MARTIN, Tenn.- University of Tennessee at Martin head baseball coach Ryan Jenkins has released the 56-game slate for the 2024 campaign which features 28 home contests.
The 28 home games are the most the Skyhawks have had since 2016 and it’s the first time in UT Martin’s NCAA Division I history that it will open up the year with six straight home games. Two new opponents (Northern Kentucky, Brown) are on tap along with 21 bouts against squads that finished with at least a .500 record last spring.
The seventh year of the Jenkins Era will begin on Feb. 16 against Northern Kentucky for a three-game series. The Skyhawks will then host the Brown Bears in a three-game set to close out the homestand before heading to Memphis for the first two road games of the season (Feb 27-28).
An in-state rivalry will be renewed on March 1 when UT Martin plays Middle Tennessee for the first time at Skyhawk Field. After three games with the Blue Raiders, it’ll be a four-game road trip to the Yellowhammer State for tilts against UAB (March 6) and North Alabama (March 8-10).
A single home game will take place on March 12 with Southern Illinois coming to town which is followed by a trip to in-state foe Belmont (March 13). A four-game homestand begins on March 15 against Illinois State and concludes with a single game against Alabama A&M (March 19).
Ohio Valley Conference play gets its start in the form of a three-game series at conference newcomer Western Illinois from March 22-24. The home-and-home series with Southern Illinois will close with a matchup in Carbondale on March 26.
The home conference opener has the Skyhawks welcoming in defending OVC Tournament champion Eastern Illinois on March 28-30. After a duel with the Panthers, its on to Columbia, Mo. on April 2-3 for the program’s first meeting with Missouri since 2004.
UT Martin will get right back to conference play with a bus ride to SIUE for a three-game set on April 5-7. Four games at Skyhawk Field will await the Orange and Blue with contests against Christian Brothers (April 9) and OVC foe Little Rock (April 12-14).
The next OVC series is on the road against Southern Indiana (April 19-21) and is followed by a brief one-game stop at defending SEC Tournament champion Vanderbilt on April 23.
April concludes with three home games against in-state rival Tennessee Tech (April 26-28) and the first half of a back-to-back home-and-home midweek set with Murray State (April 30). The Skyhawks head to Murray State the following day and will remain in the Bluegrass State for their next three contests, squaring off against defending OVC regular season champion Morehead State on May 3-5.
UT Martin heads to Alabama A&M on May 7 before hosting OVC rival Lindenwood for the first time ever on May 10-12. The regular season concludes on the road against Southeast Missouri (May 16-18) before the OVC Baseball Championship tournament takes place on May 22-25 in Marion, Ill.
