THREE-RBI DAYS BY HAZLEWOOD AND PICKENS LIFT SKYHAWKS TO DAY TWO SPLIT OF GATA CHALLENGE

Saturday, February 19

Statesboro, Ga.

9 a.m.

UT Martin

4-3

North Dakota State

4-2

North Dakota State

UT Martin

THREE-RBI DAYS BY HAZLEWOOD AND PICKENS LIFT SKYHAWKS TO DAY TWO SPLIT OF GATA CHALLENGE

2/19/2022 9:57:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 7: PDF Game 8: PDF

STATESBORO, Ga. – The pair of Anna Hazlewood and Kallie Pickens both tallied three RBIs as the University of Tennessee at Martin softball team picked up a split on the second day of the Gata Challenge on Saturday, falling to North Dakota State (10-0) in the morning matchup before knocking off host Georgia Southern (12-4) for the second consecutive day.

The Skyhawks (5-3) came back from an early morning shutout to awaken their bats in their second matchup with an even dozen runs. The squad's offense boasted a .385 batting average for the day while bashing 10 extra base hits with four doubles, a triple and four home runs while driving in 12.

All-OVC performer Kaitlyn Kelley led the team with four hits on the day while the trio of Pickens, Kaci Fuller and Paige Clark each tallied three hits. Four different Skyhawks bashed home runs as Pickens, Clark and Hazlewood recorded their first of the year while Avry Blume tallied her second in as many days.

In the pitching circle, Erin Gallagher (1-0, 2.40 ERA) earned her first win of the season after pitching six innings of work while striking out seven and allowing four earned runs against Georgia Southern. Katie Dreiling (0-1, 7.64 ERA) was hit with the loss against North Dakota State after giving up four runs in 1.1 innings of work while Seeley Layne pitched 3.2 innings of relief and gave up six earned runs.

Game 7: North Dakota State 10, UT Martin 0 (Five innings)
After not seeing action in the first day of the tournament, North Dakota State made up for lost time in its Gata Challenge debut with an explosive offensive performance. Following a scoreless first inning for both teams, the Bison scored five runs in the second inning after three hit batters and a walk brought in the first run. With the bases still loaded, back-to-back hits by Emilee Buringa and Molly Gates broke the game open to make it a 5-0 contest to NDSU's advantage.

The Bison added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning when Buringa's double was followed up with another RBI by Gates – this time a single – to score the team's sixth run. Then two batters later, Gates came around to score herself on a RBI by Cameryn Mayku.

UT Martin had a scoring opportunity in the fourth inning when Kelley singled up the middle before moving up to second base on a knock by Pickens to short. Despite the two hits, the Skyhawk pair would be stranded on base to close out the inning.

North Dakota State landed the knockout blow in the top of the fifth. Entering the inning with a seven-run advantage, Buringa completed a three-hit contest by launching a three-run home run to bring the score to 10-0 and enact the run-rule.

While the Skyhawks would lead off the bottom of the fifth with a double to left by Clark and a walk by Emily Gilstrap, the two runners would ultimately be stranded at second and third respectively before the game was called to an end after five.

Game 8: UT Martin 12, Georgia Southern 4 (Six innings)
With a quick turnaround on the docket, UT Martin flipped the script in its second game of the day as Clark launched a solo home run to leadoff the contest against Georgia Southern in the top of the first. The home run marked the fourth of her career.

The Skyhawks added another run in the top of the second as Fuller led off the inning by pulling a triple into the right center gap. The speedster came home to score on the ensuing play as Gilstrap drove in the run with a groundout to the left side.

Entering with a two-run lead in hand, the Skyhawks built upon that advantage in the third. Back-to-back singles to lead off the frame by Dreiling and Kelley were key for UT Martin as Pickens later turned on a ball and stroked it down the left field line for her fifth career home run to make the score 5-0.

Georgia Southern took a big bite out of the five-run deficit in the bottom half of the third inning. The Eagles drew three walks in the inning despite striking out twice as well. With two outs on the board, Jess Mazur played the role of spoiler by sailing a grand slam over the wall in left center to make it a one-run contest.

After the sizable frame by the home squad, the visitors struck right back in the bottom of the fourth. A leadoff home run by Blume marked her second against the Eagles in two days while a double to right center by Kelley later in the inning was followed up by Hazlewood's first collegiate home run – scoring two runs. The team's offensive push was not done in the frame as three consecutive singles by Pickens, Fuller and Gilstrap led to a RBI by the right fielder later in the inning to make it 10-4.

With the game nearly out of reach, the Skyhawks put the finishing touches in the fifth and sixth innings offensively. UT Martin took an 11-run lead into the fifth when Hazlewood notched her third RBI of the day to score Clark on the play. They then added their 12^th and final score in the sixth on a RBI double by Maddi Long to bring the eventual winning score to 12-4.

UT Martin will have a couple days to unwind before returning to action on Wednesday, Feb. 23 when playing a neutral site game against Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State in Lexington, Tenn.