Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 29
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6 PM
Middle Tennessee
11-14
3
vs
2
Austin Peay
11-13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Austin Peay
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
7
0
Middle Tennessee
0
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
X
3
6
0
Home Runs Power Blue Raiders Past Austin Peay, 3-2
3/29/2017 9:26:00 PM | Baseball
Jarreau hit two bombs, while Kemp hit his first career homer
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Revenge was ultra-sweet for Middle Tennessee on Wednesday.
After dropping their first contest this season against in-state foe Austin Peay (11-13) 21-8 on Feb. 28, the Blue Raiders (11-14) avenged the loss by taking down the Governors 3-2.
The win was the third in four games for the Raiders, and it pushed their record to 4-3 this season in weekday games.
"The main thing is even when we didn't execute very well, we didn't give up the lead and made a great play at the end to end it," Head Coach Jim McGuire said.
Both starters cruised through the first two innings, but in the bottom of the third the Blue Raiders got on the board thanks to a long ball. Center fielder Brad Jarreau smacked a no-doubter with two outs over the left field wall, MT's first hit of the evening, to make the score 1-0.
The senior was far from done. He came back up in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and put a charge into another one over the left field fence for the first multi-home run game of his career.
Jarreau has been hot at the plate in five games since returning from an injury. With a 2-for-4 outing Wednesday night, he's now hitting .368 (7 for 19) since re-entering the lineup. His two homers were his first two of the season. He had just three all of last year and four in his career entering the day.
"My first at-bat I got out, and I knew what they were going to try to do with me the next at-bat, so I was looking for a fastball in and wasn't swinging until I got one," Jarreau said. "I'm just seeing it well right now. I feel confident in myself, and when I feel confident in myself I put good swings on it."
It wasn't just Jarreau that got into the distance act for Middle Tennessee. Before his deep shot in the bottom of the fifth, junior second baseman Ryan Kemp blasted the first home run of his career, a solo shot to left, to lead off the inning. It was also his first RBI of the season.
The Governors went into the game as the bigger threats to go yard. They sported the nation's third-best home run accumulation (43), but the Blue Raiders proved more powerful on Wednesday.
"We've not hit many home runs," McGuire said. "The adage in baseball is solo home runs don't beat you, but when you hit three of them it gives you an opportunity. The three tonight were enough."
While MT was doing its thing at the plate, starter AJ Spencer did his job keeping APSU off the board.
The sophomore right-hander had his best outing so far this season, shutting out the Governors over five innings while allowing two hits and a walk and striking out three. He earned his first win of the year.
"I didn't feel like anything was different," Spencer said. "I really struggled at the beginning of the season, but I still had my confidence and tonight it all just came together."
Things got close in the top of the eighth when APSU plated two runs, but lefty Tanner McDivitt held on to get out of the inning and handed the ball to sophomore Drew Huff in the ninth for his first career save.
Huff also added two hits at the dish, including a double, and senior shortstop Riley Delgado extended his hitting streak to seven games, going 1-for-4.
Middle Tennessee hopes its power will carry over to this weekend when it travels to Marshall for a three-game weekend series. The Thundering Herd (11-11) are currently tied for third in Conference USA with a 3-3 league record.
Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
After dropping their first contest this season against in-state foe Austin Peay (11-13) 21-8 on Feb. 28, the Blue Raiders (11-14) avenged the loss by taking down the Governors 3-2.
The win was the third in four games for the Raiders, and it pushed their record to 4-3 this season in weekday games.
"The main thing is even when we didn't execute very well, we didn't give up the lead and made a great play at the end to end it," Head Coach Jim McGuire said.
Both starters cruised through the first two innings, but in the bottom of the third the Blue Raiders got on the board thanks to a long ball. Center fielder Brad Jarreau smacked a no-doubter with two outs over the left field wall, MT's first hit of the evening, to make the score 1-0.
The senior was far from done. He came back up in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and put a charge into another one over the left field fence for the first multi-home run game of his career.
Jarreau has been hot at the plate in five games since returning from an injury. With a 2-for-4 outing Wednesday night, he's now hitting .368 (7 for 19) since re-entering the lineup. His two homers were his first two of the season. He had just three all of last year and four in his career entering the day.
"My first at-bat I got out, and I knew what they were going to try to do with me the next at-bat, so I was looking for a fastball in and wasn't swinging until I got one," Jarreau said. "I'm just seeing it well right now. I feel confident in myself, and when I feel confident in myself I put good swings on it."
It wasn't just Jarreau that got into the distance act for Middle Tennessee. Before his deep shot in the bottom of the fifth, junior second baseman Ryan Kemp blasted the first home run of his career, a solo shot to left, to lead off the inning. It was also his first RBI of the season.
The Governors went into the game as the bigger threats to go yard. They sported the nation's third-best home run accumulation (43), but the Blue Raiders proved more powerful on Wednesday.
"We've not hit many home runs," McGuire said. "The adage in baseball is solo home runs don't beat you, but when you hit three of them it gives you an opportunity. The three tonight were enough."
While MT was doing its thing at the plate, starter AJ Spencer did his job keeping APSU off the board.
The sophomore right-hander had his best outing so far this season, shutting out the Governors over five innings while allowing two hits and a walk and striking out three. He earned his first win of the year.
"I didn't feel like anything was different," Spencer said. "I really struggled at the beginning of the season, but I still had my confidence and tonight it all just came together."
Things got close in the top of the eighth when APSU plated two runs, but lefty Tanner McDivitt held on to get out of the inning and handed the ball to sophomore Drew Huff in the ninth for his first career save.
Huff also added two hits at the dish, including a double, and senior shortstop Riley Delgado extended his hitting streak to seven games, going 1-for-4.
Middle Tennessee hopes its power will carry over to this weekend when it travels to Marshall for a three-game weekend series. The Thundering Herd (11-11) are currently tied for third in Conference USA with a 3-3 league record.
Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Spencer, AJ (1-0)
L: RYE, Josh (3-1)
S: Huff, Drew (1)
Batting:
2B: GIOVANNELLI, Garrett 1
3B: ROBLES, Alex 1
RBI: ROBLES, Alex 1 ; HAMILTON, Chase 1
SF: HAMILTON, Chase 1
Base Running:
RUNS: PHILLIPS, Parker 1 ; ROBLES, Alex 1
SB: KELLY, Landon 1
HBP: PHILLIPS, Parker 2 ; HUBBARD, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Huff, Drew 1
HR: Jarreau, Brad 2 ; Kemp, Ryan 1
RBI: Jarreau, Brad 2 ; Kemp, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jarreau, Brad 2 ; Kemp, Ryan 1
SB: Huff, Drew 1
HBP: Benefield, Blake 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
SS
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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