The Belmont Bruins stood strong against the Skyhawks, holding UTM winless in a three-game series spanning from March 15-17 in Martin.
The Skyhawks had a rough first game against their conference foe, as UTM fell by a score of 11-1 on March 15.
Sophomore third baseman Blake Daniels scored UTM’s only point off of an error shortly after stealing third base, thus avoiding a shutout.
Sophomore catcher Blake Davis had UTM’s only hit of the game.
Junior pitcher Winston Cannon, who was credited with the loss, dropped to 1-4 following the crushing defeat. Winston pitched for 5 innings and allowed 5 runs off of 7 hits.
Junior pitcher Jeffrey O’Doherty, who pitched for one inning, also allowed 5 runs.
UTM and Belmont were neck-and-neck on the scoreboard up until the fourth inning, when Belmont outfielder Devon Gardener hit a double, allowing teammates Grayson Taylor and Chandler Adkins to score.
UTM managed to score in the fourth inning, bringing the score to a manageable 3-1 deficit. However, UTM wouldn’t be able to recover and dropped to 2-2 in OVC play.
The Skyhawks came back out with a vengeance the next day, bringing the Bruins to a 10th inning. Sadly for UTM, the Belmonts would triumph 2-5 at the end of the day.
The Skyhawks would get on the board first this time following a Davis RBI that allowed sophomore shortstop Casey Harford to bring it home.
The game would remain a 1-0 nothing contest until the sixth inning, where Belmont and UTM would both score one point each and keep the game at one point advantage in UTM’s favor.
Belmont outfielder Hagan Severance kept Belmont’s victory hopes intact, scoring off of an error in the eighth inning.
Belmont would secure a close win after 2 RBI’s by infielders Zach Ehrhart and Jack Capobianco. The Bruins would score once more in extra innings to seal the victory.
Sophomore infielder/pitcher Jack Wohlbold was credited with the loss, dropping his record to 0-1.
The Skyhawks refused to go quietly in the last game of the series on March 17.
Harford and senior outfielder Jordan Stoner combined batted in four out of five of UTM’s RBI’s and six of 11 of UTM’s hits. Harford particularly had an impressive performance, hitting on all four of his at-bats.
Both teams would explode offensively in the third inning, combining for eight points.
UTM managed to hold a 5-3 lead up until the 7th inning. Thanks to the efforts of Severance and infielder Chas Hadden, the Bruins tallied three points and came out ahead.
The Skyhawks were unable to answer back and the Bruins escaped Martin with a third win.
Senior pitcher Austen Bullington (1-3) was credited with the loss, allowing three runs through 4.2 innings.
The Skyhawks now sit at 2-4 in OVC play and 7-12 overall following the rough stretch against Belmont. UTM will resume home play on March 19th, where they will look to defeat Alabama A&M for the second time this season.
