18 staff ERA on the day while issuing zero walks in 17 innings of work. The senior duo of Winston Cannon and Sam Folks set the tone as Cannon (season-high seven innings, three runs on six hits, five strikeouts) won Game 1 while Folks (season-best six innings, one run on three hits, season-high seven strikeouts) pitched well in the nightcap but received a no-decision. Ryan Insco also provided two shutout innings of relief in the first game today.

Offensively, Wil LaFollette (Game 1) and Houston Wright (Game 2) each went deep while Christian Hall (one hit, three walks) reached base at a .500 clip. Nine different UT Martin batters posted a hit while Will Smith scored a team-high two runs.

The Skyhawks will look to win their second consecutive OVC series tomorrow as the finale is set for 10 a.m. CST.

Game 1
UT Martin pushed across five runs in the top of the fourth as that proved to be the difference in the series opener.

Cannon (3-2) was zoned in early, retiring the first six batters he faced on just 20 pitches. That included a pair of strikeouts, an infield popup, an infield groundout and two flyouts to the outfield.

The Colonels scored two runs in the bottom of the third but that lead was short-lived. Smith led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a Casey Harford single. Hall then walked to load the bases for Houston Wright, who lifted a sacrifice fly to get the Skyhawks on the scoreboard. Ethan Whitley singled to left center to bring in Harford, tying the score at 2-all. The big blow came off the bat of LaFollette, as the freshman from Chelsea, Ala. connected for a three-run jack out to right field, clearing the bases for his third round-tripper of the 2021 campaign.

Cannon tossed a shutdown inning in the fourth, inducing a pair of groundouts before fanning the final batter of the frame.

UT Martin added a run in the fifth as a Hall double plated the speedy Smith, who reached on a one-out walk.

Eastern Kentucky threatened in the fifth but Cannon avoided trouble, stranding a runner on third. The Colonels got one run back in the bottom of the sixth to trim the Skyhawk lead to 6-3.

A leadoff double by Blake Daniels turned into a run in the top of the seventh. He advanced to third base on a groundout to the right side and scampered home three pitches later on an RBI groundout by Smith.

Cannon's final inning of work was a good one as he mowed through the Colonel lineup en route to posting another zero on the scoreboard. In the process, the righty out of Cookeville, Tenn. slid up to fifth place in Skyhawk history with his 15^th career victory.

Insco was in charge of the final two innings on the hill. Eastern Kentucky managed a pair of harmless singles in the eighth but the freshman right-hander kept the Colonels out of the run column. The Kirkwood, Mo. native was lights-out in the ninth, retiring the side in order to wrap up the win.

Game 2
It was a pitcher's duel through six innings but Eastern Kentucky broke through late to even up the series after a 6-1 win.

Folks came out pounding the strike zone, whiffing the side in order in the bottom of the first inning. He added another strikeout in the second as he sat down the first six batters he faced.

The first two Colonels reached base in the third, scratching out a run before a double play and yet another Folks strikeout ended the inning. Folks fanned each of the final two batters in a scoreless fourth, dialing that number up to seven punchouts at that point.

The Skyhawk offense put a runner in scoring position in both the third and fifth innings but couldn't manufacture a run. After another Folks scoreless frame in the fifth, UT Martin evened the score in the top of the sixth as Wright cleared the right field wall for a solo home run. That homer was the fourth of the season for Wright, who is now tied with Hall for the team lead in that category.

Folks made short work of Eastern Kentucky in the sixth, retiring the side in order. The Skyhawks loaded the bases with only one out in the top of the seventh but couldn't break the 1-1 tie.

A two-out error helped the Colonels score three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Eastern Kentucky added two runs in the eighth and UT Martin could not stage a rally in the top of the ninth.