MOREHEAD, Ky.– The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team battled but fell late to Morehead State in Game 2 of its weekend series.
Zac Rice went 2-for-3 with a home run and a double, also drawing a walk while scoring twice. Alec Beaman also hit his first homer of the season while Andrew Fernandez (one hit, two walks) reached base safely three times to guide the Skyhawk offense.
Eric Steensma (3-6) went seven innings on the bump, scattering six hits with no walks allowed. Tucker Reed threw the final inning out of the bullpen for UT Martin (18-29, 10-10 Ohio Valley Conference).
Morehead State (28-19, 12-8 OVC) got on the board in the bottom of the first on an RBI single but Steensma landed a 1-2-3 inning in the second, needing just seven pitches to force three straight groundouts.
The Skyhawks took their first lead of the game when Beaman and Rice each went yard in the top of the third. The Eagles eventually tied the game up on sacrifice fly in the bottom part of the frame.
Steensma worked another quick inning in the fourth, using only eight pitches to keep the game knotted at 2-all.
UT Martin reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth after a successful double steal by Rice (reached on a walk) and Fernandez (reached on a single). Rice swiped home while Fernandez claimed second base to give the Skyhawks a 3-2 edge.
Steensma continued to cruise through the Morehead State lineup with a perfect nine-pitch frame in the bottom of the fifth. The redshirt senior retired the first two batters of the sixth but the Eagles scored two quick runs to take a 4-3 lead through six full innings.
Steensma settled back in with a 1-2-3 frame for the seventh, using only eight pitches to get through the inning. Morehead State was able to add two runs in the bottom of the eighth before Reed stranded a pair of runners to give UT Martin a shot in the ninth.
Garner Anderson ripped a pinch-hit single to lead off the top of the ninth, bringing the tying run to the on-deck circle. However, the Eagles were able to escape with the win.
The two schools will wrap up the series tomorrow at noon CT on ESPN+.
