Championship Central
Bracket
Tournament Notes
The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team will head north to the Ohio Valley Conference Softball Championship to be contested at Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Ill. beginning on Wednesday, May 8 through Saturday, May 11. Every game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
UT Martin enters the tournament field as the No. 5 seed and will play a win-or-go-home matchup against No. 8 seed SIUE in the opening round on Wednesday, May 8 at 12:30 p.m. The winner will advance to play No. 4 seed Southern Indiana later that afternoon at 5:30 p.m. while the loser’s season will come to a close.
The Skyhawks (30-21) earned the fifth seed in the OVC Softball Championship after posting a 15-12 record in league play. UT Martin finished the regular season by winning its final four conference series and ultimately picked up series victories over Southeast Missouri (No. 2 seed), Tennessee State (No. 3 seed), Lindenwood (No. 6 seed), Tennessee Tech (No. 7 seed), SIUE (No. 8 seed), Morehead State and Western Illinois.
UT Martin ranked amongst OVC leaders in several categories including ERA (2.45, first), shutouts (12, first), opponent batting average (.234, first), RBIs (211, second), hits (392, third), fielding percentage (.965, third) and stolen bases (65, third).
Senior Kaci Fuller enters the tournament field as a multi-time All-OVC selection while also being the only active player named to the OVC 75 Team last summer. Fuller has set a pair of substantial school records with her 246 career base hits and .384 career batting average. Meanwhile, senior pitcher Brooklynn Linneman ranks second in program single-season history with a 1.31 ERA through 22 appearances this season to lead the league.
This marks the 24th appearance in the event since the OVC Softball Championship’s conception in 1994. The Skyhawks have posted a 36-43 record in the tournament while winning league championships in 2009 and 2012.
