Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, April 14
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6 PM
Middle Tennessee
18-17, 6-8
18
vs
3
UAB
16-19, 5-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
UAB
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
3
9
2
Middle Tennessee
0
2
2
7
4
0
3
18
17
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Spencer, AJ (2-0)
L: LAMAR, Adam (2-2)
Batting:
2B: VISINTAINER, Price 1 ; MCCOWN, Riley 1
RBI: MCCOWN, Riley 1 ; SCHULTZ, Colton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: VISINTAINER, Price 1 ; DOBBS, Stephen 1 ; MCCOWN, Riley 1
HBP: HICKLEN, Brewer 1
Batting:
2B: Kemp, Ryan 1 ; Benefield, Blake 1
HR: Lopez, Manuel 1 ; Kemp, Ryan 1 ; Aucker, Aaron 1 ; Dennis, Austin 2
RBI: Lopez, Manuel 3 ; Jarreau, Brad 1 ; Kemp, Ryan 1 ; Aucker, Aaron 1 ; Dennis, Austin 5 ; Huff, Drew 1 ; Benefield, Blake 2
SH: Jarreau, Brad 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Delgado, Riley 1 ; Lopez, Manuel 1 ; Jarreau, Brad 1 ; Kemp, Ryan 2 ; Aucker, Aaron 3 ; Dennis, Austin 3 ; King, Kaleb 2 ; Curtis, Elliott 1 ; Huff, Drew 1 ; Benefield, Blake 1 ; Kunsa, Phillip 1 ; Vesser, Chaz 1
SB: Benefield, Blake 1 ; Vesser, Chaz 1
HBP: Dennis, Austin 1 ; Huff, Drew 1 ; Benefield, Blake 2 ; Kunsa, Phillip 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
5
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
OF/IF
/ BaseballSS
/ BaseballOF/IF
/ Baseball
OF/1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP/OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
Blue Raiders play home run derby in 18-3 win
4/14/2017 9:24:00 PM | Baseball
MT blasts five round-trippers
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – One night after winning in dramatic come-from-behind fashion, Middle Tennessee left no doubt as it secured an 18-3 series-clinching win against UAB at Reese Smith Jr. Field Friday.
The Blue Raiders (18-17, 6-8) continued their offensive prowess with 17 hits, including five home runs compliments of Austin Dennis, who belted two, Aaron Aucker, Ryan Kemp and Manuel Lopez, who connected for a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the seventh to provide the final dagger. Lopez' blast enacted the C-USA 15-run mercy rule that is in effect in the second game of all league series.
Austin Dennis continued his sweltering pace, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, including a grand slam, five RBI and three runs scored. Aucker was 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and one RBI; and Kemp was 2-for-4 with a home run, double, two runs scored and one RBI. Blake Benefield (2-for-2, two RBI, one run scored) and Riley Delgado (2-for-5, one run) also had multi-hit games for Middle Tennessee.
AJ Spencer (2-0) earned the win with another quality start. Spencer scattered seven hits in 5-2/3 innings, allowing three runs, before giving way to Carson Lester for the finish. Lester pitched 1-1/3 innings of two-hit shutout baseball.
"It's great to have the series win, but we need to finish the series (Saturday)," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jim McGuire said. "AJ was big for us tonight. He set a good tone in the early innings and gave us another good start. We continue to hit up and down the lineup. I'm really proud of the way the guys are swinging the bats."
Dennis tied the score, 1-1, with a solo shot to left field leading off the bottom of the second. It was his fourth home run of the season and provided his fourth hit in the last six at-bats. The Blue Raiders took a 2-1 lead later in the inning when Benefield delivered a one-out double to score Kaleb King, who had singled.
The Blue Raiders continued to play home run derby in the bottom of the third when Kemp and Aaron Aucker supplied back-to-back blasts to build a 4-1 lead. Kemp started the inning with a drive off the Lee Victory Wall of Champions in left center for his fourth circuit clout of the season.
Aucker followed with an even more impressive shot when he exploded on an Adam Lamar offering and sent a jolt onto the landing of the football stadium in left field – an estimated 380 feet away. It was Aucker's team-leading sixth home run of the season and his fourth round tripper in four games.
UAB had climbed to within 4-3 in the top of the fourth, but Middle Tennessee strung together six hits, two walks, two hit batsmen and two crucial UAB errors to score seven runs and take an 11-3 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Benefield, Delgado, Jarreau, Aucker Huff and Chaz Vesser collected base knocks in the five-run frame when the Blue Raiders sent 12 batters to the plate and broke the game open.
The fun was far from complete, though.
Dennis connected for his second career grand slam in the bottom of the fifth. Dennis' second home run of the game and fifth of the season pushed the lead to 15-3 in the fifth. Lopez capped it with his first career home run.
The Blue Raiders will look to complete the sweep when they send Cody Puckett to the mound Saturday. First pitch is 2 p.m.
The Blue Raiders (18-17, 6-8) continued their offensive prowess with 17 hits, including five home runs compliments of Austin Dennis, who belted two, Aaron Aucker, Ryan Kemp and Manuel Lopez, who connected for a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the seventh to provide the final dagger. Lopez' blast enacted the C-USA 15-run mercy rule that is in effect in the second game of all league series.
Austin Dennis continued his sweltering pace, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, including a grand slam, five RBI and three runs scored. Aucker was 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and one RBI; and Kemp was 2-for-4 with a home run, double, two runs scored and one RBI. Blake Benefield (2-for-2, two RBI, one run scored) and Riley Delgado (2-for-5, one run) also had multi-hit games for Middle Tennessee.
AJ Spencer (2-0) earned the win with another quality start. Spencer scattered seven hits in 5-2/3 innings, allowing three runs, before giving way to Carson Lester for the finish. Lester pitched 1-1/3 innings of two-hit shutout baseball.
"It's great to have the series win, but we need to finish the series (Saturday)," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jim McGuire said. "AJ was big for us tonight. He set a good tone in the early innings and gave us another good start. We continue to hit up and down the lineup. I'm really proud of the way the guys are swinging the bats."
Dennis tied the score, 1-1, with a solo shot to left field leading off the bottom of the second. It was his fourth home run of the season and provided his fourth hit in the last six at-bats. The Blue Raiders took a 2-1 lead later in the inning when Benefield delivered a one-out double to score Kaleb King, who had singled.
The Blue Raiders continued to play home run derby in the bottom of the third when Kemp and Aaron Aucker supplied back-to-back blasts to build a 4-1 lead. Kemp started the inning with a drive off the Lee Victory Wall of Champions in left center for his fourth circuit clout of the season.
Aucker followed with an even more impressive shot when he exploded on an Adam Lamar offering and sent a jolt onto the landing of the football stadium in left field – an estimated 380 feet away. It was Aucker's team-leading sixth home run of the season and his fourth round tripper in four games.
UAB had climbed to within 4-3 in the top of the fourth, but Middle Tennessee strung together six hits, two walks, two hit batsmen and two crucial UAB errors to score seven runs and take an 11-3 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Benefield, Delgado, Jarreau, Aucker Huff and Chaz Vesser collected base knocks in the five-run frame when the Blue Raiders sent 12 batters to the plate and broke the game open.
The fun was far from complete, though.
Dennis connected for his second career grand slam in the bottom of the fifth. Dennis' second home run of the game and fifth of the season pushed the lead to 15-3 in the fifth. Lopez capped it with his first career home run.
The Blue Raiders will look to complete the sweep when they send Cody Puckett to the mound Saturday. First pitch is 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
🎥 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
