UTM defeated Northern Colorado and Alcorn State to claim the Lion Classic championship, finishing the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record.

In the first game of the day the Skyhawks defeated Northern Colorado 7-2 in large part to a fifth inning grand slam by Emily Webb. Brittany Nash, Fallon Lowery, Lauren Manna and Christa Webb also contributed hits in the winning effort. Holly Templeton collected her second win of the season after throwing a complete game with four strike outs and allowing only five hits. “We played well and Templeton pitched well against a very good Northern Colorado team,” said head coach Donley Canary.

The second game of the day saw the Skyhawks shut out Alcorn State 6-0. All six of the Skyhawk runs came in a big third inning thanks to timely hitting including three consecutive doubles by Jennifer Young, Stacey Weaver and Lowery. Freshman pitcher Ashley Myatt, making her first start as a Skyhawk, picked up the win and threw a perfect five innings before being replaced by Lindsey Brown to close it out.

Overall the weekend was tremendously successful according to Canary, “it was good to get out feet wet and get everyone more playing experience. We were able to play some strong teams and will look to build on this as the season goes on.” The Skyhawks finished the weekend with a combined 38 runs on 44 hits for a .322 batting average while allowing only 15 runs off 26 hits by their opponents who were able to average only .202 against Skyhawk pitchers.

The Skyhawks will now turn their focus to this coming weekend when they welcome seven other teams to Martin for the two-day Hospitality House Classic. Day action will begin on Saturday at 10 a.m. and will continue on Sunday also at 10 a.m.