Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 16
Murfreesboro, TN.
12:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
2-0
3
vs
2
Bowling Green
0-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Bowling Green
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
5
1
Middle Tennessee
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
X
3
7
3
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Holcombe, Tyler (1-0)
L: ABRAHAMOWICZ, Andrew (0-1)
Batting:
2B: LAMBERT, Neil 1 ; MINORIK, Riley 1 ; WILSON, Jake 1
RBI: LAMBERT, Neil 1
SH: CROY, Brad 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LAMBERT, Neil 1 ; SUNTKEN, Ty 1
SB: WILSON, Jake 1
Batting:
RBI: Huff, Drew 1 ; Christian, Myles 1 ; Freeman Jr., Darrell 1
SH: Carnevale, Nick 1
SF: Christian, Myles 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Christian, Myles 1 ; Parker, Tanner 1 ; Carnevale, Nick 1
SB: Freeman Jr., Darrell 1
HBP: Thomas, Brycen 1 ; Benefield, Blake 1
PO: Thomas, Brycen 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballBlue Raiders Split Doubleheader on Saturday
2/16/2019 7:57:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- Middle Tennessee won its' season-opening series on Saturday after splitting a doubleheader with Bowling Green State at home. Another dominant day on the mound and some late-game heroics propelled the Blue Raiders to a victory in game one, while a few defensive miscues led to a one-run loss in game two.
Game one
Myles Christian stood on third base with two outs in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Middle Tennessee was locked in a 2-2 tie in a game that it'd squandered a few offensive opportunities to take the lead in earlier. Reserve outfielder Darrell Freeman Jr. dug into the box for his first at-bat of the game after being inserted as a defensive replacement in the seventh.
The redshirt junior delivered by lacing a line drive past Bowling Green State third baseman Gama Martinez's outstretched glove to bring a smiling Christian in for the game-winning run.
"Darrell did a great job coming in and getting the game-winning hit," Blue Raiders Head Coach Jim Toman said. "It was good to see him do that, and it's why we gave him the start in the second game."
The timely eighth-inning RBI from Freeman was his first hit of the season and his first career game-winning hit.
Middle Tennessee's pitching staff also played a pivotal role in its series-clinching 3-2 win. Starter Peyton Wigginton extended the staff's scoreless streak to 13.1 innings in his sophomore debut. The Franklin, Tennessee native gave up just one earned run and struck out seven over 4.1 innings.
The MTSU bullpen kept itself unblemished as Scheldon Paulk and Tyler Holcombe combined to shut out the Falcons over the remaining 4.2 innings, surrendering just one hit in the process. Holcombe earned the win and shut the door in the ninth inning with some stellar defensive help from Darrien Prewett in center field. Prewett threw out Bowling Green pinch-hitter Anthony Furnas from deep in center field as Furnas tried to stretch a one-out single into a double.
With nobody on base, Holcombe struck out the final batter on a slider to end it.
"I'm proud of the pitching staff and the way they competed," Toman said. "I thought our starters did well. I thought Wigginton was good today and (Carson) Lester was fine and he competed, too. That's a bright spot."
Game two
Freeman earned the start in game two of the doubleheader after grabbing the game-winning hit in game one and picked right up where he left off.
After making a spectacular catch in foul territory in the first inning, Freeman knocked in the game's first run on a bases-loaded single to give Middle Tennessee a 1-0 lead in the second inning. He got on base once more in the game, capping off what was one of the best games of Freeman's career thus far. The outfielder went a combined 2-4 on the day with a pair of RBIs and a walk.
However, the Blue Raiders fell behind by a run in the middle innings and wouldn't be able to catch back up, falling 4-3 to narrowly miss what would've been their second season-opening series sweep in a row.
Carson Lester lasted 4.2 innings and allowed three runs, albeit none were earned. Senior Drew Huff came over from third base and provided three innings of two-hit ball, earning two strikeouts along the way.
What's next?
MTSU welcomes the Northern Illinois Huskies to Reese Smith Jr. Field on Thursday to start the annual Mule Mix Classic.
Anthony Fiorella is a student writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Game one
Myles Christian stood on third base with two outs in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Middle Tennessee was locked in a 2-2 tie in a game that it'd squandered a few offensive opportunities to take the lead in earlier. Reserve outfielder Darrell Freeman Jr. dug into the box for his first at-bat of the game after being inserted as a defensive replacement in the seventh.
The redshirt junior delivered by lacing a line drive past Bowling Green State third baseman Gama Martinez's outstretched glove to bring a smiling Christian in for the game-winning run.
"Darrell did a great job coming in and getting the game-winning hit," Blue Raiders Head Coach Jim Toman said. "It was good to see him do that, and it's why we gave him the start in the second game."
The timely eighth-inning RBI from Freeman was his first hit of the season and his first career game-winning hit.
Middle Tennessee's pitching staff also played a pivotal role in its series-clinching 3-2 win. Starter Peyton Wigginton extended the staff's scoreless streak to 13.1 innings in his sophomore debut. The Franklin, Tennessee native gave up just one earned run and struck out seven over 4.1 innings.
The MTSU bullpen kept itself unblemished as Scheldon Paulk and Tyler Holcombe combined to shut out the Falcons over the remaining 4.2 innings, surrendering just one hit in the process. Holcombe earned the win and shut the door in the ninth inning with some stellar defensive help from Darrien Prewett in center field. Prewett threw out Bowling Green pinch-hitter Anthony Furnas from deep in center field as Furnas tried to stretch a one-out single into a double.
With nobody on base, Holcombe struck out the final batter on a slider to end it.
"I'm proud of the pitching staff and the way they competed," Toman said. "I thought our starters did well. I thought Wigginton was good today and (Carson) Lester was fine and he competed, too. That's a bright spot."
Game two
Freeman earned the start in game two of the doubleheader after grabbing the game-winning hit in game one and picked right up where he left off.
After making a spectacular catch in foul territory in the first inning, Freeman knocked in the game's first run on a bases-loaded single to give Middle Tennessee a 1-0 lead in the second inning. He got on base once more in the game, capping off what was one of the best games of Freeman's career thus far. The outfielder went a combined 2-4 on the day with a pair of RBIs and a walk.
However, the Blue Raiders fell behind by a run in the middle innings and wouldn't be able to catch back up, falling 4-3 to narrowly miss what would've been their second season-opening series sweep in a row.
Carson Lester lasted 4.2 innings and allowed three runs, albeit none were earned. Senior Drew Huff came over from third base and provided three innings of two-hit ball, earning two strikeouts along the way.
What's next?
MTSU welcomes the Northern Illinois Huskies to Reese Smith Jr. Field on Thursday to start the annual Mule Mix Classic.
Anthony Fiorella is a student writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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