Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, October 11
Knoxville, TN
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
1
at
12
University of Tennessee
MT softball drops fall finale at Tennessee
10/11/2019 9:35:00 PM | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee softball battled for five innings with Tennessee, but the Lady Volunteers scored eight runs in the final two innings to pull away late and make the final score 12-1.
The first three innings cruised past with the score leveled at 0-0. Samantha Valentine walked and advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch in the first, and the Blue Raiders got another baserunner in the second, but MT couldn't push across a run.
The Lady Vols also did not experience much success at the plate in the early frames. Mia Marinakis started her second game of the fall and faced only one batter more than the minimum through her three scheduled innings. Marinakis got help from catcher Ryan King in the third inning, who threw out a runner attempting to steal second base.
"That should give her a lot of confidence," MT Head Coach Jeff Breeden said of his pitcher's performance on Friday night.
"She handled them tremendously well tonight, and she was good at the plate as well. Her changeup baffled them. I thought she was in total control, and I thought we could've left her in there if we wanted to."
After the Lady Vols manufactured two runs in the fifth to open the scoring, Summer Burgess singled to break up UT's no-hit bid in the MT half of the sixth. Tennessee scored two more in the sixth, four in the seventh, and four in the eighth to tally 12 runs.
In their final at bat, the Blue Raiders pieced together four singles to score a run. Keely McGee and Burgess knocked back-to-back singles with one out. After a fielder's choice, Lani Rodriguez and Kaylee Richetto hit consecutive singles, with Richetto's scoring Burgess.
"It seemed like our left-handers did a really good job of putting the ball in play tonight," Breeden added. "We found the five-six hole a little bit there, and I was pleased with that rally we had going."
MT's fall is now complete, and the Blue Raiders will take the winter to prepare for the 2020 season, which will begin in February.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Softball), Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
The first three innings cruised past with the score leveled at 0-0. Samantha Valentine walked and advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch in the first, and the Blue Raiders got another baserunner in the second, but MT couldn't push across a run.
The Lady Vols also did not experience much success at the plate in the early frames. Mia Marinakis started her second game of the fall and faced only one batter more than the minimum through her three scheduled innings. Marinakis got help from catcher Ryan King in the third inning, who threw out a runner attempting to steal second base.
"That should give her a lot of confidence," MT Head Coach Jeff Breeden said of his pitcher's performance on Friday night.
"She handled them tremendously well tonight, and she was good at the plate as well. Her changeup baffled them. I thought she was in total control, and I thought we could've left her in there if we wanted to."
After the Lady Vols manufactured two runs in the fifth to open the scoring, Summer Burgess singled to break up UT's no-hit bid in the MT half of the sixth. Tennessee scored two more in the sixth, four in the seventh, and four in the eighth to tally 12 runs.
In their final at bat, the Blue Raiders pieced together four singles to score a run. Keely McGee and Burgess knocked back-to-back singles with one out. After a fielder's choice, Lani Rodriguez and Kaylee Richetto hit consecutive singles, with Richetto's scoring Burgess.
"It seemed like our left-handers did a really good job of putting the ball in play tonight," Breeden added. "We found the five-six hole a little bit there, and I was pleased with that rally we had going."
MT's fall is now complete, and the Blue Raiders will take the winter to prepare for the 2020 season, which will begin in February.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Softball), Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
Players Mentioned
SS
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
2B/3B
/ Softball
2B
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