The Skyhawk softball squad wrapped up their early-season road trip with a stint in the North Texas Invitational in Denton from Feb. 15-16. UTM struggled over their four-game bid in the tourney, going 1-3.
First up on UTM’s schedule was the Creighton University Blue Jays out of Omaha, Nebraska. The Skyhawks and Blue Jays provided a tight matchup, keeping the score deadlocked at 0-0 through the first five innings of the game.
Creighton broke through the deadlock thanks to an RBI single by Kiara Mills, finally putting up a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard. The first of UTM’s four errors of the day allowed Creighton’s Sydney Jenkins to advance to home plate and establish a 2-0 lead for the Blue Jays.
UTM came close to erasing their goose egg on the scoreboard during the top of the sixth inning when the Skyhawks got a couple of runners on base on base due to some miscues, but Creighton adapted and shook up their defense. The Skyhawks’ chance to get on the board was soon snuffed out.
Senior pitcher Hannah Ridolfi took up the most time on the mound for the Skyhawks, allowing only two hits over four innings pitched. However, junior Seeley Layne (0-2) was credited with the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) over two innings, ending in a 0-2 loss for UTM.
UTM’s offensive struggles continued later in the day when the Skyhawks were shut out again against Missouri State (MSU).
The Skyhawks were put into a hole early on when Bears’ catcher Tess Weekly nailed a three-run RBI home run that put UTM down 0-3 before the conclusion of the first inning.
MSU catcher Darian Frost homered in the fourth, extending the Bears’ lead to 4-0. This was followed by two fly-out RBIs thats set UTM back to a seemingly insurmountable 0-6 deficit.
The Bears’ continued to pound the Skyhawks into submission in the seventh inning with an RBI double and a fielding error by junior infielder (IF) Madelyn Dycus.
MSU’s blowout 8-0 win was especially rough on Ridolfi and sophomore pitcher Erin Gallagher, who both combined for seven earned runs. Gallagher (2-2), who allowed six total runs, was credited with the loss.
Fortunately for the Skyhawks, the next day of the tournament played out better both offensively and defensively. Overall, the Skyhawks went an even 5-5 for runs scored and runs allowed in a 4-3 win over Abilene Christian (ACU) and host school North Texas (NTU).
The Skyhawks started the morning off right with a win over the ACU Wildcats that went into extra innings. UTM ensured that their scoreless streak would not extend to three games, as senior outfielder (OF) Aalia Bivens hit an RBI single that sent sophomore IF Chelsey Gore home to establish a 1-0 lead. This was UTM’s first score since their Feb. 9 9-1 win over Grambling State.
Neither team sent a runner home from the second to the fourth inning, but the Skyhawks built onto their lead when Gore and junior IF Lex Rogers made it home in the fifth inning.
The Wildcats refused to go quietly. Two groundouts in the seventh inning resulted in subsequent RBI’s, which was followed by a double that ultimately tied the two teams up at 3-3.
ACU’s efforts in pulling off the comeback fell short, however, as the Skyhawks put an early stop to their momentum early. Sophomore OF Shyanne Sheffield hit a sacrifice fly ball that sent Gore home for the walk-off victory.
Junior pitcher Seeley Layne (1-2) picked up her first win of the season after allowing two hits and two runs over two innings pitched.
There wasn’t much rest after the Skyhawks’ extra-inning victory over ACU, as the team had a date with host school NTU less than three hours later. Here, defense was the name of the game for both teams, as the score ultimately ended with a 2-1 win for the Eagles.
Similar to their previous match, the Skyhawks drew blood early thanks to an RBI single by Sheffield in the top of the first. Ridolfi silenced NTU’s offense until the sixth inning, when Hannah Rebar of the Eagles smashed a two-run homer that gave NTU their final 2-1 win.
The Skyhawks will return to Martin for their first homestand of the season Feb. 20 when they play host to Green Bay University.
