DANFORD GOES DEEP TWICE AS SKYHAWK BASEBALL UPENDS ILLINOIS, 6-4

Friday, May 19

Champaign, Ill.

7 p.m.

UT Martin

22-32, 0

Illinois

24-25, 0

UT Martin

Illinois

DANFORD GOES DEEP TWICE AS SKYHAWK BASEBALL UPENDS ILLINOIS, 6-4

5/19/2023 11:13:00 PM | Baseball

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Junior third baseman Mac Danford cranked a pair of home runs this evening as the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad earned an impressive 6-4 triumph at Big Ten Conference foe Illinois.

Tonight's result marks the third consecutive season that the Skyhawks (22-32) have knocked off a Power 5 opponent, also defeating Alabama out of the Southeastern Conference each of the past two seasons.

Danford's two-homer performance was his second of the season as he also crushed a pair of dingers against Austin Peay on April 12. His second longball was his 10^th of the spring, tying him with Jack Culumovic for the team lead in that category.

Andrew Fernandez had two hits and scored a run while Hunter McLean reached base safely three times (including a program-record 19^th hit by pitch), drove in a run and scored once. Blaze Bell (run scored) and Slade Taylor (RBI) also helped guide UT Martin offensively.

The Skyhawks received several quality outings on the hill, beginning with three scoreless innings from J. Henry Hobson. The sophomore right-hander out of Fort Myers, Fla. made his first start since March 7 and allowed just two baserunners. Campbell Cleveland (2-4) was downright electric over his three frames, whiffing a career-best five batters while allowing only one hit on the way to the win. Zach Wager hurled the final three innings and came away with his fourth save of the 2023 campaign.

Just as it did last night, UT Martin got off to an early lead with plenty of offense in its first at-bat. After two quick outs, Will Smith singled and set up Danford for his first round tripper of the night. Bell then singled and after a Culumovic walk, McLean lined a single to center that plated Bell and made the score 3-0 in favor of the Skyhawks.

Hobson worked quickly in the bottom of the first, retiring the side in order on three groundouts. He then pitched around a leadoff single in the second to produce another zero on the scoreboard.

UT Martin tacked on another run with two outs in the top of the third. McLean worked a walk and moved up to second base on a wild pitch. Taylor followed with a clutch RBI single to push the Skyhawk advantage out to 4-0.

In his final inning of work, Hobson recorded two groundouts and a strikeout. UT Martin padded its lead with two more runs thanks to another blast from Danford. Fernandez singled to lead off the frame and four pitches later, Danford cranked his second home run of the game to extend the Skyhawk lead out to six runs.

Cleveland entered the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth as the Fighting Illini (24-25) had already gotten on the scoreboard with one run. Cleveland proceeded to blow the next three Illinois batters away, shoving for three consecutive strikeouts – winning an 11-pitch at-bat to end the frame.

Cleveland stayed in the zone in the fifth, striking out the first batter he faced before inducing a pair of groundouts. The Fighting Illini were able to load the bases in the sixth but Cleveland once again prevailed, posting a strikeout and flyout to end the frame unscathed.

Wager then notched the rare three-inning save, which included a three-up, three-down eighth inning sandwiched around key double plays turned in the seventh and ninth frames.

The series is on the line tomorrow as UT Martin and the Fighting Illini wrap up the 2023 regular season at 1 p.m.