The UTM softball team had to wait nearly 18 hours from start to finish to conclude the second contest of its three-game series against Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) foe Belmont after the game was halted on Sunday evening but the result was worth the wait as the Skyhawks took the win and the series with a 9-3 victory. Then in the series finale, both teams held leads in the contest before Belmont found a walk-off single to win 5-4.
The Skyhawks (24-14, 13-10 OVC) continue a grueling road swing which is seeing the squad play six straight games on the road, including five league contests. Despite the tough schedule, the visitors showed up to play by stealing the series by scoring 21 runs over the three contests.
After doing a lot of Game 2’s damage last night, UTM still posted a nice day on Monday afternoon. The Skyhawks posted nine hits over eight offensive innings on the day, led by the play of Maddi Long who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Paige Clark and Aalia Bivens also posted a pair of hits on the afternoon with base knocks in both contests while Kaitlyn Kelley, Kaci Fuller and Emily Alexander tallied hits in the finale.
Hannah Ridolfi (5-2) earned the win in Game 2 after allowing two runs while striking out three in 2.2 innings of work. Erin Gallagher also pitched in relief, allowing one earned run in 1.1 innings. After being named OVC Pitcher of the Week for her work prior to today’s action, Alexis Groet pitched the final inning of Game 2 while starting in Game 3, striking out six and allowing three earned runs in five innings. Gallagher (5-5) let the lead slip away in relief and was hit with the loss, allowing two runs in 2.2 innings.
Game 2: UTM 9, Belmont 3
After a lengthy four-hour series opener on Sunday night, the second game of the doubleheader began around 7:30 p.m. Needing extra-innings to scratch out the win, the Skyhawks looked to find a flurry of runs early to break the game open. In the top of the second Kallie Pickens tallied an infield single before advancing all the way to third on a groundout and a wild pitch. Following a walk to Macey Neal, a single up the middle by Bryleigh Carneal drive in Pickens to take an early lead. The Skyhawks would then load the bases as Clark was hit by a pitch setting up Shyanne Sheffield to clear the bases with a triple down the left field line to take a 4-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks added three more runs in the top of the third. Long led off the inning with a single before moving into scoring position on a wild pitch. She came home to score on the next at-bat as Fuller doubled into left center to make it a five-run contest. A sacrifice bunt from Bivens plated another before a single up the middle by Clark tallied the team’s seventh run of the game.
Belmont finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. A pair of singles by Cheyenne Cavanaugh and Abi Ledbetter spelled trouble before coming around to score on a double to right field off the bat of Lauren Veltri to trim the margin to 7-2 off of Ridolfi.
The Bruins added another run in the sixth on a leadoff solo home run by Audrey Lyle, trimming the deficit to four runs.
The game came to a screeching halt after the sixth due to a metro mandated curfew with the seventh inning to be resumed on Monday afternoon.
With three outs to play offensively and three to get, the Skyhawks went to work in the top of the seventh on Monday. Bivens led off the resumed action with a double to center before advancing to third on a tough nine-pitch at-bat by Chelsey Gore resulting in a sacrifice bunt. Following a walk by Carneal and an infield single by Clark, the Skyhawks had the bases loaded. Needing a big knock, Kelley laced a shot down the left field line but the Bruins were hit with an error on the play, resulting in two unearned runs crossing the plate to give the Skyhawks a 9-3 advantage which the team would not give up in the bottom half of the inning.
Game 3: Belmont 5, UTM 4
UTM jumped on the board first with two runs in the second inning. The Skyhawks tallied three singles in the inning off the bats of Long, Fuller and Bivens before a RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Gore pushed across the go-ahead run.
Belmont immediately answered however in the bottom half of the inning as Alicia Veltri worked a nine-pitch walk to start the frame. A pair of wild pitches proved costly in the frame as the first moved the baserunner into scoring position before coming home to score on a triple by Kaley Varner to left center. Then on the following at-bat, the wildness came around again, with Varner scoring on the second wild pitch of the inning to tie the contest at 2-2.
The Bruins took their first lead of the contest in the bottom of the fourth as Lyle smacked her second home run of the weekend with a solo shot to center field to give the home squad a 3-2 advantage.
The lead would not last long as UTM charged back in the top of the fifth. A pair of singles by Clark and Kelley set up the big inning for the visitors before Long parked a double into the left center gap to clear the bases and take a 4-3 lead of their own.
Looking to tie the contest once again, the Bruins turned to the long ball as Elison Ollinger gave Gallagher an unfriendly welcome, connecting on her first pitch of the contest and sending it over the left field wall for a solo home run to knot the game at four runs apiece in the fifth.
The score would remain tied until the bottom of the seventh inning. Looking to salvage at least a game from the series, Belmont found a single from Ollinger before a hit by pitch of Georgia McKee put a pair of runners on first and second with two outs. Down to their final out, Cavanaugh singled up the middle to give the Bruins the 5-4 walk-off winner.
UTM will have a quick turnaround with a two-game series against Southeast Missouri on Wednesday, April 28. First pitch from Cape Girardeau, Mo. is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
