FETNER’S COMPLETE GAME GRANTS SKYHAWKS A COMMANDING SHUTOUT VICTORY OVER CENTRAL ARKANSAS

Friday, March 11

Conway, Ark.

1 p.m.

UT Martin

5-7

Central Arkansas

4-9

UT Martin

Central Arkansas

FETNER’S COMPLETE GAME GRANTS SKYHAWKS A COMMANDING SHUTOUT VICTORY OVER CENTRAL ARKANSAS

3/11/2022 3:35:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score PDF BOX SCORE

CONWAY, Ark. – Slicing his way through 32 batters en route to a complete game and shutout performance on Friday afternoon, sophomore pitcher Rhett Fetner's dynamite showing on the mound paved the way for a cruise control win by the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad to begin the weekend against Central Arkansas on the road, 3-0.

Only letting a total of four hits sneak by while eclipsing the triple-digit mark at 101 tosses, Fetner and the rest of the Skyhawk defense was impenetrable against the Bears in a hostile environment, improving to 5-7 on the year while simultaneously ending a UCA seven-game winning streak throughout the all-time series.

Establishing the program's second-ever W at Bear Stadium in Conway, UT Martin was lifted to their first shutout win of the semester by only walking two players and not committing a single error all afternoon. In a contest that was bumped up in time to avoid impending inclement weather later on Friday, the Skyhawks boosted their season-total to 88 hits with eight more against Central Arkansas, proving more than enough to pull away.

Not wasting any time putting the scoreboard to work, UTM struck first in their very first turn at bat for the second consecutive meeting. With Will Smith and Jack Culumovic already occupying two bases thanks to a walk and a single up the middle, sophomore first-baseman Wil LaFollette punched in his fourth and fifth RBI of the year on a rightfield double that put the visitors ahead by a deuce.

Central Arkansas would only muster a couple of hits that ultimately gained no traction by the time the navy and orange increased their advantage to three, doing so on a base-hit from Nate Self in the top of the 4^th to bring home second-baseman Alec Beaman. Beaman had been elsewhere in the infield over the past three games while regular starting shortstop Casey Harford recovered from injury, returning to the fold on Friday as the cleanup hitter.

Smith and catcher Chance Merithew accounted for the rest of the Skyhawks' hit count in the one-sided affair, while Beaman and Culumovic finished the afternoon at 4/6 combined with the bat in their hands. Additionally, Smith, Culumovic, Beaman, and leftfielder Benny DeTrude made life even tougher on the Bears by each stealing a base with no mishaps.

Fetner's lights-out execution gave the JUCO transfer his third straight individual win for a 3-1 total, going the distance for the first time in a Skyhawk uniform to aid UTM to their first victory in Conway since 2002.

Staying in Arkansas but with a neutral tab up next, UT Martin prepares to face off with Creighton tomorrow afternoon for the fourth occasion in school history. The Bluejays – not originally a part of the Skyhawks' weekend plans until joining the foray to make up for canceled events due to weather – will meet UTM for the first time since 2008 on Saturday at 12:00 noon.

Entering the non-conference outing at 5-6 overall after also defeating Central Arkansas on Thursday by a 10-3 cushion, the Bluejays will take on the Skyhawks on the neutral field before UT Martin turns their attention back to the Bears to finish off the weekend a day later.