The UTM softball team saw its winning streak come to an end on Thursday in the first day of the Tennessee Invitational, falling to Illinois State (8-3) in the opener before struggling against No. 23 ranked Tennessee (10-1).
After opening the season with five straight wins, the Skyhawks (5-2) struggled in their second tournament of the season. Offensively the team was held to just a .196 batting average and four runs on the day while the pitching staff was roughed up for 13 earned runs.
Providing a bright spot for the Skyhawks was the play of sophomore Kaitlyn Kelley who hit her second and third home runs of the season on the day. She cranked a solo blast in the opener against Illinois State while also tallying another homer against the Lady Vols for her fifth home run in a Skyhawk uniform.
Graduate outfielder Aalia Bivens posted a nice day with three hits in four at-bats while tallying an RBI. Paige Clark also recorded a multi-hit afternoon with a double and an RBI.
Erin Gallagher (2-1, 3.42 ERA) started against Illinois State, allowing four earned runs in three innings of work to garner the loss. Hannah Ridolfi appeared in relief and pitched three innings, giving up one run. Seeley Layne (1-1, 4.32 ERA) was hit with the loss against Tennessee, allowing six earned runs in 3.2 innings while Alexis Groet allowed two runs in 0.1 innings.
Game 6: Illinois State 8, UTM 3
Illinois State jumped out to an early lead and never looked back with a huge second inning. After getting the first two outs of the innings, the Redbirds rallied with three consecutive base hits – including a double by Mack Leonard to clear the bases and take a two-run advantage. After an error on the following play put two runners on base, a three-run homer by Emme Olson gave Illinois State a 5-0 lead in the blink of an eye.
UTM finally got on the board in the top of the fourth inning as Kelley turned the first pitch of the frame and launched a solo home run to make it a 5-1 contest.
The Redbirds added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a RBI single by Kaili Chval and a wild pitch to push the margin back out to six runs.
The Skyhawks made their final push in the top of the fifth inning with a two-out rally of their own. After back-to-back walks to Kallie Pickens and Kelley extended the inning, Bivens brought a run home to score with a single to right field. The Skyhawks would not be done as Clark followed that up with an opposite-field double to make it a 7-3 game.
Illinois State put the finishing touches on the victory in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly by Chval to earn its second win of the season.
Game 7: Tennessee 10, UTM 1 (Five innings)
UTM got on the board early as Kelley tallied her second home run of the day with a solo home run to left field to put the Skyhawks up 1-0 in the second inning.
The lead would be short-lived however as the 23-ranked Lady Vols quickly answered with a run in the bottom of the second on a triple to left field by Cailin Hannon to score Kiki Milloy and tie the contest.
Tennessee began to put the game away in the bottom of the third when Amanda Ayala lifted a solo home run to left-center to take a lead the team would continue to build upon.
The Lady Vols broke through in a big way in the bottom of the fourth with eight runs – including six hits and two home runs by Ayala and Milloy. With the 10-1 advantage, the mercy rule was enacted and the game ended after five innings.
UTM will return to action with a matchup on Friday, Feb. 26 against Illinois State at 11:30 a.m.
