MARTIN, Tenn.– The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team made a strong push late but fell to Southern Indiana, 4-2 in Game 2 of the weekend series.
Will Smith went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI while Jalen Fithian (one RBI), Mac Danford (one run scored) and Zac Rice (one run scored) each contributed to the Skyhawks offensively.
On the mound, Eric Steensma (2-5) went seven innings, allowing just four hits with no walks but was charged with the tough-luck loss. Zach Wager pitched a scoreless frame out of the bullpen to wrap up the contest for UT Martin (14-24, 6-8 Ohio Valley Conference).
Steensma started the day in a groove, retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced. However, he faced trouble with two outs in the third inning as the Screaming Eagles (16-23, 6-8 OVC) tallied four runs for their only scoring frame of the day.
Steensma responded extremely well, not allowing another hit until there was one out in the seventh inning. The righty from Western Springs, Ill. was perfect in the fourth, needed just 10 pitches to breeze through the fifth and retired the side in order on eight pitches in the sixth.
Meanwhile, the Skyhawks got on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth. Rice singled with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two pitches later, he sped home on a Smith RBI single to make the score 4-1.
Danford, Alec Beaman and Fithian each had singles in the top of the seventh with the latter picking up an RBI to make the score 4-2. In his final inning of work, Steensma got an unconventional inning-ending 8-3 double play as a Rice outfield assist erased a harmless one-out single.
Smith led off the eighth with a double and got 90 feet away from scoring but the Eagles kept their two-run lead. Wager entered in the home half and produced two flyouts and a punchout to put a fifth consecutive zero on the board.
However, UT Martin couldn’t bring the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth.
The Skyhawks will focus now on the rubber match tomorrow at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
