Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
FIU
MT Travels to FIU for Pivotal Conference Series
4/13/2018 12:00:00 PM | Softball
Date: Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15
Teams: Middle Tennessee at FIU
Location: Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium in Miami, Fla.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee softball team resumes conference play this week after six straight non-conference matchups. The Blue Raiders head south to Miami, Fla. to face C-USA foe FIU in a three game series. The clash gets underway with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 14 at 3pm and concludes on Sunday with a single game at 12pm.
Last season, the two teams met in Murfreesboro in March with FIU sweeping the three game conference series. The Panthers won by scores of 3-0, 2-1 and 3-0. The wins added to FIU's all-time lead over the Raiders which is currently 46-16 dating back to the 2000 season. The last time MT came out on top was a 7-6 win in the 2015 season.
Shannon Saile earned two complete game shutout victories in the circle over the Raiders a year ago. She subsequently earned a C-USA Pitcher of the Week honor for the feat. Kristin Uselton had a double in the series and drove in Keely McGee, MT's only run of the weekend.
Scouting the Blue Raiders (27-15, 6-6)
Middle enters the series on a high following two offensive explosions over Belmont and Austin Peay midweek. The Raiders earned a 7-2 and 8-2 victory that saw them amass 25 hits which included five doubles and a home run. Claire Smith was a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored at Belmont while Morgan Harris was also a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI at APSU.
Summer Burgess enters the weekend still leading the squad at the plate with a .393 clip and .456 on base percentage. As a team, MT is the only member of the conference hitting above .300 on the year (.303). Cushing continues to cruise her way through her sophomore season, leading the Raiders in doubles (10), home runs (10) and RBI (34). She is also now second or tied for second in the conference in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage (.738).
In the circle, the Blue Raider pitching staff continues to top C-USA in ERA with a 2.53. Pattie Ruth Taylor has a squad-low 1.97 ERA in 21.1 innings of action. The redshirt-senior pitched four innings to earn the victory over Austin Peay earlier this week. Cori Jennings has seen the most action though with 112.0 innings of work. She has a 2.31 ERA and leads MT in strikeouts with 71.
Scouting FIU (22-22, 6-6)
Last weekend, the Panthers picked up a conference series win over Florida Atlantic by winning two out three. Most recently though, FIU dropped a 3-0 game to in-state rival Stetson. The Panthers mustered just two hits in the contest.
One of the preseason favorites to win the conference (picked second), FIU has had a challenging slate to enter this weekend's matchup at .500. The Panthers have lost to ranked teams, South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida. However, they also did pick up a win over Florida when they were ranked No. 4.
Preseason Pitcher of the Year and 2017 Freshman of the Year Shannon Saile pitched the complete game shutout victory over the Gators. She struck out nine.
Saile has been on a tear in her sophomore season. The hurler has a conference-low 1.71 ERA in 139.0 innings for a 13-8 record in the circle. She also already surpassed 200 strikeouts on the year, which is fourth most in the nation. Saile averages 10.4 strikeouts her game, 10th most in the nation and allows just 3.68 hits per game which is 17th best in NCAA DI.
The Panther bats haven't shined quite as bright as Saile as they are hitting just .260 as a team, 10th in C-USA. Jackie Schoff leads FIU with a .378 clip at the plate and a conference leading 59 hits, 10 of which have been doubles. She also leads the team in runs scored (25), stolen bases (11), slugging percentage (.468) and on base percentage (.406). Venessa Gallegos leads the Panthers with 30 RBI and has hit five home runs and a triple. Kasandra Castle has 28 RBI on the year and has also hit five homers.
