MARTIN, Tenn.– The bats came alive for the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team this evening as the Skyhawks showed resiliency down the stretch in their 15-10 Ohio Valley Conference triumph over Southern Indiana.
Blaze Bell went 3-for-4 with a career-best six RBI’s, smashing a three-run home run and a two-out, bases-loaded double in the top of the ninth to provide UT Martin (14-23, 6-7 OVC) plenty of insurance runs. Andrew Fernandez enjoyed a four-hit night with three runs scored and an RBI while Will Smith tallied a triple with the bases loaded in the sixth. Cameron Brady recorded a multi-hit game (two hits) and scored twice while Jalen Fithian blasted a two-run homer for the Skyhawks, who had 13 hits and drew eight walks.
Starting pitcher Tristan Walton (4-4) won his second straight decision after five innings of work with five strikeouts. Baylor Jones (two innings pitched) and Zach Wager (0.2 innings) combined for five strikeouts out of the bullpen while Tucker Reed needed just eight pitches to toss a perfect bottom of the ninth.
UT Martin struck early as Bell cranked a 3-1 offering over the wall in left center to give the Skyhawks an early 3-0 lead in the first.
The offense continued to pour on when Fithian drove his second homer of the season in the second, extending UT Martin’s lead out to 5-0.
At one point, Walton struck out three Screaming Eagles (15-23, 5-8 OVC) in a four-batter span in the first two scoreless innings. Southern Indiana got on the scoreboard with two runs in the bottom of the third although an outfield assist from Will Smith cut down another potential run at the plate to end the frame.
The Screaming Eagles scored twice in the fourth before Walton got the final two outs of the frame with the bases loaded. The senior lefty then induced an inning-ending 6-3 groundball double play to keep Southern Indiana scoreless in the fifth, his final inning of work.
Needing some momentum in the top of the sixth, the Skyhawks put up five runs. Will Smith cleared the bases with a three-run triple and was followed by RBI singles from Fernandez and Cole Smith to make it a 10-4 ballgame.
Jones entered in relief for the sixth and threw a scoreless inning while fanning two batters. A pair of errors led to a UT Martin run in the top of the seventh before Jones began the bottom half with another strikeout. However, the Screaming Eagles scratched across a run with two outs to make the score 11-5.
Southern Indiana recorded five runs in the bottom of the eighth before Wager stepped up with a clutch performance. Entering mid-inning with the tying run aboard the basepaths, the sophomore lefty accounted for an inning-ending strikeout to erase any potential threat and preserve the Skyhawk advantage at 11-10.
Bell came up with his second big hit of the evening in the top of the ninth. After Brady (single), Will Smith (intentional walk) and Fernandez (walk) loaded up the bases with two outs, Bell jumped all over a 1-0 fastball for a line drive into the gap in left center, plating three in the process. Bell later scored to extend UT Martin’s lead out to 15-10.
Five runs were more than enough for Reed, who got three groundball outs in the ninth to snag Game 1 on the road for the Orange and Blue.
The Skyhawks will go for the series win tomorrow at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
