Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, April 23
Huntington, W.Va.
12PM
Middle Tennessee
at
Marshall
Raiders enter big series with Marshall
4/22/2016 8:00:00 AM | Softball
MT is looking to secure a spot in the C-USA tourney with nine games to go
MURFREESBORO – The final three conference series' are upon the Middle Tennessee softball team, and each of the nine games will have significant implications on the conference tournament held in Denton, Texas May 11-15.
A new tournament format this season assures the top three teams from each of the conference's two divisions a spot in the eight-team field. Two wild cards, regardless of division, will round out the bracket. The Raiders', who are in the East Division, are currently at 6-9 in C-USA play and are tied for fifth. However, they are just one game behind Charlotte and WKU for second place and a guaranteed spot in their first C-USA tournament.
In fact, with the exception of No. 22 Florida Atlantic who sit atop the division with a 13-2 conference record, all the teams in the division are within a game of each other. Middle Tennessee's final three series with Marshall, Charlotte and FIU can help the Raiders gain valuable ground in their pursuit of a post-season spot.
The first series is this weekend as MT will travel to Huntington, West Virginia to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd. Both teams appear pretty even as they are tied in the conference standings at 6-9 and their overall records are a game and half apart, MT at 23-21 and Marshall at 22-23.
Precious Birdsong has done more than impress the last few weeks as she is currently on a 14-game hitting streak. Birdsong also had a career week last week that saw her steal 10 total bases in the Raiders' five games, four of those coming in the game at Belmont which set a school record for stolen bases in a game.
Birdsong is also second on the team with a .347 batting average. Her 66 total bases lead the Raiders and her 32 stolen bases are second in C-USA.
Carlie Jenkins has also been good of late as she has raised her batting average to .309 after a slow start to the season. Jenkins has been one of MT's most patient hitters this year as she's earned 13 walks. Jenkins has also been a magnet of sorts as she's been hit by 11 pitches this season, tied with teammate Dani Munoz for third most in the conference.
Austyn Whaley has been solid the last few weeks as well as she hit another homer in the UTEP series this past weekend. She now has five for the season, just two behind Munoz's team-lead of seven. Whaley also passed Munoz for the team lead in RBIs as Whaley now has 29, good enough for 11th in the conference.
Middle Tennessee struggled in the circle against the Miners as they surrendered a total of 16 earned runs in the three games for a total ERA of 5.33. They'll look to get things back under control with ace Kelci Cheney as she enters the weekend with a 14-11 record and a 3.24 ERA. Pattie Taylor has been the best option when the Raiders have needed to go to the bullpen this season. Taylor has a 3.76 ERA with a 5-5 record and both MT saves on the year.
Marshall enters the weekend 22-23 overall and 6-9 in C-USA play after being swept by Florida Atlantic over the weekend. In the three games the Thundering Herd only managed one run, as they were shut out by the No. 22 Owls in the final two games of the series.
They'll look to Kaelynn Greene to get things going offensively as she leads Conference USA with a .461 batting average. Greene's on base percentage of .493 is second in C-USA and when she gets on she can do damage as she leads the conference with 42 stolen bases, 10 more than the Raiders' Birdsong.
Raquel Escareno and Briana Daiss provide the Herd with power as they both have eight homers to lead the team and Daiss's 42 RBIs lead the conference.
Marshall will look to Jordan Dixon as she has started 31 of the team's 45 games this season. Dixon has a 2.95 ERA, good enough for ninth in C-USA, and a 17-17 record. Dixon's 40 appearances are the most in the conference this season, seven more than Cheney's 33 appearances which is the second most in the league. The 17 wins for Dixon are the second most in C-USA, while the 17 loses are the most in the conference.
The teams will play a double header on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled at noon central time. Sunday's single game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. central.
A new tournament format this season assures the top three teams from each of the conference's two divisions a spot in the eight-team field. Two wild cards, regardless of division, will round out the bracket. The Raiders', who are in the East Division, are currently at 6-9 in C-USA play and are tied for fifth. However, they are just one game behind Charlotte and WKU for second place and a guaranteed spot in their first C-USA tournament.
In fact, with the exception of No. 22 Florida Atlantic who sit atop the division with a 13-2 conference record, all the teams in the division are within a game of each other. Middle Tennessee's final three series with Marshall, Charlotte and FIU can help the Raiders gain valuable ground in their pursuit of a post-season spot.
The first series is this weekend as MT will travel to Huntington, West Virginia to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd. Both teams appear pretty even as they are tied in the conference standings at 6-9 and their overall records are a game and half apart, MT at 23-21 and Marshall at 22-23.
Precious Birdsong has done more than impress the last few weeks as she is currently on a 14-game hitting streak. Birdsong also had a career week last week that saw her steal 10 total bases in the Raiders' five games, four of those coming in the game at Belmont which set a school record for stolen bases in a game.
Birdsong is also second on the team with a .347 batting average. Her 66 total bases lead the Raiders and her 32 stolen bases are second in C-USA.
Carlie Jenkins has also been good of late as she has raised her batting average to .309 after a slow start to the season. Jenkins has been one of MT's most patient hitters this year as she's earned 13 walks. Jenkins has also been a magnet of sorts as she's been hit by 11 pitches this season, tied with teammate Dani Munoz for third most in the conference.
Austyn Whaley has been solid the last few weeks as well as she hit another homer in the UTEP series this past weekend. She now has five for the season, just two behind Munoz's team-lead of seven. Whaley also passed Munoz for the team lead in RBIs as Whaley now has 29, good enough for 11th in the conference.
Middle Tennessee struggled in the circle against the Miners as they surrendered a total of 16 earned runs in the three games for a total ERA of 5.33. They'll look to get things back under control with ace Kelci Cheney as she enters the weekend with a 14-11 record and a 3.24 ERA. Pattie Taylor has been the best option when the Raiders have needed to go to the bullpen this season. Taylor has a 3.76 ERA with a 5-5 record and both MT saves on the year.
Marshall enters the weekend 22-23 overall and 6-9 in C-USA play after being swept by Florida Atlantic over the weekend. In the three games the Thundering Herd only managed one run, as they were shut out by the No. 22 Owls in the final two games of the series.
They'll look to Kaelynn Greene to get things going offensively as she leads Conference USA with a .461 batting average. Greene's on base percentage of .493 is second in C-USA and when she gets on she can do damage as she leads the conference with 42 stolen bases, 10 more than the Raiders' Birdsong.
Raquel Escareno and Briana Daiss provide the Herd with power as they both have eight homers to lead the team and Daiss's 42 RBIs lead the conference.
Marshall will look to Jordan Dixon as she has started 31 of the team's 45 games this season. Dixon has a 2.95 ERA, good enough for ninth in C-USA, and a 17-17 record. Dixon's 40 appearances are the most in the conference this season, seven more than Cheney's 33 appearances which is the second most in the league. The 17 wins for Dixon are the second most in C-USA, while the 17 loses are the most in the conference.
The teams will play a double header on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled at noon central time. Sunday's single game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. central.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
1B/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
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