NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team continued its offensive onslaught en route to a series victory over Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State after posting a 10-5 win in Saturday’s rubber match.
The Skyhawks (19-14, 6-6 OVC) posted the team’s third series victory in four opportunities this weekend while featuring an offense which averaged 8.3 runs per game. For the series, UT Martin boasted a .340 batting average while tallying 10 extra base hits – including seven doubles – in addition to 25 runs scored.
Today’s contest saw another familiar name pace the Skyhawks offensively as senior Kaci Fuller recorded her 12th multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 afternoon while matching her previous career-high with five RBIs in the win. Fuller wasn’t the only big performer on the day however, as three other Skyhawks tallied a pair of base knocks as Kiersten Nixon, Maddi Long and Avry Blume also recorded two hits each while combining for three RBIs.
On the pitching side, Anna Hazlewood got the start and lasted two innings before being relieved after allowing two earned runs. Appearing in relief was Nixon (3-3) who was electric in the circle as she allowed just one hit in five shutout innings on the way to her third win of the season.
Tennessee State (16-16, 7-5 OVC) jumped out to an early advantage after an uncharacteristic defensive inning which saw a pair of Skyhawk errors. Both errors led to runs before as a sacrifice fly by Onnika Spencer, a single up the middle by Mikayla Duke and a double to left field from Alexis Woods gave the Tigers a quick four-run advantage.
While the visitors faced an early deficit, UT Martin quickly responded in the top of the second inning. A leadoff home run by Kiersten Nixon kicked off a three-run inning before a single up the middle by Fuller plated a pair of runs and cut the margin down to one run.
A sacrifice fly led to TSU’s fifth run of the game before the Skyhawks took control with a seven-run fifth inning. Back-to-back walks led to the Skyhawks fourth run as Katie Dreiling singled up the middle for the team’s fourth run before a single to left center by Long put UT Martin up by a one-score advantage. With the game’s first lead, the Skyhawks never looked back as they continued their big offensive frame with a RBI-single by Anna Blanton before a base-loaded triple from Fuller cleared the bases and broke the game open with the team’s 10th run.
UT Martin now shifts its focus to a big midweek matchup with the team traveling to Ole Miss for a doubleheader on Tuesday, Apr. 2 beginning at 3 p.m.
