After falling victim to the weather the first 12 scheduled games of the 2003 baseball season, the UTM made its debut this past weekend with two doubleheaders against the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. The Skyhawks dropped the first doubleheader 9-2 and 13-6. The Skyhawks won the first game Sunday 13-6 and dropped the last game 19-2.

"You would have thought our guys would have been emotionally ready to play by now," said Bubba Cates, Skyhawk head baseball coach. "Instead we played poor defense and it looked like it was our first game of the season."

Things changed Sunday in the third game of the series. "We hit and pitched well," Cates said. "It was more like what we expected." The Skyhawks claimed a 13-6 win. Justin Bryant claimed the mound victory. He pitched five innings and allowed only three runs. Brett Hall came on in relief and gave up three runs in four innings.

The Skyhawks answered UALR's two-run first inning with eight runs in the top of the second. The Skyhawks banged out 11 hits in the game. Dan Stephens homered in the game for the Skyhawks and scored three runs. Brian Jordan and Kelly Davis ignited the Skyhawks' offense. Both went two-for-four at the plate with two RBI.

"In the fourth game we played like we were tired," Cates said. UALR claimed a 19-2 win. The Skyhawks used six pitchers in the game and they gave up 15 total walks and a dozen hits. "We were not perfect, but we hit the ball extremely well throughout the weekend," Cates said. The Skyhawks banged out 33 hits in the four games. Thirteen of the 33 hits were for extra bases.

Davis led the team at the plate with seven hits in 12 trips to the plate. Davis drove in four runs and scored three runs in the four games. He finished the series with a .750 batting average. Senior Brady Nighswonger hit .533 in the four games. He had seven hits in 15 trips to the plate. He scored four runs and had one double.

Pitching wise, the Skyhawks used 12 pitchers in the four-game set. Donnie Corey escaped the series with the lowest earned run average at 2.25.

The Skyhawks return to action Tuesday, March 4 when they open the home portion of their schedule against Saint Louis University. Action gets under way at 2 p.m. at Skyhawk Field.