Baseball Rallies to Beat Tech 8-7

Sunday, March 10

Murfreesboro, TN

2:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

Tennessee Tech

3/10/2002 6:09:00 PM | Baseball

By: MT Media Relations

Some late inning heroics lifted the Blue Raider baseball team to a come-from-behind 8-7 win over visiting Tennessee Tech on Sunday afternoon in front of 453 fans. Aside from winning the contest, the big story for the Blue Raiders was yet another sub-par defensive performance. The Blue Raiders committed six errors to give them 13 in the last two games. Things started well enough for the team, though. After surrendering an unearned run in the top of the first, the Blue Raiders roared into the lead behind a solo homer from freshman Nate Jaggers and an RBI single from Brett Carroll gave the team a 2-1 lead. The Blue Raiders posted two more runs in the second and seemed to be cruising behind starting pitcher John Williams. However, Tech would rally during the fourth and fifth. The Golden Eagles pieced together clutch hits coupled with MT errors to score four runs and retake the lead. Tech starter Bubbie Buzachero tightened up to hold the Blue Raiders scoreless through the middle innings to keep his team on top. The Blue Raider got back up to tie the score with a run in the bottom of the seventh, but it was short-lived as Tech scored two runs in the top of the eighth, chasing Williams from the game and take what seemed to be a commanding lead with only two innings remaining. The Blue Raiders, however, would not go quietly. Middle Tennessee put a run on the board with a Josh Archer homer while reliever Chris Mobley held the Golden Eagles in check. With the Blue Raiders (8-3) trailing 7-6 going into the bottom of the ninth, Jaggers got a one-out double to fall just inside the foul line and Justin Sims brought Jaggers home with a triple down the right field line to knot the score. Marshall Nisbett, the team's hottest hitter of late, was intentionally walked to put runners at the corners. Carroll then ended the game with a two-strike sacrifice fly to left that brought Sims home with the winning run. Mobley (2-0) picked up the win for the Blue Raiders while Buzachero took the loss. The teams will meet again tomorrow at 4 PM in Cookeville in a game that was rescheduled following a rainout on Saturday. The Blue Raiders will continue a marathon week with games at Memphis on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home to face Missouri Valley Conference foe Southwest Missouri in a three-game set over the weekend. Tuesday and Wednesday's contests will mark the first radio broadcasts for the team this season. Saturday and Sunday's contests against SMS will also be broadcast. Each game can be heard locally on WMTS 88.3 FM and via the internet at GoBlueRaiders.com.