Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Holy Cross
Raiders Set For Five Games in Montgomery
2/15/2018 11:00:00 AM | Softball
Date: Friday, Feb. 16 – Sunday, Feb. 18
Teams: Middle Tennessee vs. Holy Cross, Fort Wayne, Akron, UT Martin and Nicholls State
Location: Montgomery, Ala. | ASU Stadium / Fain Park
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee softball team heads back out on the road for another tournament this weekend. The Blue Raiders will participate in the Black and Gold Tournament hosted by Alabama State.
The Montgomery, Ala. event will start on Friday, Feb. 16 when MT takes on Holy Cross (9:30 a.m.) and Fort Wayne (5 p.m.). On Saturday, The Blue Raiders will square off with Akron (12 p.m.) and UT Martin (5 p.m.) MT will close out to the weekend by facing Nicholls State (12 p.m.) on Sunday.
Live Stats will be available for all games this weekend and links can be found on the MT Softball schedule page of GoBlueRaiders.com.
What to Expect from the Raiders (2-4)
The Blue Raiders are coming off a challenging weekend in California that saw them stack up against No. 4 UCLA and several other Power 5 and 2017 postseason teams. MT went 2-4 on the weekend, picking up wins over Utah State and UC Riverside.
The freshman had a big impact in the game, with all five making their debuts. Amber Baldwin was a force in the circle, picking up both wins including a complete game win over Utah State. She also now leads the squad in ERA with a 2.00.
Jocelynn De La Cruz made a splash in her collegiate debut, recording a hit in every contest and picking up her first career RBI in the win over Utah State. Summer Burgess leads the Blue Raiders at the plate, hitting .476 with two doubles and a RBI.
Scouting Holy Cross (0-0)
Holy Cross opens their season this weekend, coming off a 13-30 season last year.
The Crusaders return two of their four top offensive threats from a season ago. Mandy McCarthy and Taylor Moss return for their senior season. McCarthy hit .347 with six doubles, three home runs and 23 RBI. Moss lead the squad in RBI with 25, hitting .280.
Alexandra Held returns in the circle for Holy Cross. She had a 4.28 ERA a season ago for a 9-11 record with five complete games and a save. She also led the Crusaders in strikeouts with 83.
Scouting Fort Wayne (2-3)
The Mastodons are coming off a 2-3 weekend with wins over IUPUI and Wright State.
Stephanie Hanic and Morganne Denny are each hitting above .300 early in the season, having started all five games. Hanic is hitting .333 with two doubles, a home run and a RBI. Denny has a .375 batting average and a double, a triple, a home run and a RBI.
In the circle, Bailey Benefiel is coming off a Summit League Pitcher of the Week honor. She went 1-0 last week in two appearances, recording a complete game shutout over IUPUI and a save against Wright State. Benefiel has 10 strikeouts early in the year a 1.40 ERA.
Scouting Akron (0-5)
The Zips enter the weekend, still looking for their first win of 2018, falling to Stetson, Kansas and College of Charleston.
Despite the losses, Laura Lakins is hitting .364 with a team-leading three RBI. Kayla Wulf has the Zips lone home run while Kimberly Rodriquez racked up four stolen bases in Akron's first five games.
Mikayla Newland has thrown two complete games in the circle. She has a team-low 4.91 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 18.1 innings of action.
Scouting UT Martin (2-2)
Middle and UT Martin will be facing each other for the 43rd time on Saturday, with the Blue Raiders leading the all-time series 27-14-1. In 2017, the Skyhawks topped MT in Martin, 5-3.
The Skyhawks opened the 2018 season with two wins last weekend, one over Central Arkansas and one over Grambling State.
Jodie Duncan and Alli Flucher are leading UTM at the plate, hitting .500 and .462, respectively. Duncan has a double and four RBI while Fulcher has a team-high five RBI to go with a double, a triple and a home run. Gracyn McBride leads the team in home runs, with four.
In the circle, the Skyhawks boast two pitchers with a 1-1 record. Hannah Ridolfi has a 2.90 ERA while Caitlin Karo has a 3.50. Each have picked up six more strikeouts in at least nine innings of work.
Scouting Nicholls State (0-0)
Nicholls State saw their season opening weekend get called off due to inclement weather. So the Black & Gold Tournament will now open the 2018 slate.
The Colonels and Blue Raiders have squared off three times in the past with the Blue Raiders holding a 2-1 edge. The teams last played in the Black and Gold Tournament in 2016 with each team winning a game.
In 2017, Nicholls State was 37-20. Samantha Mracich led the squad at the plate in her freshman campaign, hitting .393 with 40 runs, five doubles, three triples, a home run and 22 RBI to go with 16 stolen bases. Kasey Frederick and Amanda Gianelloni are also threats at the plate for the Colonels. The two combined for 64 RBI, 21 doubles, five triples and 10 home runs a season ago.
Mracich can also be seen in the circle as she went 3-0 last season with a 1.24 ERA. Megan Landry will the Colonels most experienced pitcher however, seeing 188 innings last season. She was 16-8 with a 2.72 ERA in 15 complete games. She also recorded six saves and 149 strikeouts.
