Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
25-24-1, 0
Florida Atlantic
33-15-1, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Atlantic | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 11 | 2 |
| Middle Tennessee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 4 |
5/12/2018 7:36:00 PM | Baseball
Look for series win Sunday
The Blue Raiders (25-24-1, 10-15-1) will look to claim the all-important series win against the Owls (33-15-1, 16-9-1) Sunday, which is also Senior Day. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.; however, pregame ceremonies recognizing seven Blue Raider seniors will begin at 12:40 p.m.
Austin Dennis led Middle Tennessee's 10-hit attack with a 3-for-5 effort that included three runs scored. LA Woodard (2-for-4, 3 runs) and Blake Benefield (2-for-4, 2RBI) also had multi-hit games. Aaron Aucker had another big game with his team-leading 13th home run and four more RBI.
Middle Tennessee jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Woodard singled and eventually scored on an error. Ryan Kemp walked and stole second and scored on Benefield's single.
That lead was short lived as Florida Atlantic struck for a three-spot in the top of the third and added three more in the fifth to take a 6-2 lead.
Middle Tennessee's players have been swinging hot bats and are among the best-hitting team in C-USA and they did again Saturday. In fact, the Blue Raiders faced three four-run deficits in the game. They overcame one to tie the game; had a three-spot in one inning to pull to within one another time, then just ran out of gas and time before they could complete a comeback.
The Blue Raiders erased the 6-2 lead with a riveting four-run fifth that was highlighted by Aucker's team-leading 13th home run of the season and his second of the series. Aucker's blast was a three-run job to tie the game and give him a C-USA leading 73 RBI. Kemp added the other RBI in the frame.
The Owls responded with two in the sixth and seventh innings to push their lead back to four but the Blue Raiders rallied once again and pulled to within one as Drew Huff, Aucker and Benefield each had one RBI, but 10-9 was as close as the Blue Raiders would get as Florida Atlantic pulled away in the final innings.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Drew Peden (8-1)
L: Spencer, AJ (2-3)
Batting:
2B: Tyler Frank 1 ; Gunnar Lambert 1 ; Andru Summerall 1
HR: Tyler Frank 1 ; David Miranda 2 ; Gunnar Lambert 1 ; Jared DeSantolo 1
RBI: Cody Wilson 1 ; Tyler Frank 5 ; David Miranda 4 ; Gunnar Lambert 3 ; Jared DeSantolo 2 ; Andru Summerall 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cody Wilson 2 ; Tyler Frank 2 ; David Miranda 2 ; Eric Rivera 3 ; Gunnar Lambert 2 ; Joe Montes 1 ; Jared DeSantolo 1 ; Richie Nizza 2 ; Andru Summerall 2
Batting:
2B: Christian, Myles 1
HR: Aucker, Aaron 1
RBI: Kemp, Ryan 1 ; Aucker, Aaron 4 ; Benefield, Blake 2 ; Huff, Drew 1
SF: Aucker, Aaron 1 ; Huff, Drew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Woodard, LA 3 ; Dennis, Austin 3 ; Kemp, Ryan 2 ; Aucker, Aaron 1
SB: Woodard, LA 1 ; Kemp, Ryan 1
