Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Alabama A&M
Raiders Open Home Season Hosting Alabama A&M Tuesday
3/5/2018 3:00:00 PM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – After a month on the road, the Middle Tennessee softball team is set to open its home schedule tomorrow, Tuesday March 6. The Blue Raiders host Alabama A&M at 4 p.m.
This will be the eighth meeting between the Raiders and Bulldogs with MT having never lost.
Last Meeting
The two sides played a doubleheader in late April of last year. The Blue Raiders shutout AAMU, 1-0 and 2-0. The games were a story of strikeouts and home runs for MT.
The first game went to extra innings until Kirstyn Cuccia put a ball over the right field fence. Kaylyn Slatter hit a solo home run in the second game.
Cori Jennings recorded 10 strikeouts in game one and Gretchen Greer followed with 13 strikeouts in game two. They allowed just six hits and one walk in the 15 innings of shutout work.
The Blue Raiders enter the series coming off another 4-1 weekend down in Florida. MT topped North Florida, Iowa State and Presbyterian twice.
Scouting the Blue Raiders (15-6)
The MT pitchers had strong showings in the Osprey Classic. Cori Jennings and Gretchen Greer both earned 0.00 ERA's in their 12 innings of work. Jennings picked up two wins to improve to 6-3 on the year while Greer picked up one to move to 3-1 on the season. In the two Blue Raider games on Friday night, the pair allowed just four hits and struck out 15.
Dani Munoz and Precious Birdsong had hot bats for the Raiders last weekend. The pair each hit home runs, but in very different ways. Munoz's was a two-run shot over the left centerfield fence against Iowa State. Birdsong's was an inside the park grand slam against Presbyterian.
Birdsong led MT in RBI last weekend with seven and in hits with eight. She also picked up a triple and scored four runs. Her season batting average is now up to .367 on the year, only behind Summer Burgess (.485).
Burgess leads the conference and team in hits with 33 and is also top of the MT charts for batting average, total bases (36), walks (10), on base percentage (.550) and stolen bases (13).
Scouting Alabama A&M (1-6)
The Bulldogs are yet to get much of their schedule underway, having played only seven games with one having been rained out.
AAMU's one win came over Binghamton, 4-0, in the Lamar University Cardinal Classic on Feb. 23. Lauren Hayden earned the shutout win in the circle. Pitching the complete game and striking out six.
Hayden has pitched the most innings for the Bulldogs with 16.1. She also has a team-low 5.51 ERA and team-leading 14 strikeouts.
Ariel Smith leads the squad at the plate with a .333 batting average along with a pair of doubles. Alexis Bates leads the Bulldogs in RBI with four, despite her just one hit on the year. Tamia Lee-Barbadillo is hitting .300 on the season and leads AMMU in hits with six and runs scored, with three.
