UT Martin
19-29, 11-10
Morehead State
28-20, 12-9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UT Martin | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 28 | 2 |
| Morehead State | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 18 | 1 |
SCHOOL RECORDS FALL IN UT MARTIN BASEBALL’S OVC ROAD VICTORY AT MOREHEAD STATE
5/5/2024 10:04:00 PM | Baseball
UT Martin equaled its record for most hits in a single game with 28 base knocks, which was previously set back on March 27, 2003 against Berea College. A dozen of those hits came in an offensive barrage during the fifth inning alone, setting the program record for most hits in a frame in school history (previous record was 11 at Lindenwood last season). A total of 11 runs came across for the Skyhawks in the fifth, tying the school record for the most runs in an inning (also scoring 11 runs in one frame at Arkansas State on Feb. 27, 2021 and against Chicago State on Feb. 28, 1997).
All in all, UT Martin (19-29, 11-10 Ohio Valley Conference) had multi-hit games from nine players and at least three hits from each of the first six batters in its lineup. Jalen Fithian led the team by going 5-for-7 with a home run and four runs scored. Andrew Fernandez (home run, three RBI's, three runs scored) and Will Smith (three runs scored, two RBI's) both smacked four hits apiece while the trio of Zac Rice (four RBI's, three runs scored), Mac Danford (three RBI's, three runs scored) and Blaze Bell (three RBI's, two runs scored) each homered as part of three-hit days. Cameron Brady, Alec Beaman and Garner Anderson also went for multi-hit performances today as the Skyhawk offense hit an even .500 (28-for-56).
Five UT Martin hurlers saw time on the mound today as Jeb Bartle (three strikeouts in three innings), Choyce Diffey (one strikeout over 1.1 frames) and Tucker Reed (five strikeouts in 4.2 innings) combined to whiff nine batters over the first nine frames. Brock Arender (2-2) picked up the win while Zach Wager locked down his first save of the 2024 campaign.
The Skyhawks struck early and often, scoring twice in the top of the first courtesy of a Fernandez RBI single and a Danford sacrifice fly. Bartle struck out the first two batters he faced before tossing a zero on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first.
Morehead State (28-20, 12-9 OVC) claimed their first lead in the ballgame with six runs in the bottom of the second. UT Martin closed to within one run after a two-run Smith double and Fernandez scoring on a double play in the top of the third, making the score 6-5 in favor of the Eagles.
After Morehead State scored twice in the third, a Beaman double set up a Rice sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth. Diffey entered in the bottom half and worked a perfect inning, getting two groundouts and a strikeout to set the stage for the Skyhawks' historic top of the fifth.
UT Martin sent 15 batters to the plate in the fifth, which began with four consecutive hits. Rice delivered a big blow with a three-run jack before Fithian went back-to-back with a homer of his own in the next at-bat. Overall, all nine Skyhawk batters hit safely in the inning while the trio of Smith, Danford and Bell each had two hits in the top of the fifth alone.
After UT Martin raced out to a 17-8 advantage, the Eagles scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to get back in the ballgame.
Reed entered the contest in the middle of the fifth and soon retired 10 of 11 batters at one point, silencing the Morehead State bats. After stranding a pair of runners in the fifth with a strikeout and fielder's choice groundout, the senior righty from Athens, Ala. induced three groundouts in a perfect sixth. He struck out the first two batters of the seventh in another scoreless frame in the seventh. The Eagles got one run with two away in the eighth but the Skyhawks still held a 17-16 lead going into the top of the ninth.
Fernandez added some crucial insurance runs by way of a two-run blast down the right-field line to extend UT Martin's lead to three runs with three outs to go. However, Morehead State rallied to force extra innings.
Arender took over in the 10th and was very effective, extending the game with a shutout inning after Rice fired an outfield assist nabbing a baserunner trying to advance to third base for the final out of the frame.
In the top of the 11th, Smith fought off a single to left field before Danford (opposite field) and Bell (straightaway center) went back-to-back for the Skyhawks' fourth and fifth round-trippers of the day.
After the potential tying run was brought to the plate in the bottom of the 11th, Wager was summoned from the bullpen. The sophomore lefty was nails en route to his fifth career save, getting a foulout and a clutch 4-6-3 double play to clinch UT Martin's first win at Morehead State since the 2016 season.
The Skyhawks will get set for Senior Weekend as they host OVC foe Lindenwood in the final home series of the season, running Friday, May 10 through Sunday, May 12.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Arender, Brock (2-2)
L: GRIMMETT, Will (2-2)
S: Wager, Zach (1)
Batting:
2B: Smith, Will 1 ; Danford, Mac 1 ; Beaman, Alec 2
HR: Rice, Zac 1 ; Fithian, Jalen 1 ; Fernandez, Andrew 1 ; Danford, Mac 1 ; Bell, Blaze 1
RBI: Rice, Zac 4 ; Fithian, Jalen 1 ; Fernandez, Andrew 3 ; Smith, Will 2 ; Danford, Mac 3 ; Bell, Blaze 3 ; Anderson, Garner 1 ; Brady, Cameron 2 ; Beaman, Alec 1
SF: Rice, Zac 1 ; Danford, Mac 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rice, Zac 3 ; Fithian, Jalen 4 ; Fernandez, Andrew 3 ; Smith, Will 3 ; Danford, Mac 3 ; Bell, Blaze 2 ; Anderson, Garner 1 ; Brady, Cameron 1 ; Beaman, Alec 2
CS: Smith, Will 1 ; Anderson, Garner 1
HBP: Danford, Mac 1 ; Beaman, Alec 1
Batting:
2B: BECKER, Colton 1 ; GOODEN, Nick 3 ; GRABOSCH, Ryan 1
HR: PREECE, Ryley 1 ; KUNTZ, Roman 2 ; CASTLEMAN, Logan 1 ; ROBBINS, Hayden 1
RBI: PREECE, Ryley 4 ; GOODEN, Nick 3 ; KUNTZ, Roman 5 ; GUZMAN, Isaias 1 ; THOMAS, Hunter 1 ; GRABOSCH, Ryan 1 ; CASTLEMAN, Logan 1 ; ROBBINS, Hayden 4
SF: PREECE, Ryley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: PREECE, Ryley 2 ; BECKER, Colton 1 ; GOODEN, Nick 4 ; KUNTZ, Roman 2 ; GUZMAN, Isaias 1 ; THOMAS, Hunter 2 ; GRABOSCH, Ryan 2 ; CASTLEMAN, Logan 3 ; ROBBINS, Hayden 3
SB: BECKER, Colton 1 ; CASTLEMAN, Logan 1
HBP: GOODEN, Nick 1 ; KUNTZ, Roman 1 ; THOMAS, Hunter 1 ; CASTLEMAN, Logan 1