MARTIN, Tenn. – After dropping the series opener by a 4-0 margin, the University of Tennessee at Martin softball team rallied in the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader and snapped Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri’s 10-game conference winning streak with a 3-1 victory.
The Skyhawks improved to 29-21 on the season while boasting a 14-12 record in OVC action. UT Martin struggled to find much offensive rhythm in the first game of the series before fighting back to score three unanswered runs in the second half of the twinbill and split the opening day of the three-game set.
Pitching was strong for the Skyhawks on the afternoon with Brooklynn Linneman picking up her ninth win of the season behind a dominant pitching performance. While already ranking as the OVC’s top pitcher in terms of ERA, she lowered her number with zero earned runs in seven innings of work. Meanwhile, Kiersten Nixon was also impressive in relief in the series opener, allowing just two hits in three scoreless frames.
Senior Anna Blanton had a nice day as she was one of seven Skyhawks to earn their bachelor’s degree at the morning’s graduation ceremony before rattling off a pair of base hits in the middle game of the series. Along with Blanton’s game-tying single in Game 2, Alli Robinson and Nixon also drove in runs for the home squad.
Game 49: Southeast Missouri 3, UT Martin 0
Southeast Missouri (25-23, 19-7 OVC) looked to keep its championship hopes alive in the series opener by jumping out to an early advantage. Just four batters into the game, designated player Kate Sackett turned on a pitch and launched it over the right field wall to give SEMO a three-run advantage.
The Redhawks then added to their margin with another home run padding their lead as Marissa Peek launched a solo home run to left field to make it a 4-0 contest.
UT Martin had runners on base down the stretch, but could not figured out Paytience Holman who improved to 14-8 on the season behind a shutout performance.
Game 50: UT Martin 3, Southeast Missouri 1
Both teams were locked in a scoreless tie until SEMO jumped out in front with a run in the fourth inning. After being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Paige Halliwill stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. Stationed 60 feet down the line, Halliwill later came home to score when a failed pickoff attempt by the catcher deflected off the SEMO batter and squirted away, allowing the go-ahead runner to score from third.
The Skyhawks found the game’s equalizer in the fifth inning when Robinson reached on a dropped fly ball before being relieved by pinch runner Kyla Harley. Following a pitching change, Kyrsten Brown moved the runner over to third with a bunt single before Blanton laid down a bunt single of her own to score the game-tying run.
The defensive wheels fell off for the Redhawks in the sixth inning and the Skyhawks capitalized. Back-to-back fielding errors keyed a big frame for the home squad as Robinson and Nixon later both drove in a pair of runs with balls that never left the infield to take a 3-1 advantage.
With their first lead in hand of the day, the Skyhawks leaned on Linneman to finish what she started and did just that with a 1-2-3 inning to close out the victory.
UT Martin and Southeast Missouri will meet in the rubber match of the series on Sunday, May 5. Potential weather concerns have moved up first pitch by an hour as action on ESPN+ will get underway at noon.
