Saturday, March 20
Martin, Tenn.
2 p.m.
UT Martin
14-5, 4-3
9
vs
2
Tennessee State
5-10, 1-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Tennessee State
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
5
2
UT Martin
1
0
7
1
0
0
X
9
14
1
UT MARTIN SOFTBALL SWEEPS DOUBLEHEADER AGAINST TENNESSEE STATE TO PUSH WINNING STREAK TO SIX
3/20/2021 10:11:00 PM | Softball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team kept its impressive stretch going this afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State in the first two games of the weekend series to push their season-long winning streak to six games.
The Skyhawks improved to 15-5 on the season and 5-3 in OVC play behind a pair of nice victories on their home field, winning Game 1 against Tennessee State 9-2 before picking up a 5-2 victory in Game 2 at Bettye Giles Field.
UT Martin saw its impressive offense continue to make opposing pitchers sweat in the circle, posting a .410 batting average on the day while slugging .689 on the afternoon. The Skyhawks tallied eight doubles in the doubleheader while blasting three home runs and driving in 11 RBIs. Once on base, the home squad wasn't content, swiping six stolen bases in as many chances.
The Skyhawk pair of Aalia Bivens and Kaitlyn Kelley led the team with five hits on the afternoon while Bivens tallied her first home run of the season and drove in three RBIs. The freshman pair of Kaci Fuller and Maddi Long also went deep with home runs of their own.
In the pitching circle, Alexis Groet (5-1, 1.40 ERA) picked up a win in the series opener, striking out four and allowing two earned runs in five innings. Seeley Layne pitched in relief, striking out three in two perfect innings. Erin Gallagher (4-2, 3.06 ERA) pitched a complete game in the second half of the doubleheader where she struck out eight and allowed two earned runs in seven innings.
Gallery: (3-20-2021) Softball vs. Tennessee State
Game 1: UT Martin 9, Tennessee State 2
UT Martin wasted little time jumping out to an early advantage in the contest, scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Fuller led off the inning with an infield single before stealing her first of three bases on the afternoon to move into scoring position. After moving over to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Shyanne Sheffield, Kelley put the Skyhawks on top with a single to left center.
Tennessee State broke through onto the scoreboard in the top of the third inning as Anayah Baker-Rowell sailed a two-out solo home run to left field to tie the score at 1-1.
The game wouldn't remain tied for long as UT Martin answered with seven runs in the bottom half of the third inning. Three consecutive hits by the trio of Macey Neal, Fuller and Sheffield scored two runs leading to a pitching change by the Tigers. After the new pitcher got a quick out, Bivens stroked a two-run home run off the foul pole to give the Skyhawks a four-run advantage. Following another single by Clark and a RBI-double by Kallie Pickens – her eighth double of the season – Long stroked a two-run home run to left to give UT Martin an 8-1 lead.
UT Martin scored its final run in the opener in the fourth inning when Fuller reached on a fielding error before swiping second and advancing second on a throwing error by the catcher. After using her speed to put herself in scoring position, she came all the way home to score on the next at-bat via a passed ball to make it 9-1.
With the Tigers down to potentially their final out of the game, down by eight in the top of the fifth inning, Baker-Rowell tallied her second RBI of the contest to prolong the game and make it go the distance with a RBI-double to right center for the game's final run.
Game 2: UT Martin 5, Tennessee State 2
Much like in the opener, the Skyhawks broke through in the first inning to score the game's first run, this time with Fuller launching a solo home run out of the leadoff spot – her second of the season.
The Skyhawks added another run in the bottom of the second after Gracie Lusk singled to the shortstop before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kenna Garst. A defensive miscue off the bat of Fuller led to Lusk scoring on the play to give the Skyhawks a 2-0 lead heading into the third.
The Tigers turned to a familiar foe for their offense in the top of the third as Baker-Rowell launched her second home run of the day and drove in her third run of the afternoon with a solo shot to left field to cut the margin in half.
UT Martin doubled up its scoring output in the bottom of the third as Kelley led off the frame with a double off the top of the right field wall before pinch runner Anna Blanton took over on the basepaths. Blanton would immediately get to work, advancing to third on a wild pitch before coming home to score on a single up the middle by Bivens. The Skyhawks added one more run on a RBI groundout by Neal to push the score out to 4-1.
The Skyhawks capped off their scoring for the day in the bottom of the fifth as Bivens and Clark led off the frame with back-to-back opposite field singles. Following a sacrifice bunt by Pickens to put the pair in scoring position, Neal made the most of her opportunity once again by driving in Bivens for the second time in the contest to take a four-run advantage.
Tennessee State added a late run in the top of the seventh inning on a solo blast by Kennedy McCurry to bring the score to 5-2 but the Tigers rally would end there as the game ended on an infield pop up.
UT Martin will go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon against Tennessee State with action getting underway from Bettye Giles Field at 3 p.m.
The Skyhawks improved to 15-5 on the season and 5-3 in OVC play behind a pair of nice victories on their home field, winning Game 1 against Tennessee State 9-2 before picking up a 5-2 victory in Game 2 at Bettye Giles Field.
