Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
UT Martin
Blue Raider Softball Splits in Final Day of Frost Classic
3/5/2006 7:42:00 PM | Softball
UT-Martin jumped on the scoreboard first with three runs in the bottom of the second inning.
The Blue Raiders came back and tied the game in the top of the third inning. Senior Jennifer Dorais led off the inning with a single and moved to second off a sacrifice by Kristine Reed. Muriel Ledbetter's single to right field moved Dorias to third and she scored on a passed ball. With two outs, Melissa Weiland hit her second homerun of the season to tie the game.
Middle Tennessee took the first lead of the game in the top of the seventh inning. After Dorais singled and Ledbetter drew a walk, Dorias scored off a UT-Martin error to make the score 4-3. UT-Martin came to post two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the game.
Freshman pitcher Laura Moore took the loss. She went 6.1 innings allowing five runs on six hits and posted four strikeouts, falling to 4-8 on the season.
Weiland led the Blue Raiders going 4-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. With the homerun, Weiland moved into third place in the Middle Tennessee record books for homeruns in a career with 11.
In the final game of the Frost Classic, Middle Tennessee closed out the tournament with a win over Indiana. After four scoreless innings, the Blue Raiders struck first with three runs in the top fifth.
Katie Mielke led off the fifth with a single to left center. After advancing to second off a passed ball, Mielke scored when Samantha Floyd hit an RBI double. Shelby Stiner hit a single which advanced Floyd to third and was called out when she tried to advance to home on a fielder's choice by Martha Davis.
The Blue Raiders picked up their second run of the inning off an RBI single by senior Michelle Wilkes which plated Stiner. A sacrifice fly by Dorais scored the third run of the inning when Davis went home.
Ledbetter's homerun in the top of the sixth was the Blue Raider's fourth run of the game. She has now hit five homeruns this season which ties her for sixth in homeruns for a season.
Sophomore hurler Ashley Katinas tossed five scoreless innings before giving up a run to Indiana in the sixth. It was the only run Indiana could muster in the game.
Katinas picks up her first win of the season and improves to 1-2. She ended the game allowing one run on four hits and striking out two.
Middle Tennessee returns to action on Thursday March 9 when the Blue Raiders compete in the Stanford Tournament. The Blue Raiders open the tournament with BYU at 3 p.m.
