Saturday, April 1
Martin, Tenn.
1 p.m.
UT Martin
vs
SIUE
Photo by: UT Martin Sports Information
UT MARTIN BASEBALL HOSTS OVC RIVAL SIUE THIS WEEKEND FOR FIRST TIME IN FIVE YEARS
3/31/2023 10:53:00 AM | Baseball
MARTIN, Tenn. – Ohio Valley Conference play continues for the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team this weekend as the Skyhawks play host to the SIUE Cougars on Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2. The two sides will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. while Sunday's finale will occur at 1 p.m.
This marks the third straight UT Martin opponent from the state of Illinois. Because of a scheduling quirk and a flipped league schedule, this weekend also marks SIUE's first visit to Skyhawk Field since 2018. UT Martin is 10-6 all-time against the Cougars at home and have won or split five of the six series held at Skyhawk Field in the series history.
The OVC leader in hits with 210 is UT Martin (7-19, 2-1 OVC), who started league play last weekend by taking two out of three against Eastern Illinois. In that series, the Skyhawk offense produced a slash line of .340/.405/.585 – by far the best numbers in all three categories of any OVC team during the league's opening weekend. UT Martin also tops all schools in runs scored (25), hits (36), doubles (10) and RBI's (21) in conference play.
Hunter McLean (.455 batting average, team-best .909 slugging percentage), Andrew Fernandez (OVC Player of the Week after hitting .400 while slugging .733), Caleb Hobson (.385 batting average) and Will Smith (.333 batting average) each drove in four runs apiece while starting all three games in the OVC-opening series win over Eastern Illinois.
On the mound, the bullpen trio of Tristan Walton (save), J. Henry Hobson (save) and Tucker Reed combined for a 0.00 ERA while allowing just four hits with 10 strikeouts against one walk over nine innings against Eastern Illinois. Starting pitchers Seth Petry and Eric Steensma both earned victories in the OVC-opening series.
Against SIUE, the Skyhawks will keep the same probable starting pitching rotation of senior righty Petry (2-2, 4.28 ERA) in the series opener, senior right-hander Jordan Armstrong (1-3, 7.26) in the middle game and redshirt junior righty Steensma (1-1, 5.70) in the finale.
The Cougars (15-8, 1-2 OVC) lead the OVC in wins, winning percentage (.652), doubles (48), stolen bases (35), and fielding percentage (.978). SIUE slugged a league-best five home runs last weekend in their OVC-opening set against Southeast Missouri at home, taking one game off the defending league champions in a tight series. Avery Owusu-Asiedu hit .455 against the Redhawks while Preseason All-OVC honoree Brennan Orf and Kyle Ratliff each launched a pair of homers. On the mound, freshman lefty Garrett Helsel earned the Cougars' lone win out of the bullpen, not allowing a hit over 3.2 shutout innings in two appearances during the series.
Senior right-hander Jake Bockenstedt (2-1, 3.41 ERA, OVC-best 39 strikeouts) is scheduled to start the series opener on the mound for SIUE and will likely be followed by junior righty Teague Conrad (3-0, 5.47) in Game 2. A starter has not been announced for the series finale. Zeus Ponder is responsible for one win and an OVC-best five saves in a team-high 10 appearances for the Cougars.
All three games of the series will be streamed on either ESPN+ or ESPN3. Those links, in addition to a link for live stats, can be found above.
This marks the third straight UT Martin opponent from the state of Illinois. Because of a scheduling quirk and a flipped league schedule, this weekend also marks SIUE's first visit to Skyhawk Field since 2018. UT Martin is 10-6 all-time against the Cougars at home and have won or split five of the six series held at Skyhawk Field in the series history.
The OVC leader in hits with 210 is UT Martin (7-19, 2-1 OVC), who started league play last weekend by taking two out of three against Eastern Illinois. In that series, the Skyhawk offense produced a slash line of .340/.405/.585 – by far the best numbers in all three categories of any OVC team during the league's opening weekend. UT Martin also tops all schools in runs scored (25), hits (36), doubles (10) and RBI's (21) in conference play.
Hunter McLean (.455 batting average, team-best .909 slugging percentage), Andrew Fernandez (OVC Player of the Week after hitting .400 while slugging .733), Caleb Hobson (.385 batting average) and Will Smith (.333 batting average) each drove in four runs apiece while starting all three games in the OVC-opening series win over Eastern Illinois.
On the mound, the bullpen trio of Tristan Walton (save), J. Henry Hobson (save) and Tucker Reed combined for a 0.00 ERA while allowing just four hits with 10 strikeouts against one walk over nine innings against Eastern Illinois. Starting pitchers Seth Petry and Eric Steensma both earned victories in the OVC-opening series.
Against SIUE, the Skyhawks will keep the same probable starting pitching rotation of senior righty Petry (2-2, 4.28 ERA) in the series opener, senior right-hander Jordan Armstrong (1-3, 7.26) in the middle game and redshirt junior righty Steensma (1-1, 5.70) in the finale.
The Cougars (15-8, 1-2 OVC) lead the OVC in wins, winning percentage (.652), doubles (48), stolen bases (35), and fielding percentage (.978). SIUE slugged a league-best five home runs last weekend in their OVC-opening set against Southeast Missouri at home, taking one game off the defending league champions in a tight series. Avery Owusu-Asiedu hit .455 against the Redhawks while Preseason All-OVC honoree Brennan Orf and Kyle Ratliff each launched a pair of homers. On the mound, freshman lefty Garrett Helsel earned the Cougars' lone win out of the bullpen, not allowing a hit over 3.2 shutout innings in two appearances during the series.
Senior right-hander Jake Bockenstedt (2-1, 3.41 ERA, OVC-best 39 strikeouts) is scheduled to start the series opener on the mound for SIUE and will likely be followed by junior righty Teague Conrad (3-0, 5.47) in Game 2. A starter has not been announced for the series finale. Zeus Ponder is responsible for one win and an OVC-best five saves in a team-high 10 appearances for the Cougars.
All three games of the series will be streamed on either ESPN+ or ESPN3. Those links, in addition to a link for live stats, can be found above.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballSkyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 33
Monday, April 21
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 31
Thursday, April 10
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 30
Thursday, April 10
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 29
Thursday, April 10