Blue Raiders fall 6-4 to FIU

Sunday, April 11

Reese Smith Jr Field

12:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

Florida International

Photo by: Bradley Lambert

4/11/2010 3:59:00 PM | Baseball

By: MT Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - After recording double-digit hits the previous two games Middle Tennessee's bats fell almost silent on Sunday afternoon in a 6-4 loss to FIU. The Blue Raiders had just four hits in the game, two of which were for extra bases. Junior Justin Miller had the most productive day at the plate going 1 for 4 with a double and two RBI. Senior Blake McDade drove in one run for Middle Tennessee as he ended the day 1 for 3 with a double and scored a run. "What we don't do is manufacture. We have had a good part of the middle of the order that has driven runs in but like today they didn't. we had a Baltimore chop that got through for Miller, McDade had a double and got to third on a throw home but now we need some contact and get something out of the seventh, eighth and ninth spot in the order which was non-existent," head coach Steve Peterson said. The Blue Raiders used four pitchers in the game with starter junior Eric Gilley taking the loss. Gilley fell to 3-1 on the season after allowing four runs on six hits with five strikeouts in four innings of work. Junior Justin Guidry and senior Kevin Whittaker combined for three innings of scoreless relief with each allowing only one hit. The Blue Raiders have won four of their five Sun Belt Conference series but have yet to sweep a league series and are now 9-6 in SBC action. FIU scored on a sacrifice fly in the first and then added two more in the third inning on a solo home run and a wild pitch taking an early 3-0 lead. The Golden Panthers added a run in the fourth extending their lead to four. With the one out and the bases loaded Miller hit a double down the right field line cutting the FIU lead in half and putting the first Blue Raiders runs on the board, 4-2. Then Skinner struck out swinging but a passed ball on the play allowed Guidry to score from third and make it a one run game. The Blue Raiders ended the inning scoring three runs on two hits making it a one run game, 4-3, in the fourth. A two-run shot by Bermudez in the seventh extended the FIU lead back to three, 6-3. McDade hit a ball deep to left center bringing in Hudson from first to cut the FIU lead to two, 6-4, with no outs in the eighth. Middle Tennessee will be back in action on Tuesday, April 13 when it travels to Nashville for a match-up with Vanderbilt at 6 p.m.