Friday, March 5
Martin, Tenn.
4 p.m.
UT Martin
7-2, 1-0
10
vs
4
Murray State
3-12, 0-1
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2
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4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Murray State
0
0
1
0
0
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0
4
7
2
UT Martin
0
0
4
2
0
4
X
10
13
0
UT MARTIN SOFTBALL EXPLODES FOR 10 RUNS IN HOME OPENER AGAINST MURRAY STATE
3/5/2021 10:52:00 PM | Softball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team showed its offensive promise this afternoon in its home debut at Bettye Giles Field, powering pasting Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State 10-4.
The Skyhawks (7-2, 1-0 OVC) got off on the right foot in conference play after the entire league slate was canceled in 2020 due to COVID. After waiting 673 days between conference matchups, UT Martin broke through with four runs in the third inning and kept its foot on the gas from there en route to 10 runs on the day.
Five different players tallied multiple base hits on the afternoon including Kaci Fuller, Kallie Pickens, Kaitlyn Kelley, Aalia Bivens and Paige Clark. Kelley posted arguably the game's biggest knock, blasting her OVC-leading fifth home run of the season while continuing her streak of four consecutive games with a homer with a two-run blast in the fourth.
Senior Hannah Ridolfi (3-0, 1.88 ERA) continued her impressive season by allowing just one earned run in 4.1 innings of work to pick up the victory. Junior Seeley Layne also appeared in relief, tossing 2.2 innings of work.
Gallery: (3-5-2021) Softball vs Murray State
Murray State (3-13, 0-1 OVC) jumped out to an early lead in the top of the third inning as Chloe Jacque keyed a two-out rally with an infield single before swiping second to move into scoring position. After a walk to put to a pair of runners on, the Racers got on the board following a RBI single by Jensen Striegel to center field to take a 1-0 advantage.
UT Martin quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning and would never trail again. Macey Neal led off the inning with a double to left center before moving over to third on a bunt single by Fuller. After a stolen base by Fuller put both freshmen in scoring position, Chelsey Gore brought both runners in to score with a RBI bunt single and a defensive miscue to take a 2-1 lead. They added to the margin two batters later when Kelley mashed a two-run home run to right center to take a three-run advantage.
The Skyhawks continued to grow their lead in the bottom of the fourth on a RBI groundout by Neal to score Clark. Then on the next play, the lead grew to five runs on another RBI groundout – this time on a sacrifice by Maddi Long to bring the score to 6-1.
Murray State scratched together its final comeback attempt in the top of the sixth inning after three straight base hits by Lily Fischer, Sierra Gilmore and Lindsey Carroll. Following the RBI single by Carroll, the Racers added two more RBIs from Kamryn Carcich and Taylor Jackson to bring the contest to a 6-4 margin.
The Skyhawks put the finishing touches on a strong home debut with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. After opening the frame with two early outs, the Skyhawks rallied behind a RBI double by Fuller followed by a successful double-steal later in the inning to plate a pair. The home team put two more insurance runs on the board in the inning via RBI singles by Pickens and Bivens to make it a 10-4 contest.
UT Martin will play the final two games of the three-game series against Murray State on Saturday, March 6. The doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. at Bettye Giles Field.
The Skyhawks (7-2, 1-0 OVC) got off on the right foot in conference play after the entire league slate was canceled in 2020 due to COVID. After waiting 673 days between conference matchups, UT Martin broke through with four runs in the third inning and kept its foot on the gas from there en route to 10 runs on the day.
Five different players tallied multiple base hits on the afternoon including Kaci Fuller, Kallie Pickens, Kaitlyn Kelley, Aalia Bivens and Paige Clark. Kelley posted arguably the game's biggest knock, blasting her OVC-leading fifth home run of the season while continuing her streak of four consecutive games with a homer with a two-run blast in the fourth.
Senior Hannah Ridolfi (3-0, 1.88 ERA) continued her impressive season by allowing just one earned run in 4.1 innings of work to pick up the victory. Junior Seeley Layne also appeared in relief, tossing 2.2 innings of work.
Murray State (3-13, 0-1 OVC) jumped out to an early lead in the top of the third inning as Chloe Jacque keyed a two-out rally with an infield single before swiping second to move into scoring position. After a walk to put to a pair of runners on, the Racers got on the board following a RBI single by Jensen Striegel to center field to take a 1-0 advantage.
UT Martin quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning and would never trail again. Macey Neal led off the inning with a double to left center before moving over to third on a bunt single by Fuller. After a stolen base by Fuller put both freshmen in scoring position, Chelsey Gore brought both runners in to score with a RBI bunt single and a defensive miscue to take a 2-1 lead. They added to the margin two batters later when Kelley mashed a two-run home run to right center to take a three-run advantage.
The Skyhawks continued to grow their lead in the bottom of the fourth on a RBI groundout by Neal to score Clark. Then on the next play, the lead grew to five runs on another RBI groundout – this time on a sacrifice by Maddi Long to bring the score to 6-1.
Murray State scratched together its final comeback attempt in the top of the sixth inning after three straight base hits by Lily Fischer, Sierra Gilmore and Lindsey Carroll. Following the RBI single by Carroll, the Racers added two more RBIs from Kamryn Carcich and Taylor Jackson to bring the contest to a 6-4 margin.
The Skyhawks put the finishing touches on a strong home debut with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. After opening the frame with two early outs, the Skyhawks rallied behind a RBI double by Fuller followed by a successful double-steal later in the inning to plate a pair. The home team put two more insurance runs on the board in the inning via RBI singles by Pickens and Bivens to make it a 10-4 contest.
UT Martin will play the final two games of the three-game series against Murray State on Saturday, March 6. The doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. at Bettye Giles Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ridolfi, Hannah (3-0)
L: JAMES, Hannah (2-6)
Batting:
2B: GILMORE, Sierra 1
RBI: STRIEGEL, Jensen 1 ; CARROLL, Lindsey 1 ; CARCICH, Kamryn 1 ; JACKSON, Taylor 1
SH: CARROLL, Lindsey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: FISCHER, Lily 1 ; GILMORE, Sierra 1 ; CARROLL, Lindsey 1 ; JACQUE, Chloe 1
SB: BRAUNDMEIER, Logan 1 ; JACQUE, Chloe 1
CS: STRIEGEL, Jensen 1
Batting:
2B: Fuller, Kaci 1 ; Neal, Macey 1
HR: Kelley, Kaitlyn 1
RBI: Fuller, Kaci 1 ; Gore, Chelsey 1 ; Pickens, Kallie 1 ; Kelley, Kaitlyn 2 ; Bivens, Aalia 1 ; Neal, Macey 1 ; Long, Maddi 1
SH: Long, Maddi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fuller, Kaci 2 ; Gore, Chelsey 2 ; Pickens, Kallie 1 ; Kelley, Kaitlyn 1 ; Clark, Paige 1 ; Sheffield, Shyanne 1 ; Neal, Macey 1 ; Blanton, Anna 1
SB: Fuller, Kaci 2 ; Gore, Chelsey 1 ; Clark, Paige 2 ; Sheffield, Shyanne 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
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