OFFENSIVE POWER SURGE, CANNON’S ARM GUIDE SKYHAWK BASEBALL TO 5-1 OVC VICTORY AT EASTERN ILLINOIS

Thursday, April 22

Charleston, Ill.

1 p.m.

UT Martin

13-19, 6-7

Eastern Illinois

18-18, 8-11

UT Martin

Eastern Illinois

Photo by: Sandy King/EIU Athletics

OFFENSIVE POWER SURGE, CANNON’S ARM GUIDE SKYHAWK BASEBALL TO 5-1 OVC VICTORY AT EASTERN ILLINOIS

4/22/2021 4:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score PDF Boxscore

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Winston Cannon pitched into the ninth inning while the University of Tennessee at Martin crushed five solo home runs today as the Skyhawks took the opening game of the Eastern Illinois series by a 5-1 margin.

Cannon (5-4) displayed pinpoint control all afternoon, allowing only one run on five hits while fanning six batters against two walks over 8.1 innings. It was the longest outing in the career of the senior from Cookeville, Tenn. and marked the most innings out of a UT Martin starting pitcher since Austen Bullington tossed a complete game at Eastern Illinois on April 26, 2019.

David Hussey came out of the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth and needed just seven pitches to record two outs – stranding both inherited runners for his team-best second save of the 2021 campaign.

Offensively, the Skyhawks slammed five solo homers – all coming in the final four innings – to tie a season-high also set at SIUE (April 10) and at Grambling State (March 27). Ethan Whitley led the charge with two round trippers – including the go-ahead homer in the top of the seventh to give UT Martin a lead it would not concede the rest of the way.

Wil LaFollette's 10^th homer of the season tied the score at 1-all in the top of the sixth while Will Smith and Casey Harford each went yard in the top of the eighth for the Skyhawks.

Cannon only allowed one hit through the first four innings – a measly infield single in the third. Three of his first five outs were recorded via strikeout as he added another punchout in the third inning. He retired the side in order in the fourth before a Panther solo home run led off the bottom of the fifth and made the score 1-0.

UT Martin knotted the score at 1-all in its next at-bat as LaFollette connected on a 1-1 pitch for a towering homer to straightaway centerfield.

Cannon got back to work in the sixth, needing just eight pitches to get out of the inning after catcher Blake Davis nabbed an Eastern Illinois baserunner trying to steal second base.

The Skyhawks took their first lead of the contest exactly two pitches later as Whitley deposited a longball beyond the wall in centerfield to kickstart the top half of the seventh.

Two more strikeouts were added to Cannon's stat line in the bottom of the inning as the hard-throwing righty sat the Panthers down in order.

Smith expanded UT Martin's lead out to 3-1 after a leadoff homer in the eighth – the fourth of the season for the freshman second baseman out of Prattville, Ala. It was then Harford's turn to go deep as the slugging shortstop lifted his fourth jack of his junior season near the scoreboard in left field.

Cannon showed perhaps his best pitching ability in the eighth after Eastern Illinois hit a leadoff double. He calmly worked around the next three batters, keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard with a foulout to right field, popup to shortstop and flyout to centerfield on just seven pitches to keep the score 4-1.

The Skyhawks led off with a home run for the third consecutive inning in the top of the ninth. It was Whitley once again as the Mason, Tenn. native completed his third multi-homer game of his career as he now has 26 round trippers in a UT Martin uniform.

Cannon came back out for the ninth and notched one out before Hussey entered in relief with runners on first and second. Hussey made short work of Eastern Illinois as he registered a strikeout and flyout to slam the door on the Skyhawk victory.

These two teams wrap up the series tomorrow with a doubleheader that will begin at 11 a.m. Both games from Coaches Stadium will be streamed live on ESPN+.