Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Competition Heating Up in Fall Ball
10/5/2016 2:42:00 PM | Baseball
Five more scrimmages before the B/W World Series
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.— With five scrimmages in the books, the Middle Tennessee baseball team is halfway to the Blue White World Series beginning on Oct. 21 at 3 p.m.
The Blue Raiders will play five very important scrimmages in the next week and a half, as competition at each position is still wide open, according to head coach Jim McGuire.
"These next five scrimmages from a team aspect are going to be really important," stated McGuire. "We're trying to see who can do what, at each position."
This fall the teams in each scrimmage have been separated into a "Home" and "Visiting" team. Every game there are changes in the lineup and roster in order to get a feel for who will play which position.
"Everyone has to be able to bring something to the table," McGuire said. "We want to get the best defensive team out there that we can, while getting the most offense out of it as well. So when someone shows you that they can play another spot, it's huge for our flexibility at each position going into the spring."
Seniors Kaleb King and Austin Sistrunk have impressed so far in the scrimmages, both compiling an outstanding .400 batting average through the first five games. Sistrunk leads all players in doubles (3) and RBI (6). King has amounted five RBI, including a 3-for-3 performance in the first scrimmage of the fall.
On the mound, sophomore transfer Tyler Holcombe has really impressed this fall, throwing five innings, while allowing only two hits, no runs, and a team-high six strikeouts. Holcombe had a great showing in the Sept. 30 scrimmage, where his first 15 pitches were all strikes.
Another two-way player that has shown out in the fall, is redshirt freshman Devin Conn. Conn has thrown five innings this fall, allowing no runs, and striking out four, while also batting .385.
"Conn coming off an injury and Tommy John surgery, has really done well," said McGuire. "His velocity has been really good on the mound, his breaking ball is coming along, he's swung the bat well and he's one of our best defensive outfielders, so he's done a lot in a short amount of time."
The Blue Raiders are set to play another two scrimmages this week at Reese Smith Jr. Field. You can follow LIVE Tweets of the scrimmages on the @MT_Baseball Twitter account.
Thurs. Oct. 6 at 3:30 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 7 at 3 p.m.
Fall Scrimmage Series Results: Home leads 3-1-1
Sept. 23 8-1 (F/8) Home
Sept. 25 6-1 (F/7) Home
Sept. 30 9-1 (F/7) Visiting
Oct. 1 3-3 (F/9) Tie
Oct. 2 2-0 (F/6) Home
Fall Season Batting Leaders
Fall Season Pitching Leaders
The Blue Raiders will play five very important scrimmages in the next week and a half, as competition at each position is still wide open, according to head coach Jim McGuire.
"These next five scrimmages from a team aspect are going to be really important," stated McGuire. "We're trying to see who can do what, at each position."
This fall the teams in each scrimmage have been separated into a "Home" and "Visiting" team. Every game there are changes in the lineup and roster in order to get a feel for who will play which position.
"Everyone has to be able to bring something to the table," McGuire said. "We want to get the best defensive team out there that we can, while getting the most offense out of it as well. So when someone shows you that they can play another spot, it's huge for our flexibility at each position going into the spring."
Seniors Kaleb King and Austin Sistrunk have impressed so far in the scrimmages, both compiling an outstanding .400 batting average through the first five games. Sistrunk leads all players in doubles (3) and RBI (6). King has amounted five RBI, including a 3-for-3 performance in the first scrimmage of the fall.
On the mound, sophomore transfer Tyler Holcombe has really impressed this fall, throwing five innings, while allowing only two hits, no runs, and a team-high six strikeouts. Holcombe had a great showing in the Sept. 30 scrimmage, where his first 15 pitches were all strikes.
Returning two-way player AJ Spencer, also brought his best stuff this fall, hurling five innings, allowing four hits, no runs and striking out five.B5: #Holcombe's (@holc20) strike streak ends at 15. Still a very impressive 25 pitches 23 strikes & ends the inning with 2 K's! ??
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) September 30, 2016
Another two-way player that has shown out in the fall, is redshirt freshman Devin Conn. Conn has thrown five innings this fall, allowing no runs, and striking out four, while also batting .385.
"Conn coming off an injury and Tommy John surgery, has really done well," said McGuire. "His velocity has been really good on the mound, his breaking ball is coming along, he's swung the bat well and he's one of our best defensive outfielders, so he's done a lot in a short amount of time."
The Blue Raiders are set to play another two scrimmages this week at Reese Smith Jr. Field. You can follow LIVE Tweets of the scrimmages on the @MT_Baseball Twitter account.
Thurs. Oct. 6 at 3:30 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 7 at 3 p.m.
Fall Scrimmage Series Results: Home leads 3-1-1
Sept. 23 8-1 (F/8) Home
Sept. 25 6-1 (F/7) Home
Sept. 30 9-1 (F/7) Visiting
Oct. 1 3-3 (F/9) Tie
Oct. 2 2-0 (F/6) Home
Fall Season Batting Leaders
| Name | Avg. | R | 2B | HR | RBI |
| Kaleb King | .400 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Austin Sistrunk | .400 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Devin Conn | .385 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Austin Dennis | .357 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Ryan Kemp | .333 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Aaron Antonini | .333 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Fall Season Pitching Leaders
| Name | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
| Tyler Holcombe | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.00 |
| AJ Spencer | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Devin Conn | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Carter Bair | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Jake Wyrick | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1.80 |
| Tyler Hasper | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1.80 |
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballFacility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Spring Sports Show hosted by The Boulevard – April 21, 2025: Softball and Baseball
Monday, April 21
🎥 from the 52nd annual Groundhog Day Luncheon! Also, we play baseball this month 🤩
Sunday, February 02
MTSU Baseball 2025 52nd Annual Groundhog Day Luncheon
Friday, January 31
