SKYHAWK SOFTBALL RIDES BIG BATS AND SOLID PITCHING TO SPLIT ON OPENING DAY OF SEASON

Friday, February 11

Natchitoches, La

10 a.m.

UT Martin

1-0

Chattanooga

0-1

Chattanooga

UT Martin

SKYHAWK SOFTBALL RIDES BIG BATS AND SOLID PITCHING TO SPLIT ON OPENING DAY OF SEASON

2/11/2022 10:53:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1: PDF Game 2: PDF

NATCHITOCHES, La. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team opened the season with a big offensive day en route to a split with a win over Chattanooga (7-1) before a late rally fell just short against Baylor (8-6) at the Lady Demon Classic.

The Skyhawks (1-1) posted a .304 batting average on the day while driving in 13 runs on the first day of the season. The squad tallied 13 hits while six players had multiple base knocks on the afternoon.

The trio of Shyanne Sheffield, Kallie Pickens and Katie Dreiling paced the Skyhawks with three hits each on the day. UT Martin hit three home runs in the two games with sophomores Maddi Long, Kaci Fuller and Dreiling each going deep. Long led the team with four RBIs while Fuller drove in three and Dreiling had a pair of RBIs in her Skyhawk debut.

On the pitching side, the Skyhawks posted a 1.62 ERA in 13 innings of work. All-OVC performer Alexis Groet (1-0, 0.00 ERA) picked up her first win of the season after pitching five innings in the season opener against Chattanooga where she struck out seven, allowed one hit and issued zero walks. Emily Brown (0-1, 63.00 ERA) earned the start against Baylor where she struggled, allowing eight runs (three earned) in one-third of an inning. After the starters, the bullpen was nearly flawless as Erin Gallagher, Seeley Layne and Katie Dreiling combined to pitch 7.2 scoreless innings while allowing one hit.

Game 1: UT Martin 7, Chattanooga 1
The season opener began with Chattanooga jumping out to an early lead. The Mocs saw their second batter of the inning reach on a fielding error before she swiped second base to move into scoring position. With the run sitting at second, Presley Williamson put the Mocs on top with a double to left center to take a 1-0 advantage.

The game's deficit would be short-lived however as UT Martin responded with four runs in the bottom of the first. Back-to-back walks to Sheffield and Dreiling, followed by a groundout, put the two runners in scoring position with two outs. With a prime scoring opportunity at hand, Kallie Pickens laced a single into left field to tie the game at one run each. Following the single, the Skyhawks still had runners on the corners before Fuller hit an opposite field home run to left which cleared the bases and put the squad on top 4-1.

The score would remain at it's three-run margin until the bottom of the third inning. Back-to-back singles by Kaitlyn Kelley and Pickens were followed by a sacrifice bunt to move the pair into scoring position. Looking to pad the game's advantage, Tennessee transfer Anna Hazlewood picked up her first RBI in a Skyhawk uniform via a groundout to the right side which pushed Kelley across the plate.

UT Martin added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs on the board, Fuller picked up her second hit of the game with a single to third to continue the frame. After a fielder's choice and an error moved Fuller over to second, the speedster later came around to score on a single up the middle by Long to make it a 6-1 contest.

Following a strong pitching performance by Groet out of the starting spot and a scoreless inning of relief by Layne, the Skyhawks put the game's final run on the board in the bottom of the sixth. A pair of singles by Sheffield and Dreiling set the stage before Kelley notched her first RBI of the young season with a hit to center to bring Sheffield around to score.

Game 2: Baylor 8, UT Martin 6
Baylor jumped out to a big lead in the first inning and never looked back, plating eight while having 11 reach base. After an innocent groundout to start the frame, the Bears saw their next 11 batters reach base by either a base knock, a pair of errors and three hit batters. The Bears received RBI contributions from Sydney Collazos, Kendall Cross, Emily Hott, McKenzie Wilson and Ana Watson in the first to take a sizable advantage.

UT Martin finally got on the board and began to chip away at the deficit in the top of the third. A leadoff walk to Hazlewood and a single up the middle by Paige Clark put a pair of runners on the bags. Needing a big two-out hit, Sheffield singled up the middle to score Hazlewood from second.

The Skyhawks found a big blast from Dreiling in the top of the fifth to take a bite out of the margin. Following a two-out walk by Sheffield, Dreiling hit an opposite field home run down the left field line to bring the score to 8-3.

Looking to keep things interesting, the Skyhawks found three more runs on three hits in the top of the sixth. A pair of walks to Pickens and Hazlewood set up the inning before Long launched the team's third home run of the day with a three-run blast to left field. While UT Martin tallied another walk and two more singles in the frame, it could not chip away at the margin anymore before suffering an 8-6 setback.

UT Martin will return to action tomorrow with another pair of contests. The Skyhawks will get an early start to the day with a 9 a.m. matchup against Arkansas Pine Bluff before turning right around and playing host Northwestern State at 11:30 a.m.