It was a low-scoring affair this afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field as the UTM baseball squad fell by a 3-1 margin to wrap up its season-opening series at Samford.
Five Skyhawk hurlers excelled on the mound today, allowing only two earned runs on six hits and just one walk. Eric Steensma drew the starting assignment and conceded one run on two hits while fanning three batters over four innings. Grayden Stauffer (one inning), Matthew Shunk (0.2 innings) and David Hussey (two innings) also accounted for scoreless appearances today.
Baylor Jones fell to 0-1 on the season after allowing two runs (one earned) and recording one out in the bottom of the sixth inning.
UTM managed three hits on the day as Christian Hall, Houston Wright and Will Smith were responsible for those. Sean Dixson (run scored) and Casey Harford (RBI) also had a hand in the Skyhawks’ lone run of the series finale.
For the second consecutive day, UTM gained the upper hand early as the Skyhawks opened with a run in the top of the first. Dixson was hit on the first pitch of the contest and Hall followed with a single through the right side on a perfectly executed hit-and-run. Harford then jumped on the first pitch for an RBI groundout to put UTM on top, 1-0. Smith added a two-out single up the middle to put men on the corners but the Bulldogs got out of the inning without allowing any more damage.
Samford got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first with a two-out single but Dixson made sure the score was kept at 1-all after an assist from centerfield for the third out of the inning, cutting down a Bulldog runner trying to advance to third base.
Steensma pitched around an error in the bottom of the second, needing only eight pitches to get through the frame after inducing an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. The freshman out of Western Springs, Illinois, was just as sharp in the third inning, striking out the first two batters on his way to a perfect frame. He concluded his day by retiring each of the final seven batters he faced after yet another clean fourth inning – putting an exclamation point on his day with another strikeout.
Making his collegiate debut in the bottom of the fifth was Stauffer, as the 6-6 righty stranded a pair of runners with a popup to second and a strikeout to keep the score knotted at 1-1.
After Jones recorded a groundout on the first hitter he faced in the sixth, Samford connected for a solo home run and a single up the middle. Jones departed the game and gave way to Shunk but the Bulldogs were able to score an unearned run on a failed pickoff attempt throwing error. Shunk recovered with a groundout to short and a strikeout to complete the inning.
The Skyhawks received their first hit since the first inning when Wright laced a single up the middle to lead off the top of the seventh. However, UTM could not further capitalize on the potential scoring opportunity.
Hussey did a masterful job over the final two innings. After a one-out single and back-to-back stolen bases put a Samford runner at third with one out in the seventh, he pounded the strike zone for a popout to short and a flyout to left to escape a jam. He then breezed through the ninth, retiring the side in order on 10 pitches, allowing the Skyhawks a chance to stay within striking distance.
However, UTM could not get any momentum going in the top of the ninth as the Bulldogs kept the Skyhawks off the basepaths.
UTM continues its season-opening 10-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 24 when it travels to Alabama. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on SEC Network+.
