MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin softball program pulled off a sweep of Day 2 at the 901 Classic Tournament, knocking off Jackson State (2-0) and Memphis (5-2) in convincing fashion.
The Skyhawks (10-8) rebounded from a marathon contest on Friday evening which went 11 innings by coming away with a sweep of both contests on Saturday. The day began with UT Martin pitching a shutout against Jackson State before jumping out early against host Memphis and never looking back.
Sophomore pitcher Ashtyn Green pitched a showstopper against Jackson State, recording her first collegiate shutout after striking out four and allowed zero runs in seven innings of work. Freshman Lindsay Kline also picked up her second win of the season after tossing 4.2 scoreless innings of relief.
On the offensive side of the ball, UT Martin had four players tally multi-hit days with Kennedy Brown, Alli Robinson and Kaci Fuller each recording three hits each. Maddi Long also had a multi-hit effort while seven players contributed RBIs in the wins.
Game 17: UT Martin 2, Jackson State 0
The first game of the day proved to be a pitcher’s duel until the Skyhawks finally got on the board in the fourth inning. Brown led off the bottom half of the inning with a single before swiping second to move into scoring position. She later came home to score when her sister, Kyrsten Brown, drove in the run with a fielder’s choice RBI.
The Skyhawks added to their margin in the fifth inning when a pair of singles by Fuller and Robinson led to a two-run advantage as an error off the bat of Katie Dreiling put UT Martin up by a 2-0 advantage.
Two runs would be plenty for Green as she allowed just one base runner in the final two frames and secured her first career shutout.
Game 18: UT Martin 5, Memphis 2
In a rematch of last night’s 11-inning affair, UT Martin jumped out to a quick three-run advantage through the first two innings and never looked back against Memphis. Fuller led off the game by reaching on an error before stealing second to move into scoring position. The speedster later stole third base and ultimately came all the way home to score with via a sacrifice fly by Long.
The Skyhawks then added two more runs in the second inning as Avry Blume led off the inning with a single before moving into scoring position with a bunt. Her stay on second would be short-lived as Anna Blanton tripled to clear the bases before coming home herself on a single up the middle from Fuller to give the squad a 3-0 advantage.
Memphis got on the board in the bottom of the second inning to cut in the visitors’ lead on a two-run single from Arianna Cox-Cole to trim the margin to 3-2.
The score remained the same until the fifth inning when the Skyhawks began to add some insurance to their margin. After starting the game at pitcher, Nixon helped the team’s cause by launching a solo home run to left field. The Skyhawks then added another run in the sixth inning as Robinson singled to left field to score Fuller and bring the score to 5-2 – the game’s final tally.
UT Martin concludes its stay in the tournament with a rematch against Jackson State on Sunday, March 3. First pitch from the Tiger Softball Complex is scheduled for 11 a.m.
