SKYHAWK SOFTBALL CLOSES OUT THE SPRING GAMES WITH 7-4 WIN OVER SIENA

Sunday, February 26

Madeira Beach, Fla.

9 am

UT Martin

3-7

Siena College

7-2

UT Martin

Siena

SKYHAWK SOFTBALL CLOSES OUT THE SPRING GAMES WITH 7-4 WIN OVER SIENA

2/26/2023 5:28:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Game 10: PDF

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team capped off its stay at The Spring Games with a wire-to-wire victory over Siena by racking up 17 base hits on the way to a 7-4 neutral site win.

The Skyhawks (3-7) finished the tournament with back-to-back wins after jumping out to a lead in the first inning and never looking back. Seven players tallied multi-hit efforts in the tournament finale with Kiersten Nixon leading the way with a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Joining Nixon in the hit parade was Kaci Fuller, Annie Gutierrez, Maddi Long, Kallie Pickens, Kaitlyn Kelley and Anna Hazlewood with two hits each.

While the hits were coming in bunches, UT Martin put seven runs on the board. Long paced the team with two RBIs on the day while Avry Blume, Nixon, Gutierrez and Hazlewood also drove in runs.

In the pitching circle, Nixon got the start and allowed one earned run in two innings of work. Katie Dreiling (2-2) entered in relief and earned the victory after tossing 4.1 innings. Freshman Ashtyn Green also got the call out of the pen and came in to get her first career save.

The scoring got started in the top of the first inning when Nixon and Gutierrez tallied back-to-back two-out singles to mount a rally. Long then got the Skyhawks on the board with a single to score Nixon and take an early advantage.

The Skyhawks then added to their lead in the top of the third inning as the bases became loaded by a walk and two singles. With a prime opportunity at hand, Hazlewood came through with a RBI single while Pickens scampered home to score the inning's second run on a throwing error to give the squad a 3-0 cushion.

Siena (7-2) looked to mount a comeback in the bottom half of the third inning with a pair of runs. The Saints scored their first run on a five-pitch walk to Angelina Stile before Shannon Bonewit cut the margin down to one run on a sacrifice fly.

The margin would stay the same until the top of the sixth inning when UT Martin added some breathing room with two RBIs. Fuller scored the team's first run of the inning on a RBI single by Gutierrez before pinch runner Anna Blanton later scored from second on a single by Long to push the margin out to 5-2.

The Saints wouldn't go quietly however as McKenzie Swinson trimmed the deficit back to two runs on a RBI-double in the bottom of the sixth.

The Skyhawks got back to work in the top of the seventh as Blume and Nixon tallied back-to-back RBI singles to take a four-run lead into the bottom of the seventh.

Needing just three outs for a victory, the Skyhawks gave up a quick run to the Saints following back-to-back walks and a RBI-double by Stile bring the score to 7-4. With still two runners on and one out on the board, Green entered the game and made quick work off Siena by forcing a double-play to end the game and record her first career save.

UT Martin returns to action on Friday, March 3 when opening a four-game tournament at the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale, Ill.