Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 8
Montgomery, Ala.
4PM
Middle Tennessee
10-11
5
at
4
Alabama State
7-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Middle Tennessee
0
0
4
0
0
0
1
5
7
1
Alabama State
2
0
0
0
0
2
0
4
10
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cheney, Kelci (7-6)
L: Phelps, Maddie (5-5)
Batting:
2B: Cuccia, Kirstyn 1 ; Whaley, Austyn 1
HR: Cuccia, Kirstyn 1
RBI: Cuccia, Kirstyn 4 ; Munoz, Danielle 1
SH: Uselton, Kristin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Birdsong, Precious 1 ; Portillo, Deja 1 ; Cuccia, Kirstyn 2 ; Harris, Morgan 1
HBP: Portillo, Deja 1
Batting:
2B: Yanez, Aleesa 1
3B: Centeno, Valerie 1
RBI: Castro, Charlene 1 ; Yanez, Aleesa 1 ; Centeno, Valerie 1 ; Boggess, Alexia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Thorne, Jenna Mae 1 ; Core, Kendall 1 ; Byrne, Therese 1 ; Centeno, Valerie 1
SB: Thorne, Jenna Mae 1
CS: Aguilar, Laura 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF/C
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
2B/OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
Raiders win dramatic game at Alabama State
3/8/2016 10:57:00 PM | Softball
Freshman Cuccia leads Raiders to fantastic win
MONTGOMERY, ALA. – Kirstyn Cuccia led Middle Tennessee (10-11) to a dramatic 5-4 win over Alabama State (7-14) Tuesday as she hit a grand slam and scored the game winning run in the seventh inning.
With the game tied 4-4 and two out in the top of the seventh, Cuccia got a hold of a Maddie Phelps pitch and doubled into the left center field gap. Dani Munoz followed with a single up the middle and the speedy Cuccia scored what turned out to be the winning run.
The Hornets got on the board in the bottom of the first as Jenna Mae Thorne scored on a Charlene Castro base hit. Aleesa Yanez followed with a double that brought home Kendall Core and it was quickly 2-0 Alabama State after one inning.
In the top of the third, it was time for grandma to run to the cupboard to get the mustard and rye bread as it was about to be grand salami time. Morgan Harris, Precious Birdsong and Deja Portillo all reached base in front of Cuccia with no outs. Cuccia then calmly stepped to the plate and deposited another Phelps pitch over the right field wall. The Raiders took the lead 4-2.
The lead held for three innings as Kelci Cheney settled into a grove. After the two first inning runs, she kept the Hornets off the scoreboard for four straight innings. But the Alabama State bats came alive again in the sixth.
With two out and a runner on first, Valerie Centeno tripled into right field to score Therese Byrne and cut the MT lead to one. Alexia Boggess followed with a single that plated Byrne and the game was tied heading to the seventh 4-4.
Cheney (7-6) held on for the win as she pitched a complete 7.0 innings allowing just four runs on 10 hits. Phelps (5-5) took the loss as she also pitched a complete game, but allowed five runs on seven hits and only struck out three.
Cuccia finished the night going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Birdsong also went 2-for-4 in the game as Munoz, Harris and Austyn Whaley each chipped in one hit a piece, with Munoz having the biggest RBI of the night.
The Raiders will be in action again Wednesday as they will take on Alabama A&M in Huntsville in a game scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
With the game tied 4-4 and two out in the top of the seventh, Cuccia got a hold of a Maddie Phelps pitch and doubled into the left center field gap. Dani Munoz followed with a single up the middle and the speedy Cuccia scored what turned out to be the winning run.
The Hornets got on the board in the bottom of the first as Jenna Mae Thorne scored on a Charlene Castro base hit. Aleesa Yanez followed with a double that brought home Kendall Core and it was quickly 2-0 Alabama State after one inning.
In the top of the third, it was time for grandma to run to the cupboard to get the mustard and rye bread as it was about to be grand salami time. Morgan Harris, Precious Birdsong and Deja Portillo all reached base in front of Cuccia with no outs. Cuccia then calmly stepped to the plate and deposited another Phelps pitch over the right field wall. The Raiders took the lead 4-2.
The lead held for three innings as Kelci Cheney settled into a grove. After the two first inning runs, she kept the Hornets off the scoreboard for four straight innings. But the Alabama State bats came alive again in the sixth.
With two out and a runner on first, Valerie Centeno tripled into right field to score Therese Byrne and cut the MT lead to one. Alexia Boggess followed with a single that plated Byrne and the game was tied heading to the seventh 4-4.
Cheney (7-6) held on for the win as she pitched a complete 7.0 innings allowing just four runs on 10 hits. Phelps (5-5) took the loss as she also pitched a complete game, but allowed five runs on seven hits and only struck out three.
Cuccia finished the night going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Birdsong also went 2-for-4 in the game as Munoz, Harris and Austyn Whaley each chipped in one hit a piece, with Munoz having the biggest RBI of the night.
The Raiders will be in action again Wednesday as they will take on Alabama A&M in Huntsville in a game scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Facility 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
MTSU Softball vs WKU Recap 4/11-13/25
Monday, April 14
MTSU Softball vs WKU Recap 4/11-13/25 2025
Monday, April 14
