All 11 UTM position players who saw playing time today tallied at least one hit as the Skyhawk bats erupted for a 14-5 triumph at SIUE in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) baseball action.
UTM set season-highs in hits (21) and home runs (five) as five different Skyhawks went yard today. Will Smith (two hits, two RBI’s, two runs scored), Noah Thigpen (two hits, two runs scored), Ethan Whitley (three hits, three RBI’s, two runs scored), Christian Hall (three hits, two walks) and Wil LaFollette (three hits, three RBI’s, three runs scored) each pelted home runs as the Skyhawks improved to 11-16 overall and 4-5 in OVC play.
Nick Wohlbold (2-2) made his third start of the season today, earning the victory after allowing just two earned runs on five hits over five innings. The junior out of Columbia, Mo. walked only one batter and accumulated a career-high nine strikeouts – the most by any UTM pitcher so far in 2021. Seth Petry and David Hussey followed with two innings of shutout relief apiece, combining to allow just one hit over the final four innings of work.
Wohlbold’s pinpoint control was on full display early as he struck out the side in the bottom of the first inning. He retired the first two Cougars swinging while the final punchout was on a called third strike.
The Skyhawks put up a four-spot on the scoreboard in the top of the second. Hall singled through the right side to lead off the inning and quickly came around to score after Smith drove a blast to straightaway center field for his third homer of the season. Thigpen (walk) and Sean Dixson (single) then reached base with one away before Blake Daniels (single) and Casey Harford (fielder’s choice) each collected RBI’s.
All five of SIUE’s runs came in the second inning and were mostly aided by a pair of UTM errors early in the frame. Three of those runs wound up being unearned before Wohlbold wrapped up the inning with yet another strikeout.
Wohlbold kept the Cougars off balance in the third, adding two more strikeouts to his line after a scoreless inning.
The Skyhawks took the lead for good after a three-run fourth. Thigpen evened the score at 5-all after a solo homer to lead off the inning, cranking a 3-1 pitch over the wall in center for his first longball of the spring. The other two runs came with two outs as Harford singled and advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. LaFollette (single) and Whitley (double) followed with RBI base knocks to give UT Martin a 7-5 advantage.
Although the Skyhawks would tack on seven more runs, the two-run lead was plenty for Wohlbold to work with. He induced a 6-4-3 double play in the fourth inning and retired four straight batters to end his day – three of which occurred via strikeouts.
Three more runs were generated by the UTM offense in the top of the sixth. Nate Self singled to lead off the inning and eventually moved up to third base after a pair of wild pitches. LaFollette plated Self with an RBI single through the right side and on the next pitch, Whitley crushed the first pitch he saw for a round-tripper to centerfield. It marked the 24th career homer for the junior slugger out of Mason, Tenn., moving him into fourth place all-time in school history.
Petry entered the game with a 10-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth, working through a groundball double play and a strikeout. He produced another scoreless frame in the seventh, stranding a pair of runners in scoring position with an inning-ending groundout.
The Skyhawk lineup continued their offensive showcase in the eighth as Hall launched a solo homer for his team-best eighth jack of the season. Two pitches later, UTM collected another run after Smith doubled and Blake Davis drove him in on an RBI single.
LaFollette’s bat stayed hot in the ninth inning as the lefty went opposite field for his second home run of the series and seventh of the 2021 campaign. Davis extended the Skyhawk lead out to 14-5 with an RBI single that scored Whitley, who earlier reached on a single.
Hussey capped off UTM’s pitching excellence with quick eighth and ninth innings. During one stretch, three consecutive outs were recorded on strikeouts as the only hit he allowed was a harmless one-out single in the ninth.
For the first time in over a month, the Skyhawks will play in front of the home crowd as UTM opens a season-long four-game homestand next week. The Skyhawks host Southeast Missouri for a non-conference midweek contest at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13 before taking on Austin Peay for a three-game OVC series from April 16-17.
