Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, March 23
Murfreesboro, TN
5 PM
Middle Tennessee
12-10, 0
0
vs
4
Charlotte
13-8, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Charlotte
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
4
8
1
Middle Tennessee
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
3
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Josh Maciejewski (3-1)
L: Wyrick, Jake (0-1)
S: Jonah Patten (3)
Batting:
2B: Drew Ober 1 ; Jake Whitcomb 1
3B: Jackson Mims 1
HR: Harris Yett 1
RBI: Harris Yett 2 ; Hunter Jones 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jackson Mims 1 ; Harris Yett 1 ; Drew Ober 1 ; Jake Whitcomb 1
SB: Jackson Mims 1 ; Drew Ober 1
HBP: Harris Yett 1
Batting:
SH: Hagenow, Jake 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF/IF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
Blue Raiders fall in C-USA home opener
3/23/2018 8:42:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee was gifted a good pitching performance Friday against Charlotte but couldn't back it up at the plate, falling in its conference home opener 4-0 at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
The loss drops the Blue Raiders (12-10, 2-2) to 8-5 all-time against the 49ers (13-8, 3-1), who've won four in a row in the series after a three-game weekend sweep in 2017.
"We couldn't get anything going against their left-hander," MT head coach Jim McGuire said. "I knew it was going to be a tough matchup for us … We have to come out tomorrow and swing the bat better. That's all it comes down to."
Charlotte went into the game with one of Conference USA's best offenses, ranking first in the league with a .316 team batting average and second with 154 runs scored this season, but Blue Raider starter Jake Wyrick wasn't intimidated.
The senior southpaw had his best outing of the season, tossing six innings and giving up two runs, one earned, while striking out seven against two walks.
"The big thing was trying to make competitive pitches with two strikes," Wyrick said. "We noticed earlier in the season that whenever I got to two strikes, I wasn't executing pitches from there. Today, I was able to execute pitches with two strikes and kept them off balance."
Wyrick cruised through the first three innings before running into a jam he couldn't escape in the fourth.
After a leadoff double started the frame, Wyrick got two outs and forced a ground ball to sure-handed third baseman Drew Huff. The junior couldn't handle the hot shot, though, committing his first error of the season that allowed the runner to score.
Another Charlotte double in the fifth inning led to an RBI single to bring the score to 2-0, and Middle Tennessee couldn't recover.
The Blue Raider bats, which had been on a hot streak averaging seven runs per game leading to a 4-1 record in their last five, couldn't figure out 49er starter Josh Maciejewski.
Middle Tennessee finally chased the lefty with one out in the eighth inning after back-to-back singles from LA Woodard and Austin Dennis but couldn't push a run home after loading the bases with just one out.
Charlotte then added two more runs in the top of the ninth after a leadoff triple and home run.
"We did what we had to do right there, we loaded the bases with one out and you have your four- and five-hole hitters coming up, and we just got nothing out of it," McGuire said. "It was frustrating from that aspect of it."
Huff finished 3-for-4 in his second consecutive three-hit night, while five other Blue Raiders also added hits.
On the mound, redshirt sophomore Sheldon Paulk relieved Wyrick in the seventh and pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit and three walks while striking out three. Fellow redshirt sophomore Andy Wright relieved Paulk for the final 1 1/3 innings, giving up two runs.
The weekend series will continue Saturday at 2 p.m., which was moved up from 4 p.m. due to the chance of inclement weather.
"The times that we've really struggled and haven't scored runs have been against left-handed pitching … and I was worried about that tonight," McGuire said. "They'll throw a right-hander tomorrow, and I think our approach has been better with right-handed pitching. I'm hoping that works in our favor."
The loss drops the Blue Raiders (12-10, 2-2) to 8-5 all-time against the 49ers (13-8, 3-1), who've won four in a row in the series after a three-game weekend sweep in 2017.
"We couldn't get anything going against their left-hander," MT head coach Jim McGuire said. "I knew it was going to be a tough matchup for us … We have to come out tomorrow and swing the bat better. That's all it comes down to."
Charlotte went into the game with one of Conference USA's best offenses, ranking first in the league with a .316 team batting average and second with 154 runs scored this season, but Blue Raider starter Jake Wyrick wasn't intimidated.
The senior southpaw had his best outing of the season, tossing six innings and giving up two runs, one earned, while striking out seven against two walks.
"The big thing was trying to make competitive pitches with two strikes," Wyrick said. "We noticed earlier in the season that whenever I got to two strikes, I wasn't executing pitches from there. Today, I was able to execute pitches with two strikes and kept them off balance."
Wyrick cruised through the first three innings before running into a jam he couldn't escape in the fourth.
After a leadoff double started the frame, Wyrick got two outs and forced a ground ball to sure-handed third baseman Drew Huff. The junior couldn't handle the hot shot, though, committing his first error of the season that allowed the runner to score.
Another Charlotte double in the fifth inning led to an RBI single to bring the score to 2-0, and Middle Tennessee couldn't recover.
The Blue Raider bats, which had been on a hot streak averaging seven runs per game leading to a 4-1 record in their last five, couldn't figure out 49er starter Josh Maciejewski.
Middle Tennessee finally chased the lefty with one out in the eighth inning after back-to-back singles from LA Woodard and Austin Dennis but couldn't push a run home after loading the bases with just one out.
Charlotte then added two more runs in the top of the ninth after a leadoff triple and home run.
"We did what we had to do right there, we loaded the bases with one out and you have your four- and five-hole hitters coming up, and we just got nothing out of it," McGuire said. "It was frustrating from that aspect of it."
Huff finished 3-for-4 in his second consecutive three-hit night, while five other Blue Raiders also added hits.
On the mound, redshirt sophomore Sheldon Paulk relieved Wyrick in the seventh and pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit and three walks while striking out three. Fellow redshirt sophomore Andy Wright relieved Paulk for the final 1 1/3 innings, giving up two runs.
The weekend series will continue Saturday at 2 p.m., which was moved up from 4 p.m. due to the chance of inclement weather.
"The times that we've really struggled and haven't scored runs have been against left-handed pitching … and I was worried about that tonight," McGuire said. "They'll throw a right-hander tomorrow, and I think our approach has been better with right-handed pitching. I'm hoping that works in our favor."
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