Skyhawks’ 2nd effort worthy of NCAA

Posted: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 12:00 pm

By RANDY CAVIN
Press Sports
The overcast skies and light drizzle did not dampen the spirit of UT Martin as the Skyhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament for the second time in four years.
With a light drizzle falling off and on throughout the day on Saturday, the Skyhawks had to overcome dropping game 10 of the tournament to Tennessee Tech 3-1 to then win the deciding game against those same Golden Eagles 6-2.
The Skyhawks committed three errors in the first three innings of the final game, with one throwing error by the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, starting pitcher Chelsea Jones, that allowed the go-ahead run to score from third and give Tech a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second.
The UTM bats finally erupted in the top of the fifth inning after being silent in the first game and for the first four innings of the second game.
Senior catcher Erica Duke stepped up the plate with none on and one out. With a one-strike count, she changed the complexity of the game with one swing of her bat, driving a pitch deep over the left field wall to tie the game at 2-2.
After Duke’s homer, Sam McClure laid down a perfect bunt for a single, and Leah Taylor got on with an infield hit.
Taylor Wade stepped into the batter’s box and did what head coach Donald Canary called a “power slap” hit on the first pitch to center field for a two-run triple.
Senior Jenny Bain added to Tech’s misery when she came up with Wade on third and hit a line drive rocket over the 200-foot sign in left center field to give the Skyhawks a 6-2 lead.
“We finally got a big home run out of Erica Duke that tied the game up and then we get a bunt hit out of Sam,” Canary said. “Then Leah gets a base hit, Taylor Wade steps up and drives the ball to the center field fence on a power slap and then Jenny comes up and drives it over the fence. The momentum turns around, and Chelsea got stronger.
“She was really, really tight when we first started this game. But with her out there pitching, we were able to hang around.”
Wade, normally very patient at the plate in taking the first pitch or two, said she knew she had take a different approach when she hit her go-ahead triple.
“I normally do not swing at the first strike, but this time I felt like I needed to something different this time,” Wade said. “That pitch right there could not have been in a more perfect spot.”
A couple of UTM players felt the tension in the final game and had to deal with some stomach issues. Canary said the team put too much pressure on themselves on the fear of losing.
“I had girls over there throwing up in the trash can,” Canary said. “We put pressure on ourselves. I put pressure on myself, too. I was tight. They were tight. We were all tight.”
Jones pitched all four games the Skyhawks played in the tournament, winning three. She had nine strikeouts in the deciding game, allowing six hits and no walks. Her battery mate said the last three innings were her best in the tournament.
“The last three innings were probably her best in the entire tournament,” Duke said. “When we scored for her, she got fired up and was popping the ball in the mitt.”
The Skyhawks will play Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional 4:30 p.m. Friday.
UTM reached the final round with a 7-1 win over Murray State and 6-2 decision over Tennessee Tech.
Published in The WCP 5.15.12