UT Martin saw its impressive offense continue to make opposing pitchers sweat in the circle, posting a .410 batting average on the day while slugging .689 on the afternoon. The Skyhawks tallied eight doubles in the doubleheader while blasting three home runs and driving in 11 RBIs. Once on base, the home squad wasn't content, swiping six stolen bases in as many chances.
The Skyhawk pair of Aalia Bivens and Kaitlyn Kelley led the team with five hits on the afternoon while Bivens tallied her first home run of the season and drove in three RBIs. The freshman pair of Kaci Fuller and Maddi Long also went deep with home runs of their own.
In the pitching circle, Alexis Groet (5-1, 1.40 ERA) picked up a win in the series opener, striking out four and allowing two earned runs in five innings. Seeley Layne pitched in relief, striking out three in two perfect innings. Erin Gallagher (4-2, 3.06 ERA) pitched a complete game in the second half of the doubleheader where she struck out eight and allowed two earned runs in seven innings.
Game 1: UT Martin 9, Tennessee State 2
UT Martin wasted little time jumping out to an early advantage in the contest, scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Fuller led off the inning with an infield single before stealing her first of three bases on the afternoon to move into scoring position. After moving over to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Shyanne Sheffield, Kelley put the Skyhawks on top with a single to left center.
Tennessee State broke through onto the scoreboard in the top of the third inning as Anayah Baker-Rowell sailed a two-out solo home run to left field to tie the score at 1-1.
The game wouldn't remain tied for long as UT Martin answered with seven runs in the bottom half of the third inning. Three consecutive hits by the trio of Macey Neal, Fuller and Sheffield scored two runs leading to a pitching change by the Tigers. After the new pitcher got a quick out, Bivens stroked a two-run home run off the foul pole to give the Skyhawks a four-run advantage. Following another single by Clark and a RBI-double by Kallie Pickens – her eighth double of the season – Long stroked a two-run home run to left to give UT Martin an 8-1 lead.
UT Martin scored its final run in the opener in the fourth inning when Fuller reached on a fielding error before swiping second and advancing second on a throwing error by the catcher. After using her speed to put herself in scoring position, she came all the way home to score on the next at-bat via a passed ball to make it 9-1.
With the Tigers down to potentially their final out of the game, down by eight in the top of the fifth inning, Baker-Rowell tallied her second RBI of the contest to prolong the game and make it go the distance with a RBI-double to right center for the game's final run.
Game 2: UT Martin 5, Tennessee State 2
Much like in the opener, the Skyhawks broke through in the first inning to score the game's first run, this time with Fuller launching a solo home run out of the leadoff spot – her second of the season.
The Skyhawks added another run in the bottom of the second after Gracie Lusk singled to the shortstop before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kenna Garst. A defensive miscue off the bat of Fuller led to Lusk scoring on the play to give the Skyhawks a 2-0 lead heading into the third.
The Tigers turned to a familiar foe for their offense in the top of the third as Baker-Rowell launched her second home run of the day and drove in her third run of the afternoon with a solo shot to left field to cut the margin in half.
UT Martin doubled up its scoring output in the bottom of the third as Kelley led off the frame with a double off the top of the right field wall before pinch runner Anna Blanton took over on the basepaths. Blanton would immediately get to work, advancing to third on a wild pitch before coming home to score on a single up the middle by Bivens. The Skyhawks added one more run on a RBI groundout by Neal to push the score out to 4-1.
The Skyhawks capped off their scoring for the day in the bottom of the fifth as Bivens and Clark led off the frame with back-to-back opposite field singles. Following a sacrifice bunt by Pickens to put the pair in scoring position, Neal made the most of her opportunity once again by driving in Bivens for the second time in the contest to take a four-run advantage.
Tennessee State added a late run in the top of the seventh inning on a solo blast by Kennedy McCurry to bring the score to 5-2 but the Tigers rally would end there as the game ended on an infield pop up.
UT Martin will go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon against Tennessee State with action getting underway from Bettye Giles Field at 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Groet, Alexis (5-1)
L: KING, Francys (1-1)
Batting:
2B: BAKER-ROWELL, Anayah 1
HR: BAKER-ROWELL, Anayah 1
RBI: BAKER-ROWELL, Anayah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: BAKER-ROWELL, Anayah 1 ; COURSEY, Analeigh 1
SB: VIRE, Bri 1
Batting:
2B: Fuller, Kaci 1 ; Sheffield, Shyanne 1 ; Kelley, Kaitlyn 1 ; Bivens, Aalia 1 ; Pickens, Kallie 1
HR: Bivens, Aalia 1 ; Long, Maddi 1
RBI: Sheffield, Shyanne 1 ; Kelley, Kaitlyn 1 ; Bivens, Aalia 2 ; Pickens, Kallie 1 ; Long, Maddi 2
SH: Sheffield, Shyanne 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fuller, Kaci 3 ; Sheffield, Shyanne 1 ; Bivens, Aalia 1 ; Clark, Paige 1 ; Pickens, Kallie 1 ; Long, Maddi 1 ; Neal, Macey 1
SB: Fuller, Kaci 2 ; Clark, Paige 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
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1
H
3
RBI
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AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
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