TROY, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team concluded its stay at the Trojan Classic with a pair of contests, ultimately falling to North Alabama (2-1) and Troy (7-3).
The Skyhawks (1-3) dropped both contests on their final day of the tournament as they battled rainy conditions and a weather delay. Despite the sloppy conditions, freshman Kyla Harley tallied her first collegiate hits – going 2-for-3 with a run scored while senior Katie Dreiling paced the team with three hits in the two games.
Six pitchers saw action in the circle as Kiersten Nixon (0-1) and Brooklynn Linneman (0-1) were hit with losing decisions. The Skyhawks did have bright spots in relief as Jordyn Hustey and Ashtyn Green both tossed a pair of scoreless innings.
Game 3: North Alabama 2, UT Martin 1
The first game of the day came down to two big hits by Briley Dover for North Alabama. Dover gave the Lions an early lead after stroking a solo home run to left field in the top of the second inning. She then came through once again in the third inning, smacking a RBI-single to centerfield to give UNA a 2-0 lead.
Along with serving as the pitcher of record in the contest, Nixon helped her own cause in the bottom of the third frame as she poked a sacrifice fly out to center which scored Maddi Long and cut the Skyhawks deficit in half.
The Skyhawks had other scoring opportunities later in the game – stranding multiple base runners in fourth and fifth inning – but could not scratch across the game-tying run.
Game 4: Troy 7, UT Martin 3
In a rematch of yesterday’s matchup between UT Martin and Troy, it was the Skyhawks who jumped on the board first as Dreiling continued her hot play with a RBI single to center field to score Harley and take a 1-0 advantage.
Troy charged back in the bottom half of the frame with two runs of its own. A wild pitch brought the game-tying run across the plate before the Trojans took the lead with a RBI double from Taylor McKinney.
The home squad broke the game open with a five-run inning in the bottom of the fifth. An error led to one run before Thompson came through once again – this time with a two-run double – to push out the margin. The following at-bat put the game out of reach as pinch-hitter Cassidy Boltz drove in a pair with a single through the right side to go up 7-1.
UT Martin mounted a rally in the top of the sixth inning by putting two runs on the board. Kaci Fuller singled up the middle to score Hustey before Avry Blume brought in the team’s third run with a sacrifice fly to score Kyrsten Brown. Despite the two runs, the final margin would remain the same with the tournament hosts winning by four runs.
UT Martin returns to action next weekend when traveling to the Roar City Classic in Nashville, Tenn. from Feb. 16-17.
