Baseball to play Belmont on Tuesday

Tuesday, March 13

Nashville, Tenn.

4:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

Belmont

Photo by: Athletic Communications

3/12/2012 4:58:00 PM | Baseball

By: Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee baseball team is set for a second consecutive midweek road game as the Blue Raiders will make the short trip up the road to Nashville to take on the Belmont Bruins of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The game serves as the final road game for MT before hosting nine consecutive at Reese Smith Jr. Field. Belmont is 9-7 this season with an 8-5 mark at Rose Park. The Bruins posted a win over Auburn on Sunday and have won seven of their last 10 games. The Blue Raiders have a 2-3 record on the road so far this season, and will be looking to even it up by exacting revenge against the Bruins, who handed MT an 11-3 loss in Nashville last time around, breaking up a nine-game winning streak in the series. Overall, MT is 20-5 against Belmont under the direction of Steve Peterson and have not lost back-to-back games since 2006. The Blue Raiders have contributions from up-and-down the line-up this season, but leadoff hitter Ryan Ford has put up some of the best numbers of his career against the Bruins, boasting of a .500 average to go along with three runs scored and a pair of walks in three meetings. Fellow infielders Johnny Thomas and Ethan Williams will look to keep their hot bats rolling as the duo combined to hit .476 with a .542 on base-percentage over the weekend against Ball State, tallying three runs scored and four batted in on two doubles and two home runs. MT will turn to Jordan Cooper on the mound for the third consecutive week. The junior lefthander has been instrumental in wins over Tennessee and Southern Illinois over his past two starts, but hasn't picked up the win. Cooper is 0-0 on the season with a 3.86 ERA. First pitch at Rose Park in Nashville is scheduled for 4 p.m.