GROET HELPS LIFT SOFTBALL SKYHAWKS TO SERIES SPLIT AT EASTERN ILLINOIS

Monday, April 12

Charleston, Ill.

1 p.m.

UT Martin

Eastern Illinois

GROET HELPS LIFT SOFTBALL SKYHAWKS TO SERIES SPLIT AT EASTERN ILLINOIS

4/12/2021 9:03:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 30: PDF Game 31: PDF

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team went on the road and picked up a split behind a dominating shutout by Alexis Groet in an abbreviated two-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Eastern Illinois. The Panthers picked up a comeback victory in Game 1 to post a 9-7 victory before the Skyhawks earned a 1-0 victory in Game 2.

The Skyhawks (20-11, 9-8 OVC) picked up their 20^th win of the season behind a solid afternoon. UT Martin led for most of the day, leading until the bottom of the fifth in Game 1 before the Panthers charged back to score eight runs in the fifth and sixth innings to steal the win away. The Skyhawks then took their first advantage in Game 2 in the top of the second and never looked back with seven shutout frames.

Groet (10-3, 1.36 ERA) started both contests while allowing four earned runs and pitching 11.2 innings on the afternoon. Groet earned her second shutout of the season in Game 2 for her 10^th victory while tallying 12 strikeouts on the afternoon. Seeley Layne (1-3, 5.31 ERA) was hit with the loss in the opener, allowing five earned runs in 1.1 inning of work.

UT Martin tallied 18 hits on the afternoon while hitting .295 as a team. The trio of Paige Clark, Kallie Pickens and Kaci Fuller led the team with three hits each while Shyanne Sheffield, Kaitlyn Kelley, Maddi Long and Macey Neal also registered multi-hit outings. Neal paced the squad with a pair of doubles while Kelley and Long each drove into two runs.

Game 1: Eastern Illinois 9, UT Martin 7
UT Martin got off to a quick start as Fuller reached base to lead off the game off an infield error before swiping second with her 20^th stolen base of the season. The Panthers second defensive miscue of the inning proved costly off the bat of Aalia Bivens as Fuller came home from second on the play to score and give the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead.

The Skyhawks added to their margin in the top of the third inning as Fuller singled up the middle to opening the inning followed by a walk by Sheffield and a sacrifice bunt to put the pair in scoring position. The small ball continued for the visitors with Bivens putting down another sacrifice bunt to score Fuller followed by a RBI single to right field by Clark to give UT Martin a three-run advantage.

Eastern Illinois got on the board in the bottom of the third inning. The Skyhawks got the first two outs of the inning but Morgan Lewis worked a 10-pitch walk to extend the inning before the Panthers tallied back-to-back singles from Mia Davis and Haley Mitchell to bring margin to 3-1.

The Skyhawks got a run back in the top of the fifth. Kelley reached base via an error out of the leadoff spot before being relieved by pinch runner Emily Alexander. She would later come around to score after advancing into scoring position on a RBI single by Long.

The Panthers began their rally in the bottom of the fifth inning with three runs to tie the game. A pair of singles led off the frame for the home team before a walk loaded the bases with two outs. From there EIU found RBIs from Katie Nicholson to cut the margin to two runs before a two-run single by Amber Cieplinski tied the game at 4-4.

UT Martin momentarily retook the lead in the top of the sixth. The Skyhawks tallied four hits in the frame – highlighted by a two-run single up the middle by Kelley to score Fuller and Sheffield.

The lead would be short-lived as Eastern Illinois charged back to take their first lead in the contest in the bottom of the sixth. After an innocent groundout began the inning, the Panthers tallied four consecutive singles – including a RBI single Mitchell to cut the margin to one run. However, the big blast came with the bases loaded on the following batter as Hannah Cravens unloaded the bags with one swing, launching a grand slam over the left field walk to put the Panthers up 9-6.

The Skyhawks had a chance to tie the game in the top of the seventh as Neal drove in Pickens with a RBI-double to make it a 9-7 contest. The team later put a pair in scoring position with one out but could not find the game-tying hit.

Game 2: UT Martin 1, Eastern Illinois 0
Unlike the offensive fireworks that surrounded Game 1, the second game of the afternoon proved to be a pitchers' duel. The Skyhawks found their lone run in the top of the second inning after Clark reached via a fielding error to spark the rally. With the speedster on first, she came around to score on the next at-bat as Long stroked a double into the left center gap to take a 1-0 lead.

The lone run would be all the padding that Groet would need in her second start of the day. The hurler scattered five hitters throughout the contest while striking out eight and issuing zero walks in seven innings for her second shutout of the season.

UT Martin will return to action this weekend when playing host to Morehead State for a three-game OVC series beginning on Friday, Apr. 16. First pitch from Bettye Giles Field is scheduled for 4 p.m.