MARTIN, Tenn.– For the second straight game, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team used a flair for the dramatic as Cole Smith walked off Eastern Illinois to win Game 2 by a 15-14 margin, clinching its first Ohio Valley Conference series win of the season.
UT Martin (11-16, 3-2 OVC) bashed five home runs in the game with Zac Rice (3-for-5, four RBI’s) sending two out while Mac Danford (two RBI’s), Will Smith (three runs scored) and Cole Smith (3-4, one double, 3 RBI’s) each cranking one long ball.
Cole Smith sent the Skyhawks home a winner in the bottom of the ninth, lining a single into the gap in right center to plate Will Smith, capping off a comeback from a one-run deficit going into the bottom of the inning.
Eric Steensma started the game on the mound for UT Martin, fanning three batters over three innings. Campbell Cleveland would follow with a scoreless frame while Zach Wager (two innings), Baylor Jones (2.1 frames), Eli Martin and Kaleb Baskin (1-2, 0.2 innings) also made relief appearances during the third straight triumph for the Skyhawks.
The offenses were firing early as two Eastern Illinois runs in the first would quickly be answered by back-to-back jacks by Danford (two-run shot) and Cole Smith (solo homer) as UT Martin would take a 3-2 lead through one inning of play.
Steensma tossed a shutout frame in the second inning but the Panthers (5-18, 0-5 OVC) scored four runs with two outs in the third. Will Smith led off the home half of the inning with a smash to right field to pull the Skyhawks within two runs.
After Cleveland’s clean fourth, Rice lifted off for his first homer of the day in the bottom half for a two-run jack that tied the game at 6-all.
The Panthers took the lead right back in the fifth inning with a two-out RBI single but UT Martin exploded for six runs in its next at-bat. Cole Smith (double), Cameron Brady (two-run single), Rice (single) and Andrew Fernandez (two-run single) each collected RBI’s in the inning.
After Eastern Illinois snagged a run in the sixth, Jones kept the Panther bats quiet in the seventh – stranding the bases loaded. Rice then belted his second round-tripper of the game to extend the Skyhawk advantage out to 13-8.
Jones hurled a perfect frame in the eighth but Eastern Illinois rallied for six runs in the top of the ninth to briefly take a lead at 14-13. Facing an All-OVC first team closer from last season, UT Martin didn’t flinch. Alec Beaman reached on an error to lead off the frame before moving up 90 feet on a Rice sacrifice bunt. Beaman soon scampered home on back-to-back wild pitches to knot the score at 14-all. Will Smith then walked and stole second before the Panthers elected to intentionally walk Fernandez. Two batters later, Cole Smith delivered again with his third hit of the day and the third walk-off win of the season for the Skyhawks.
UT Martin will go for the sweep tomorrow at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ with live stats available.
