Friday, February 24
Martin, Tenn.
3 p.m.
UT Martin
3-4
2
vs
10
Valparaiso
2-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Valparaiso
3
1
1
0
0
3
2
0
0
10
17
0
UT Martin
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
6
0
CULUMOVIC AND SMITH REGISTER RBIS IN UT MARTIN HOME OPENER AGAINST VALPARAISO
2/24/2023 6:32:00 PM | Baseball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team opened the home portion of its 2023 schedule on Friday by playing host to Missouri Valley Conference foe Valparaiso on a chilly afternoon at Skyhawk Field before ultimately dropping Game 1 of the series by a final margin of 10-2.
The Skyhawks (3-4) saw six different players tally hits at the plate but could not overcome a high-powered offensive afternoon from the visiting Beacons. Valpo opened the contest with three runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back before eventually stringing together five scoring frames to steal the series opener.
UT Martin's offensive production came from a pair of veterans in Jack Culumovic and Will Smith who each tallied RBI's. Meanwhile, Andrew Fernandez, Blaze Bell, Mac Danford and Alec Beaman also scratched out base knocks.
On the bump, Tristan Walton (1-1) was hit with the loss after tossing five innings of work. Choyce Diffey tossed two innings of middle relief action while Baylor Jones was impressive in the final two innings, scattering three hits while allowing zero runs.
Gallery: (2-24-2023) Baseball vs. Valpo
Valparaiso (2-2) racked up 17 hits on the afternoon, led by a pair of three-hit afternoons from the tandem of Brady Renfro and Alex Ryan. Meanwhile, Kyle Schmack paced the team with three RBIs – including a two-run home run – while Nolan Tucker also cleared the yard with a two-run homer. On the mound, Griffin McCluskey picked up his first win of the season after striking out four and allowing one run in five innings of work
The Beacons got the game's scoring started in the opening inning of the contest as Schmack doubled to center field to plate the game's first run. Then back-to-back singles by Renfro and Skrine saw the visitors jump out to an early three-run advantage.
After Valpo added another run in the top of the second inning off an RBI-single by Renfro, the Skyhawks responded in the bottom half of the inning. Following a leadoff single to left center by Culumovic and a subsequent double by Bell, the Skyhawks had two runners in scoring position with no outs. Looking to get the home team on the board, Smith tallied UT Martin's first RBI of the season at Skyhawk Field with a single through the left side to score Culumovic on the play and bring the margin to 4-1.
Following a RBI by Ryan in the top of the third by Valpo, the scoring came to a halt until the sixth inning. The Beacons looked to put the game away in the sixth as Tucker connected on a two-run home run to right center before Skrine came through with another RBI single up the middle to stretch the squad's advantage out to seven runs. The Beacons then added their final runs of the contest on a two-run blast by Schmack in the top of the seventh.
The Skyhawks did get back on the board in the bottom of the eighth after Caleb Hobson led off the inning with a 10-pitch at bat which ultimately resulted in a walk. Later in the inning, Hobson would use his speed to move from first to third on a single to left center by Fernandez which set up Culumovic for a RBI opportunity that he cashed in with a sacrifice fly to right field to score the game's final run at 10-2.
UT Martin and Valparaiso will return to Skyhawk Field for Game 2 of the series on Saturday, Feb. 25 with first pitch slated for 3 p.m.
The Skyhawks (3-4) saw six different players tally hits at the plate but could not overcome a high-powered offensive afternoon from the visiting Beacons. Valpo opened the contest with three runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back before eventually stringing together five scoring frames to steal the series opener.
UT Martin's offensive production came from a pair of veterans in Jack Culumovic and Will Smith who each tallied RBI's. Meanwhile, Andrew Fernandez, Blaze Bell, Mac Danford and Alec Beaman also scratched out base knocks.
On the bump, Tristan Walton (1-1) was hit with the loss after tossing five innings of work. Choyce Diffey tossed two innings of middle relief action while Baylor Jones was impressive in the final two innings, scattering three hits while allowing zero runs.
Valparaiso (2-2) racked up 17 hits on the afternoon, led by a pair of three-hit afternoons from the tandem of Brady Renfro and Alex Ryan. Meanwhile, Kyle Schmack paced the team with three RBIs – including a two-run home run – while Nolan Tucker also cleared the yard with a two-run homer. On the mound, Griffin McCluskey picked up his first win of the season after striking out four and allowing one run in five innings of work
The Beacons got the game's scoring started in the opening inning of the contest as Schmack doubled to center field to plate the game's first run. Then back-to-back singles by Renfro and Skrine saw the visitors jump out to an early three-run advantage.
After Valpo added another run in the top of the second inning off an RBI-single by Renfro, the Skyhawks responded in the bottom half of the inning. Following a leadoff single to left center by Culumovic and a subsequent double by Bell, the Skyhawks had two runners in scoring position with no outs. Looking to get the home team on the board, Smith tallied UT Martin's first RBI of the season at Skyhawk Field with a single through the left side to score Culumovic on the play and bring the margin to 4-1.
Following a RBI by Ryan in the top of the third by Valpo, the scoring came to a halt until the sixth inning. The Beacons looked to put the game away in the sixth as Tucker connected on a two-run home run to right center before Skrine came through with another RBI single up the middle to stretch the squad's advantage out to seven runs. The Beacons then added their final runs of the contest on a two-run blast by Schmack in the top of the seventh.
The Skyhawks did get back on the board in the bottom of the eighth after Caleb Hobson led off the inning with a 10-pitch at bat which ultimately resulted in a walk. Later in the inning, Hobson would use his speed to move from first to third on a single to left center by Fernandez which set up Culumovic for a RBI opportunity that he cashed in with a sacrifice fly to right field to score the game's final run at 10-2.
UT Martin and Valparaiso will return to Skyhawk Field for Game 2 of the series on Saturday, Feb. 25 with first pitch slated for 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McCluskey, Griffin (1-1)
L: Walton, Tristan (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Hannahs, Kaleb 1 ; Schmack, Kyle 1
HR: Tucker, Nolan 1 ; Schmack, Kyle 1
RBI: Tucker, Nolan 2 ; Schmack, Kyle 3 ; Renfro, Brady 2 ; Skrine, Jake 2 ; Ryan, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hannahs, Kaleb 4 ; Tucker, Nolan 1 ; Schmack, Kyle 3 ; Renfro, Brady 1 ; Thurston, Alex 1
SB: Schmack, Kyle 1 ; Skrine, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Bell, Blaze 1 ; Danford, Mac 1
RBI: Culumovic, Jack 1 ; Smith, Will 1
SF: Culumovic, Jack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hobson, Caleb 1 ; Culumovic, Jack 1
CS: Bell, Blaze 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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C/UTIL
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RHP
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OF
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RHP
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LHP
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