Choyce Diffey and the University of Tennessee at Martin pitching staff held Murray State to a paltry three hits in extra innings but the Skyhawks fell 2-1 in Game 1 of a two-game midweek series against the Racers.
Diffey went a career-high seven shutout innings with just one hit allowed, tossing a no-hitter through 4.2 innings of work. Baylor Jones stood out with 1.1 scoreless frames while Brock Arender (0.2 innings) and Zach Wager (1-4, one inning) combined to hold Murray State to a miniscule .086 batting average in 35 official at-bats today.
Zac Rice led the Skyhawk offense with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, including a pair of doubles. Andrew Fernandez (RBI), Jalen Fithian and Will Smith also recorded base hits for UT Martin (18-26). Smith’s base knock in the bottom of the first inning marked his 200th hit as a Skyhawk as he became just the sixth UT Martin player all-time to reach that plateau.
Diffey sat down Murray State (27-17) in order in each of the first two frames. The senior righty out of Sallis, Miss. retired his seventh consecutive batter before working around trouble and stranding a pair of runners in the top of the third.
The Skyhawks got on the scoreboard first when Rice lined a double down the left field line to lead off the third. Fernandez pulled a 3-2 pitch for a single to right field to score Rice and give UT Martin a 1-0 lead.
Diffey pitched around a runner in scoring position in the fourth before escaping unscathed with runners on second and third base in the fifth. He kept pumping in strikes in his final two frames, surpassing his previous career-high in innings when he reached the seventh. He sat down the first two batters of that inning before stranding a runner at third base to keep the Skyhawk advantage at 1-0.
After Murray State tied the game up in the top of the eighth, Jones entered to record the final out and left the bases loaded in the process. He proceeded to get a 1-2-3 frame in the top of the ninth but the contest was soon sent into extra innings.
The Racers took the lead on a two-out, bases loaded walk in the top of the 10th. Rice led off the home half of the inning with a single through the left side before a Fithian sacrifice bunt moved the tying run into scoring position. However, Murray State was able to hang on and escape with the win.
UT Martin will travel to Murray, Ky. tomorrow to conclude the two-game set at 3 p.m. (submitted from UT Martin Athletics)
