Martin, Tennessee – The University of Tennessee-Martin baseball team finished its home opener with Valparaiso by just one strike, but the Beacons tied the game in ninth and won in 10th.th In a 5 vs 4 Skyhawk retreat.
The top of the ninth was set by UT Martin’s own dramatic rally as the Skyhawks erased a 3-1 deficit after six innings to take a 4-3 lead into the top of the ninth. UT his Martin placed runners on the base pass both in the bottom of the 9th and he in the 10th.th The inning failed to win or extend the contest.
Will Smith and Mac Dunford Each made a multi-hit effort and ran for the Skyhawks (3-5). Blaze Bell He successfully got on base three times (doubled, walked two) and scored two runs. He batted for two holes, Caleb Hobson This is just one behind the school’s all-time record set in 1986 and the most since Josh Hauser stole three bases against Arkansas Pine Bluff on February 25, 2017.
starting on the mound Jordan Armstrong Although he allowed only two runs on one walk in six innings, it did not affect the decision. J. Henry Hobson and Colin Miller I didn’t allow an earned run over one inning.
It was a pitchers’ duel for most of the game, as Armstrong faced Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week, Conor Lockwood. The Beacons got on the scoreboard first with his one-run in his second, but Armstrong did a fine job of pitching out of a bases-loaded jam to limit his one-run damage.
Armstrong received some help from his defense soon afterward as a freshman at UT Martin Jackson Cook Before the Skyhawks keyed a 5-4-3 double play in the fourth, they caught a runner trying to steal second base in the third.
UT Martin evened things out with a 1-all in the bottom of the 4th. Hobson singled to lead the frame and stole second. 2 hitters after that, Jack Kurmovic Single in center for easy plating of Hobson.
Valparaiso scored once in the fifth, but Armstrong thwarted a potentially dangerous situation in the sixth. kept Valparaiso scoreless in the frame of the job.
After the Beacons surpassed an earned run in the seventh inning, the Skyhawks got one back in the bottom half. Bell, Cook, and Dunford all drew walks, and following Valparaiso’s pitching change, Alec Beeman He jumped on the first pitch he saw with an RBI single to cut UT Martin’s deficit to 3-2.
Miller silenced the Beacon Bats in the top of the eighth, dialing up two strikeouts and a groundout on just 12 balls. That set the stage for the Skyhawk’s big bottom half attack.
After two quick outs, Bell tore the left field line with a double and sprinted on a Smith RBI single. slade taylor It was followed by a single to force Valparaiso’s pitching change. When the score was tied at his 3-all, Dunford clubbed an opposite field single to score Smith and took the first lead of the day before UT frenzied his Martin dugout. fell into
campbell cleveland (0-1) came in and there was a 1-2 count in a potential third of the inning before Beacon Single drove in the game-tying run.
A speedy Hobson nearly gave the Skyhawks a walk-off win in the bottom half. He was issued a five-pitch walk, quickly stole both second and third base, and 90 feet off a potential winning run with one out, but UT his Martin failed to steal a single run from him. , the match went into extra time.
Valparaiso had two more RBIs in the top of the 10th.thThe Skyhawks put the tying run on base in the bottom half as Taylor was hit by a pitch and the pinch runner was replaced. Hunter McLeanUnfortunately, Beacon was able to escape with no damage to claim victory.
The third and final game in the series is scheduled for Sunday, February 26th at 1pm.
