Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, March 14
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
1:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
vs
UAB
Blue Raiders Host UAB in League Opener
3/12/2015 1:43:00 PM | Baseball
Three-Game Series Begins Friday Night
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee (8-6) opens the league portion of its schedule this weekend with a three-game series against UAB (10-4). First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Reese Smith Jr. Field. The first 200 fans in attendance on Saturday will receive a free MT baseball miniature wooden bat.
The Blue Raiders are coming off a two-game midweek set at Memphis, where they lost a close ballgame 3-1 on Tuesday before the Tigers shutout MT 11-0 on Wednesday.
MT has struggled at the plate recently, scoring just one run or less in four of the previous five contests. MT entered last weekend's series averaging eight runs per game, but that number has dropped to six.
Senior LHP Johnathan Frebis (2-1, 3.86 ERA) starts on Friday. The southpaw has tossed at least five innings and recorded three or more strikeouts in each start this season. Frebis went 3-3 in 10 Conference USA starts last season with a 4.26 ERA.
Game two will feature junior RHP Nate Hoffmann (0-1, 3.78 ERA) in his C-USA debut Saturday. Hoffmann picked up a save in the season opener and has made two starts after making his first two appearances out of the bullpen. Last Saturday, Hoffmann provided a quality start in game two against Iowa. He threw six frames and allowed one earned run on six hits.
MT's starter for game three has yet to be announced by McGuire.
Offensively, the Raiders are led by sophomore OF Brad Jarreau, who has a team-best .370 batting average. Jarreau has only struck out three times in 54 at-bats, while posting the team's second-highest on-base percentage of .452. Senior SS Dustin Delgado leads with a .455 on-base clip and has reached base in 29 consecutive games dating back to April 25, 2014. Meanwhile, senior OF Jared Allen has homered twice this week and leads MT with three long balls.
UAB defeated Troy, 7-1, last Tuesday as the Blazer pitching staff combined to strikeout 11 hitters. The Blazers also matched their season-high 15 hits against Troy. For the season, UAB is hitting .287 at the plate and averaging nearly 10 hits a game.
Through 14 games, the UAB pitching staff has posted a 2.95 team ERA. Junior RHP James Naile (1.93 ERA), senior RHP Alex Luna (2.89 ERA) and senior RHP Lieske (3.00 ERA) have each made four starts and have combined for six wins.
UAB leads the all-time series 36-28, as the two schools met for the first time in 13 years last season. The Blazers took two-out-of-three from the Raiders in Birmingham, while MT won the last meeting in Murfreesboro, 3-0, on March 21, 2001.
All three games this weekend will air on 92.5 FM WMOT2. Fans can listen and watch the games online at GoBlueRaiders.com.
The Blue Raiders are coming off a two-game midweek set at Memphis, where they lost a close ballgame 3-1 on Tuesday before the Tigers shutout MT 11-0 on Wednesday.
MT has struggled at the plate recently, scoring just one run or less in four of the previous five contests. MT entered last weekend's series averaging eight runs per game, but that number has dropped to six.
Senior LHP Johnathan Frebis (2-1, 3.86 ERA) starts on Friday. The southpaw has tossed at least five innings and recorded three or more strikeouts in each start this season. Frebis went 3-3 in 10 Conference USA starts last season with a 4.26 ERA.
Game two will feature junior RHP Nate Hoffmann (0-1, 3.78 ERA) in his C-USA debut Saturday. Hoffmann picked up a save in the season opener and has made two starts after making his first two appearances out of the bullpen. Last Saturday, Hoffmann provided a quality start in game two against Iowa. He threw six frames and allowed one earned run on six hits.
MT's starter for game three has yet to be announced by McGuire.
Offensively, the Raiders are led by sophomore OF Brad Jarreau, who has a team-best .370 batting average. Jarreau has only struck out three times in 54 at-bats, while posting the team's second-highest on-base percentage of .452. Senior SS Dustin Delgado leads with a .455 on-base clip and has reached base in 29 consecutive games dating back to April 25, 2014. Meanwhile, senior OF Jared Allen has homered twice this week and leads MT with three long balls.
UAB defeated Troy, 7-1, last Tuesday as the Blazer pitching staff combined to strikeout 11 hitters. The Blazers also matched their season-high 15 hits against Troy. For the season, UAB is hitting .287 at the plate and averaging nearly 10 hits a game.
Through 14 games, the UAB pitching staff has posted a 2.95 team ERA. Junior RHP James Naile (1.93 ERA), senior RHP Alex Luna (2.89 ERA) and senior RHP Lieske (3.00 ERA) have each made four starts and have combined for six wins.
UAB leads the all-time series 36-28, as the two schools met for the first time in 13 years last season. The Blazers took two-out-of-three from the Raiders in Birmingham, while MT won the last meeting in Murfreesboro, 3-0, on March 21, 2001.
All three games this weekend will air on 92.5 FM WMOT2. Fans can listen and watch the games online at GoBlueRaiders.com.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballThursday, February 12
Monday, February 02
Tuesday, January 27
Friday, January 31
