Blue Raiders drop two on Saturday

Saturday, February 25

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

11:00 AM

Middle Tennessee

UT Martin

2/25/2006 6:57:00 PM | Softball

By: MT Media Relations

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee softball team dropped two hard-fought contests on Saturday during the second day of the MT Breast Cancer Strikeout Classic. The Blue Raiders (2-8) fell to Tennessee-Martin in the first game of the day, 6-2, then fell to Syracuse, 9-1. "We have had plenty of ups and downs this season and Saturday was no different," said Head Coach Leigh Podlesny. "We are so young and inexperienced right now, but only playing games will get us the experience we need to improve as a team. We have to be good in all facets of the game in order to be successful and today we were not." Laura Moore took the mound against UTM and carried a 1-0 lead through the first two innings before the Skyhawks tied it in the third inning. Following a scoreless fourth inning, UTM scored two in the bottom half to take a 3-1 lead. Middle Tennessee added a run in the fifth to pull to within one run at 3-2. That score held until the bottom of the sixth when UTM exploded for three runs to take a 6-2 advantage. The Blue Raiders could not mount a comeback in the seventh. Trish White, who came on in the fourth inning, picked up the loss to drop her record to 1-3 on the season. The Blue Raiders were held to just two hits, one by Michelle Wilkes and another by Kristine Reed. Against the Orangemen, the Blue Raiders once again struggled at the plate with only two hits in managing just one run. Like in the first game of the day, Middle Tennessee scored the first run of the game when Reed recorded her fourth home run of the season in the second inning. That would be all the scoring for the Blue Raiders. Syracuse took a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning and broke the game open with seven runs to put the run rule into effect. The Blue Raiders could not get on the board and the game ended in the bottom half of the inning. White (1-4) gave up seven hits and seven runs to pick up her second loss of the day. Wilkes and Reed registered the only hits for MT. "Our players are still searching for solutions," said Podlesny. "They are practicing extra on their own and sticking together. This is just a process you go through with tough losses." The Blue Raiders will be back in action on Sunday at StarPlex Park in Murfreesboro to take on Loyola-Chicago at 11 AM. Action will get underway at 9 AM before ending with the final game of the tournament at 1 PM.