SKYHAWK BASEBALL COMPETES THROUGHOUT IN NARROW 5-4 SETBACK AT NO. 1 VANDERBILT

Tuesday, April 6

Nashville, Tenn.

6:30 p.m.

UT Martin

10-14

Vanderbilt

24-3

UT Martin

Vanderbilt

Photo by: Carter O'Neal

SKYHAWK BASEBALL COMPETES THROUGHOUT IN NARROW 5-4 SETBACK AT NO. 1 VANDERBILT

4/6/2021 11:34:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score PDF Boxscore

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team held three different leads this evening at No. 1 Vanderbilt but its second bid at a win over a ranked opponent this season came up just short as the Commodores snuck away with a 5-4 win at Hawkins Field.

The Skyhawks, who defeated No. 22 ranked Alabama by a 9-4 margin on Feb. 24, led after the first inning, following the top of the third and after the top of the sixth tonight. UT Martin evened Vanderbilt in the hit column (seven apiece) but the Commodores took advantage of two early unearned runs and made two runs in the bottom of the sixth stand up.

Blake Daniels reached base safely three times (two doubles and a walk) out of the No. 2 hole in the Skyhawk batting order, scoring two of UT Martin's four runs. Casey Harford swatted the only home run of the game – a two-run shot in the top of the third. Wil LaFollette also had two hits and an RBI while Blake Davis (RBI) and Christian Hall (run scored) contributed to the Skyhawks' offensive attack.

Six different pitchers saw time on the mound this evening in a staff day for UT Martin. Nick Wohlbold drew the starting assignment and allowed a pair of unearned runs over two innings. He was followed by Tucker Reed (one run in two innings), Winston Cannon (one scoreless frame), Seth Petry (1-1, two runs in one inning), Eric Steensma (one shutout inning) and David Hussey (one scoreless frame).

The Skyhawks (10-14) wasted no time getting ahead, tallying one run in the top of the first. Daniels roped a double to center and came around to score when LaFollette jumped on the first pitch he saw for an RBI double, giving UT Martin the upper hand at 1-0.

Wohlbold cruised through the bottom of the first, retiring the side in order after a pair of groundouts were sandwiched around a strikeout. Two errors plagued the Skyhawks in the bottom of the second, allowing two runs to score before Wohlbold stranded a Commodore runner on third to end his outing.

UT Martin mounted up a two-out rally in the top of the third to reclaim the lead. Daniels snuck a double inside the left field line and Harford followed up with a homer – pulverizing a hanging breaking ball over the 35-foot wall in leftfield to tilt the score back in favor of the Skyhawks at 3-2. It was the third longball of the season for the junior shortstop out of Cordova, Tenn.

The Commodores (24-3) tied the game at 3-all in the bottom of the third before Reed induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. Reed also benefitted from another groundball double play in the fourth to keep the score at 3-3.

Cannon entered the game in the fifth and was very sharp, sitting Vanderbilt down in order. He recorded a flyout and groundout on five total pitches before striking out his final batter.

Momentum was on UT Martin's side going into the top of the sixth. Hall led things off with a leadoff single and he moved up to second base following an Ethan Whitley single. After Noah Thigpen drew a walk to load the bases, Davis lifted a sacrifice fly to center that plated Hall for the go-ahead run.

However, the Commodores would tally two runs on just one hit in the bottom of the sixth, scoring on an RBI hit by pitch and an RBI walk.

Steensma tossed a clean seventh and Hussey was electric during an eight-pitch appearance in the eighth as the righty duo did their part to give the Skyhawks a chance late.

However, Vanderbilt closer Luke Murphy notched his sixth save of the season after a perfect top of the ninth.

UT Martin closes out a 14-game road trip this weekend when it returns to Ohio Valley Conference play at SIUE. The two sides are set for a 6 p.m. contest on Friday, April 9 before a 1 p.m. doubleheader will take place on Saturday, April 10.