FINAL STATS

MARTIN, Tenn. – Ben Campbell had a pair of hits and drove in three runs to lead UT Martin to a 7-4 win over Jacksonville State as the two teams have now split the first two games of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series.
 
Willie Frederick (3-4) allowed just five hits and had six strikeouts in seven solid innings on the mound to earn the win for the Skyhawks, while Dan Tobik tossed the final two innings to earn his third save of the year. JSU's Daniel Watts (2-5) had seven strikeouts, but gave up eight hits and six runs to suffer the loss.
 
UT Martin took a 1-0 lead after Young drew a bases loaded walk in the first inning, then the Skyhawks scored five runs in the second inning to jump out to an early 6-0 lead.
 
Chase Okey and Campbell each drove in a pair of runs with doubles, and Matt Young had a RBI single during the five-run second for the Skyhawks.
 
Jax State got on the board in the third inning after Ben Waldrip drove in two runs with a double to right center as the Gamecocks cut the lead to 6-2.
 
Coty Blanchard led off the fifth inning with a solo home run to left field, his first of the season, as JSU sliced the lead to 6-3 and then the Gamecocks' Sam Eberle scored on a UTM error in the eighth inning to make the score 6-4.
 
UTM answered in the home half of the eighth as Okey scored on a Campbell infield single for the final margin.
 
Blanchard and Eberle led the Gamecocks with two hits each, while Campbell, Okey, Young and Jake Deason each had a pair of hits to lead the Skyhawks.
 
The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Skyhawk
Field.