Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
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UTEP
Raiders Host UTEP for Final Home Series
4/27/2018 10:00:00 AM | Softball
Date: Saturday, April 28 – Sunday, April 29
Teams: Middle Tennessee vs. UTEP
Location: Blue Raider Softball Field – Murfreesboro, Tenn.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee softball team plays their final home series of the year this weekend when UTEP comes to town. The three-game series will be the second to last conference series of the year with Sunday being senior day for the seven Blue Raider seniors.
Last year the two sides met for a conference series in El Paso, Texas in mid-March. The Miners won the series, 2-1. UTEP took game one of the doubleheader, 7-6 while MT took game two 5-2. In the rubber match, the Miners won a back and forth high scoring battle, 10-7. Kristin Uselton had a triple and home run in the three game stretch while Morgan Harris also had a homer. Precious Birdsong stole three bases while Gretchen Greer picked up the Raiders lone win in the circle in the series.
Scouting the Blue Raiders (30-18, 8-9)
Middle enters the series coming off a 1-1 split with Florida Atlantic before besting Tennessee State. In MT's most recent contest with the Tigers, Amber Baldwin threw a complete game two-hitter in the circle. The freshman struck out three in her ninth win of the season.
Lexi Cushing hit a double in the game, her 11th of the year while also driving in a run, her 40th RBI. Cushing is now just three RBI short of setting another single season record. The sophomore set a new single season record for home runs (12) in last weekend's action with FAU. Cushing leads the conference in RBI and is second in slugging percentage (.736).
Precious Birdsong hit a triple against the Tigers, her third of the year. She now as 13 all-time as she continues to blaze through the Middle Tennessee career records. The senior now holds the all-time record in runs scored (147), singles (190), triples (13), stolen bases (125) and stolen bases attempted (145). She is also inching close to the top mark in hits (225), on base percentage (.455), total bases (283) and walks (80).
Chasing more records, Harris is six RBI short of setting a new career mark in the category for the Raiders. She'll be catching for Cori Jennings this weekend against the Miners. Jennings is 15-8 on the year with a 2.23 ERA in 138 innings of work. She has 83 strikeouts and a pair of saves.
Scouting the UTEP Miners (18-28, 7-11)
The Miners enter the series coming off a bye week from conference play. UTEP instead hosted Ole Miss of the SEC, falling in a two game series 4-8 and 1-7. Prior to that, the Miners were on a four game winning streak that included a sweep of North Texas, 11-8, 11-5, and 4-3.
Senior Courtney Clayton leads the miners at the plate, batting a conference-best .407. She also has 13 doubles, four triples and seven home runs, all top seven marks in C-USA. The second baseman also has a team-high 28 RBI on the season. Ariel Blair leads the Miners with nine stolen bases.
In the circle, the Miners are last in the conference in ERA, posting a 5.51 in 291 innings. Julia Wright and Kira McKechnie have each thrown over 100 innings this season and are both junior transfers for the Miners. Wright has the squad's lowest ERA at 4.67 with a 5-15 record. She has earned a conference high four saves and struck out 89 on the year. McKechnie is 9-8 this season with 72 strikeouts and a 5.82 ERA.
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