A six-run top of the second inning by Southeast Missouri (SEMO) proved to be key as the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team fell 8-1 in a nonconference midweek matchup at Skyhawk Field.
UTM’s bullpen performed well this evening, allowing only two runs on six hits while fanning 11 batters over 7.2 innings. Ryan Insco tied a career-high with five strikeouts for the second time in five days, tossing 2.2 innings of shutout baseball. Jefferey O’Doherty (two innings) and Matthew Shunk (0.1 innings) also made scoreless appearances today.
At the plate, Wil LaFollette not only extended his hitting streak to nine games but also pieced together his fifth straight multi-hit performance. The freshman right fielder out of Chelsea, Alabama, went 2-for-4 with a run scored out of the cleanup spot while Will Smith and Christian Hall both reached base safely twice. Ethan Whitley provided the Skyhawks’ lone RBI of the contest.
Seth Petry (1-2) tossed a scoreless first inning but the Redhawks pushed across six runs in the second before Tucker Reed came in to end the frame. Southeast Missouri added another run in the third inning to take a 7-0 advantage.
After recording a hit in both the first and third innings, UTM broke through for a run in the fourth. LaFollette shot a line-drive double down the left-field line with one away while Hall followed with a walk. Whitley then plated LaFollette with a sharp single through the left side to get the Skyhawks on the scoreboard.
By that time, Insco was cruising. The righty reliever, who had gotten the final two outs of the third inning and racked up a pair of strikeouts in the top of the fourth, retired the side in order in the fifth. That included called strikeouts on each of the final two batters he faced.
UTM put its leadoff man on base in the fifth and had a pair of runners on the basepaths with just one away in the sixth but couldn’t generate a run.
O’Doherty kept Southeast Missouri off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh innings. Eric Steensma got out of a jam with just one run in the eighth but bounced back to retire each of the final four batters he faced. Shunk came out of the bullpen for a short appearance in the top of the ninth, needing only five pitches to register a strikeout.
The Skyhawks tried to mount a rally in the ninth, loading the bases. Noah Thigpen accounted for a one-out single while Jack Culumovic was hit by a pitch. Each runner advanced 90 feet when Smith reached first on a strikeout wild pitch but all three runners were stranded.
UTM returns to Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) play this weekend at home, squaring off against in-state foe Austin Peay. The two sides are set for a single game at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 16 before a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and approximately 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17.
