It always starts in the circle, and in the 2026 NCAA softball season, the University of Tennessee at Martin’s pitching staff finished first in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 3.54 team ERA. The Skyhawks finished 33-21 overall with a 20-6 OVC record, just behind conference champion Eastern Illinois.
In the OVC tournament, they were eliminated in two games. The result came down to a lack of run support, not pitching, as the Skyhawks were shut out in back-to-back games, 3-0 and 2-0.
As they head into fall preparation, Martin will have a solid core returning from a pitching staff that carried much of the load last season. Natalie Kreuziger (Jr.), Sami Scholtz (Sr.) and Payton Harris (Sr.) will bring a combined 165 strikeouts in 221 innings pitched last season with a 1.33 WHIP.
Kreuziger posted a 2.61 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP over 80.1 innings, striking out 75 and walking 28. She held opponents to a .241 average and allowed just 2 home runs all season, going 8-4 with 3 saves and 3 complete games. She earned All-OVC first team honors and was named Pitcher of the Week in consecutive weeks.
The Tennessee Sports Writers Association recognized her after a career-high 11-strikeout complete-game shutout against Morehead State on April 19, and the OVC followed a week later for her work at Tennessee Tech, where she went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 10 innings, struck out 8 and held the Golden Eagles to a .143 average.
Scholtz finished with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP across 76.1 innings, striking out 60 and walking 34. She limited hitters to a .210 average and went 6-5 with 2 saves and 3 complete games. On March 13, she threw a no-hitter against Southeast Missouri State, the program’s 11th all-time and its first since 2024.
It was also UT Martin’s first seven-inning no-hitter since 2006. She came back the next day to start game two of a doubleheader against SEMO and carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, running her hitless stretch to 12.2 straight innings across the week. After those outings, she earned TSWA Pitcher of the Week honors.
Harris turned in a 3.26 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP over 64.1 innings, striking out 30 and walking 33. She held opponents to a .238 average and went 6-6 with 1 save and 1 complete game. Named All-OVC second team, Harris collected three weekly awards, taking OVC Pitcher of the Week twice and adding a TSWA Pitcher of the Week honor.
She posted a 0.00 ERA in each of those three weeks. Harris was at her best in league play, where she went 5-1 with 2 shutouts and the OVC’s lowest conference ERA at 1.04.
The arms are back, but a huge question waits on the other end of the battery. Avary Makarewicz, the everyday catcher who also led the OVC with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs, has graduated, leaving Martin to sort out who will step in behind the plate and command the defense.
Skyhawks softball head coach Chelsea Farmer will address that and more in a conversation coming this week. Check back for the full interview. In the meantime, please subscribe for less than the cost of a cup of coffee.
