HALFACRE’S SIXTH-INNING GRAND SLAM HELPS UTM PULL AWAY FROM NORTH ALABAMA IN FRIDAY OPENER

Friday, March 4

Florence, Ala.

5 p.m.

UT Martin

4-4

North Alabama

2-5

UT Martin

North Alabama

HALFACRE’S SIXTH-INNING GRAND SLAM HELPS UTM PULL AWAY FROM NORTH ALABAMA IN FRIDAY OPENER

3/4/2022 11:51:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score PDF BOX SCORE

FLORENCE, Ala. – Only 72 hours after booming a season-high four home runs in a win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team produced three more in the same state on Friday evening – only this time in Florence – emphatically defeating the North Alabama Lions 12-3 for UTM's second-straight road victory.

In the first of a three-game non-conference series, junior centerfielder Reid Halfacre planted the dagger with a grand slam in the top of the 6^th inning, sandwiched in between a three-RBI homer from sophomore Hunter McLean and another solo rocket by Will Smith to put the game even further out of reach. In total, the Skyhawks accumulated five extra-base hits in the blowout, while starting pitcher Rhett Fetner kept the Lions trailing far behind with an impressive seven-inning stint on the mound.

Only giving up a sole earned run on four hits and 27 batters faced, Fetner' third start resulted in the JUCO transfer's second individual win, striking out five batters while only walking a trio. Matt Dickey and Warren Lee tossed the final two periods while the Skyhawks shifted to cruise control in the wire-to-wire Game 1 W.

Filling in at the shortstop position for the first time in 2022, sophomore Alec Beaman was sensational on the offensive end, wrapping up the day with three hits in four at-bats, three runs, and a walk. Smith and Wil LaFollette added four more hits to the team's total of 11, where the latter picked up two more RBI.

Beaman's first run turned out to be the first score of the game for either team in the top of the 3^rd, sprinting home on a base-hit by LaFollette. Once UNA responded with a run of their own later that same frame, McLean's three-run laser in the 4^th began an 8-0 Skyhawk run that blew open the 1-1 tie.

The navy and orange avalanche had only just begun by the time Halfacre trotted to the plate in the 6^th, bringing McLean, Beaman, and designated hitter Houston Wright around the diamond for the Skyhawks' first grand slam of the semester. In the very next at-bat, Smith mirrored Halfacre's long-ball with his first HR of the year, ballooning the already-large lead to 9-1.

Following the fifth RBI of the day from UT Martin's lead-off hitter via sacrifice fly ball in the top of the 7^th, the Skyhawks were granted their final two runs of the contest off of North Alabama mishaps. A walk with the bases loaded and another wild pitch that scored Beaman accounted for the final chapters of the nine-run takedown.

After lobbing three homers throughout the first six games of the schedule, head coach Ryan Jenkins' unit has now gone yard 10 times collectively from nine different players. Producing 55 hits as a team along with ever-improving pitching, the Skyhawks have found a large incline of momentum awaiting tomorrow afternoon's halfway point in the series with the Lions.

Jacob Bradshaw was saddled with the loss as UNA's starting hurler on Friday, letting six runs get by in 26 batters. Altogether, seven different UTM performers registered at least one hit in the shellacking, paving the way for a 19-9 discrepancy on the scoreboard over the past two games.

Hoping to keep their bats hot for Game 2 on Saturday in Florence, UT Martin will toss sophomore Lawson Russell into the fray as the starter in the circle. North Alabama will look to counter with right-hander Will Haberstock on the mound as first pitch takes place at approximately 2:00 p.m. The event will be live-streamed via ESPN+.