Blue Raider Softball Heads South For Madeira Beach Invitational

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Softball will hit the road this weekend for their third tournament of the season as the Blue Raiders make the trek to Madeira Beach, Florida, for the Madeira Beach College Invitational. They'll face five different opponents over the span of three days in Florida.

Live stat links for the weekend can be found as always at GoBlueRaiders.com. The schedule will be as follows:

Friday, 10 a.m. CT – vs. Purdue
Friday, 3 p.m. CT – vs. Colgate
Saturday, 10 a.m. CT – vs. Siena
Sunday, 8:00 a.m. CT – vs. UAlbany
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. CT – vs. South Dakota

LEADING OFF

Lani Rodriguez continued her hot streak last weekend and remains the team's leading hitter with a .357 batting average. The freshman also leads the team with a .419 on-base percentage.
Another freshman, Corrina Dodd, leads Blue Raiders' pitching staff with a 3-1 record and six appearances. She's struck out six through her first two collegiate weekends.
Middle Tennessee is 2-0 this season in extra inning games after their 2-1 eight inning win over Northern Illinois on Sunday.

ALL-TIME SERIES

MT is 2-1 all-time against Purdue with the last matchup coming in 2011. The Blue Raiders won their only meeting with Colgate back in 1998, their only meeting with Siena in 2003, and their only meeting with South Dakota in 2016. MT has never faced UAlbany.

CUSHING EYES HOME RUN RECORD

Lexi Cushing hit her first home run of the season last weekend and now has 20 in her career at MT. She's now just tied for second in the program and needs just four more to take sole possession of the school record.

BURGESS LOOKING TO STAY HOT IN FLORIDA

Summer Burgess is returning to her home state this weekend as the only Blue Raider from the Sunshine State. Though the Junior is a native of Delray Beach on the east coast of the state, she went 8-for-16 with eight runs scored and four walks in last year's Madeira Beach Invitational.

LAST TIME

Middle Tennessee went 4-1 last year in the Madeira Beach Invitational which included run-rule victories over Kent State and Marist. Amber Baldwin picked up a win in the game against Kent State and Jocelynn De La Cruz finished the weekend with 11 RBI.

SOCIAL MEDIA

For live, in-game updates, follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MT_Softball. To see behind the scenes footage and travel updates, follow @MT_Softball on Instagram. You can also keep up with the team on Facebook

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Players Mentioned

Amber Baldwin

Summer Burgess

Lexi Cushing

Jocelynn De La Cruz

Corrina Dodd

Lani Rodriguez

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics