Friday, March 7
Martin, Tenn.
3 p.m.
UT Martin
vs
Samford
Skyhawks Welcome Samford For Home Opening Weekend
3/6/2025 12:31:00 PM | Baseball
MARTIN, Tenn.- The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team will make its long-awaited home debut when it hosts Samford for three games this weekend at Skyhawk Field. Game 1 is set for Friday, March 7 at 3 p.m. with Game 2 on Saturday, March 8 at 3 p.m. and Game 3 will wrap things up on Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m.
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UT Martin (5-6) has been off to a hot start offensively, ranking first in the Ohio Valley Conference in steals (32), triples (six), and slugging percentage (.464) while placing among the league leaders in batting average (.297, second), home runs (11, second), RBIs (76, third) and on-base percentage (.392, third).
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Newcomer TJ Grines tops the OVC in hits (17) and stolen bases (13) while his .415 batting average (third) and .732 slugging percentage (fifth) also rank amongst the league leaders. Brody Capps ranks second in the conference for most home runs (four) and leads the team in RBIs with 14. Jalen Fithian has smacked a team-high four doubles while Tommy Koch has thrown out all five would-be base stealers to rank fourth in the OVC in that category.
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Drake Bayles has been sensational on the mound, sporting a 2.16 ERA (sixth in the OVC) with an opposing batting average of .217 (eighth in the OVC). Mason Shropshire has pitched three consecutive innings of no-hit ball with no runs allowed, no walks and two strikeouts out of the bullpen. Jacob Sitton has whiffed 10 batters this season with his best performance coming against Florida A&M on Feb. 15 (five innings pitched, eight strikeouts). In four appearances this year out of the bullpen, Austin Gast has yet to surrender a run through three innings.
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Samford (6-7) has won three of its last four games and is coming off a runner-up finish in the Southern Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs are led on the offensive side by Michael Gupton (team-high .364 average and 16 hits) while Cade Carr is sixth in the SoCon in RBI's (17). Pitcher Cameron Keshock holds a 2.57 ERA, which is seventh-best in the conference.
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The Skyhawks are expected to throw the junior righty Sitton (0-0, 4.00 ERA) on Friday, the right-handed junior Bayles (2-0) for Saturday and redshirt junior right-hander Quincy Thornton (0-1, 9.31 ERA) on Sunday. Samford's probable starters for the weekend are the senior southpaw Miller Riggins (1-1, 10.38 ERA) on Friday, redshirt sophomore righty Keshock (1-0) for Saturday and graduate righty Josh Leerssen for the series finale (0-1, 6.10 ERA).
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Live stats for all three games are available on the link above along with Sunday's ESPN+ broadcast.
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UT Martin (5-6) has been off to a hot start offensively, ranking first in the Ohio Valley Conference in steals (32), triples (six), and slugging percentage (.464) while placing among the league leaders in batting average (.297, second), home runs (11, second), RBIs (76, third) and on-base percentage (.392, third).
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Newcomer TJ Grines tops the OVC in hits (17) and stolen bases (13) while his .415 batting average (third) and .732 slugging percentage (fifth) also rank amongst the league leaders. Brody Capps ranks second in the conference for most home runs (four) and leads the team in RBIs with 14. Jalen Fithian has smacked a team-high four doubles while Tommy Koch has thrown out all five would-be base stealers to rank fourth in the OVC in that category.
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Drake Bayles has been sensational on the mound, sporting a 2.16 ERA (sixth in the OVC) with an opposing batting average of .217 (eighth in the OVC). Mason Shropshire has pitched three consecutive innings of no-hit ball with no runs allowed, no walks and two strikeouts out of the bullpen. Jacob Sitton has whiffed 10 batters this season with his best performance coming against Florida A&M on Feb. 15 (five innings pitched, eight strikeouts). In four appearances this year out of the bullpen, Austin Gast has yet to surrender a run through three innings.
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Samford (6-7) has won three of its last four games and is coming off a runner-up finish in the Southern Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs are led on the offensive side by Michael Gupton (team-high .364 average and 16 hits) while Cade Carr is sixth in the SoCon in RBI's (17). Pitcher Cameron Keshock holds a 2.57 ERA, which is seventh-best in the conference.
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The Skyhawks are expected to throw the junior righty Sitton (0-0, 4.00 ERA) on Friday, the right-handed junior Bayles (2-0) for Saturday and redshirt junior right-hander Quincy Thornton (0-1, 9.31 ERA) on Sunday. Samford's probable starters for the weekend are the senior southpaw Miller Riggins (1-1, 10.38 ERA) on Friday, redshirt sophomore righty Keshock (1-0) for Saturday and graduate righty Josh Leerssen for the series finale (0-1, 6.10 ERA).
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Live stats for all three games are available on the link above along with Sunday's ESPN+ broadcast.
Players Mentioned
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