FLORENCE, Ala. (March 10, 2024) – The University of North Alabama baseball team picked up a pair of wins over UT Martin in a doubleheader Sunday, securing its first series sweep of the season.
North Alabama wraps up the series with the Skyhawks allowing just three runs, the fewest number of runs allowed in a series since 2018 when UNA shut out Christian Brothers across the board in a three-game set. This was the final season of NCAA Division II before UNA's transition to Division I.
The Lions improve to 6-9 on the season, while the Skyhawks leave Florence with a 5-11 record.
Game 1 — UT Martin 1, North Alabama 3
Riding the high of a 10-0 victory over UT Martin on Saturday, the Lions struck first in the second game of the series, adding a run in the third, fourth and fifth inning to take a 3-0 lead.
Levi Jensen singled in both the third and the fifth and would come around to score in both of the frames on an error and a sac fly, respectively. Jonathan Lane tacked on the fourth inning run, bringing home Andrew Knight on a Gehrig Frei double to left field.
Jacob Bradshaw started the day on the mound for North Alabama and turned in his best start of the season. The senior from Thomasville, Ga. tossed 5.1 frames, allowing just two hits and one run while striking out four batters.
Brycen Parrish entered the game in the sixth inning with the tying run on second base and just one out. The Florence, Ala. native notched a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam and move to the seventh with a two-run lead in tact.
Parrish found three outs in four batters in the seventh inning to earn his first save of the season and bring his ERA down to 1.26 across 14.1 innings.
With the victory, the Lions earned its first series win of the 2024 campaign with a chance to sweep in the series finale. The game was scheduled to be seven innings after rainouts on Friday and Saturday rearranged the weekend's games.
Pitchers of Record
W – Jacob Bradshaw (1-1)
L – Eric Steensma (1-2)
S – Brycen Parrish (1)
Game 2 — UT Martin 2, North Alabama 5
Anthony Pingeton began the second game on the bump for North Alabama and tossed a quick first frame with three groundouts in four batters. Pingeton allowed just one hit, an infield single, and walked no batters across his scripted three innings on the mound.
The Lions were quick to find the scoreboard in the second, notching four runs in the home half of the first inning. Jackson Ferrigno singled and Lane was hit by a pitch to put two runners on for Preseason All-ASUN selection Kyle Machado, who drove home Ferrigno with an RBI single to right field.
Knight reached on an error to bring home Lane for a quick 2-0 UNA advantage. After a Cal Cook fielder's choice, Dominick McIntyre was hit by a pitch to load the bases for catcher Andin Johnson. UT Martin made the first pitching change of day two, making for a short outing for the Skyhawk starter.
Johnson lined a single to left center field, bringing home Machado and Cook, doubling the UNA lead to 4-0 after the first inning.
North Alabama pitchers continued to impress on the weekend, with
Dane Sykes entering the game in the fourth inning in relief of Pingeton. Sykes allowed just one earned run and two hits across two innings, while striking out three batters. UT Martin pushed a run home in both the fourth and the fifth on an error and a sacrifice fly.
Caleb Menina entered the contest in the sixth inning and shut down the Skyhawk offense for the remainder of the game. Menina allowed just four baserunners in four innings while picking up his first save of the season.
The southpaw was aided by an eighth inning run as
Andin Johnson picked up his third RBI of the game on a single, making it a 5-2 UNA advantage in the third game.
Pitchers of Record
W – Anthony Pingeton (2-0)
L – Choyce Diffey (1-1)
S – Caleb Menina (1)
COMING UP NEXT
North Alabama travels to Memphis, Tenn. for a midweek match with Memphis on Tuesday, March 12 at 6 p.m.
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