Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Tuesday, February 26
Murfreesboro, TN.
3:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
4-3
11
vs
4
Tennessee Tech
3-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Tennessee Tech
1
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
4
12
1
Middle Tennessee
1
4
6
0
0
0
0
0
X
11
15
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Young, Josh (1-0)
L: HOLLEY, Daniel (0-1)
S: Holcombe, Tyler (1)
Batting:
2B: MEUSE, Jay 1
RBI: HINCHMAN, Jason 1 ; SCHAD, Jack 1 ; HOGAN, Jason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MEUSE, Jay 1 ; CARRERA, Anthony 1 ; HINCHMAN, Jason 1 ; WALKER, Zell 1
HBP: HINCHMAN, Jason 1
Batting:
2B: Carnevale, Nick 1 ; Antonini, Aaron 2 ; Benefield, Blake 1 ; Huff, Drew 1 ; Freeman Jr., Darrell 1 ; Prewett, Darien 1
HR: Antonini, Aaron 1 ; Christian, Myles 1
RBI: Carnevale, Nick 1 ; Antonini, Aaron 4 ; Benefield, Blake 2 ; Christian, Myles 2 ; Freeman Jr., Darrell 1 ; Prewett, Darien 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carnevale, Nick 2 ; Antonini, Aaron 3 ; Benefield, Blake 1 ; Christian, Myles 1 ; Parker, Tanner 2 ; Freeman Jr., Darrell 1 ; Prewett, Darien 1
SB: Christian, Myles 1 ; Parker, Tanner 1
CS: Thomas, Brycen 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
MT rides offense to win over TTU
2/26/2019 7:26:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A three-inning offensive outburst led to an in-state win for Middle Tennessee Tuesday at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
Tennessee Tech (3-4) made the short trip from Cookeville to Murfreesboro and couldn't contain the Blue Raiders' bats. Middle Tennessee (4-3) cruised to an 11-4 win behind season highs in runs and hits (15).
"I'm just happy for the players to actually get some hits, because we haven't exactly been scoring many runs," first-year MT head coach Jim Toman said. "That's by far the best we've swung it in our seven games."
After the Golden Eagles got the scoring started with a run in the top of the first inning, the home team took over.
Junior catcher Aaron Antonini started the MT onslaught with a home run in the bottom of the first, the first Blue Raider longball of the season.
Four doubles then gave the blue and white four runs in the second, and two doubles and another homer, this time from sophomore Myles Christian, plated six more in the third.
When Middle Tennessee was finally through in the bottom of the third, it had scored 11 unanswered runs on 12 hits, including six doubles and two home runs.
Going into the afternoon, the Blue Raiders had only four extra-base hits in six games this season, all doubles.
"We have guys on the bench picking you up after every at-bat, and that just helps you not give up on yourself and gives you confidence," said Christian, who celebrated his 20th birthday Tuesday with a blast.
The 11 runs were plenty enough, as the MT pitching staff did its job to hold a good Tennessee Tech offense at bay.
Five hurlers – starter David Zoz, Josh Young, Carter Bair, AJ Spencer and Tyler Holcombe – combined to give up four runs, three coming in the seventh. Young was given the win after going three shutout innings, and Holcombe earned a three-inning save by striking out four and only giving up a single.
"[The staff] was huge," Antonini said. "[Pitching coach Kyle Bunn] has done a great job with the pitchers this year … it's really unbelievable the work he's done."
All nine Blue Raiders who came to the plate got at least one hit, led by Antonini. The Hollywood, Florida native had a career night, finishing 3-for-5 with a home run, double, three runs scored and four RBIs.
Nick Carnevale, Blake Benefield, Drew Huff and Darien Prewett each added multi-hit games.
The Blue Raiders' ability to barrel up the ball was something Toman and first-year hitting coach Blake Hunt had been waiting on.
"Coach Hunt is a really good hitting guy, but he was starting to wonder if he needed to do something different," Toman said. "We changed the lineup around just a little bit … and I thought the big hit was Prewett's two-strike, two-out hit that kept the rally going [in the third]. We scored a bunch of runs after that."
MT is hoping the bats carry over into Wednesday, when it'll make a trip to Knoxville to take on Tennessee. The Volunteers went into Tuesday leading the country in team ERA (.57), with the Blue Raiders one spot behind (.80 ERA).
"We just have to go out and play as hard as we can; that's all Coach Toman preaches," Christian said. "I think if we do that and we come out like we did today and have fun, it's going to be a good game."
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Tennessee Tech (3-4) made the short trip from Cookeville to Murfreesboro and couldn't contain the Blue Raiders' bats. Middle Tennessee (4-3) cruised to an 11-4 win behind season highs in runs and hits (15).
"I'm just happy for the players to actually get some hits, because we haven't exactly been scoring many runs," first-year MT head coach Jim Toman said. "That's by far the best we've swung it in our seven games."
After the Golden Eagles got the scoring started with a run in the top of the first inning, the home team took over.
Junior catcher Aaron Antonini started the MT onslaught with a home run in the bottom of the first, the first Blue Raider longball of the season.
Four doubles then gave the blue and white four runs in the second, and two doubles and another homer, this time from sophomore Myles Christian, plated six more in the third.
When Middle Tennessee was finally through in the bottom of the third, it had scored 11 unanswered runs on 12 hits, including six doubles and two home runs.
Going into the afternoon, the Blue Raiders had only four extra-base hits in six games this season, all doubles.
"We have guys on the bench picking you up after every at-bat, and that just helps you not give up on yourself and gives you confidence," said Christian, who celebrated his 20th birthday Tuesday with a blast.
The 11 runs were plenty enough, as the MT pitching staff did its job to hold a good Tennessee Tech offense at bay.
Five hurlers – starter David Zoz, Josh Young, Carter Bair, AJ Spencer and Tyler Holcombe – combined to give up four runs, three coming in the seventh. Young was given the win after going three shutout innings, and Holcombe earned a three-inning save by striking out four and only giving up a single.
"[The staff] was huge," Antonini said. "[Pitching coach Kyle Bunn] has done a great job with the pitchers this year … it's really unbelievable the work he's done."
All nine Blue Raiders who came to the plate got at least one hit, led by Antonini. The Hollywood, Florida native had a career night, finishing 3-for-5 with a home run, double, three runs scored and four RBIs.
Nick Carnevale, Blake Benefield, Drew Huff and Darien Prewett each added multi-hit games.
The Blue Raiders' ability to barrel up the ball was something Toman and first-year hitting coach Blake Hunt had been waiting on.
"Coach Hunt is a really good hitting guy, but he was starting to wonder if he needed to do something different," Toman said. "We changed the lineup around just a little bit … and I thought the big hit was Prewett's two-strike, two-out hit that kept the rally going [in the third]. We scored a bunch of runs after that."
MT is hoping the bats carry over into Wednesday, when it'll make a trip to Knoxville to take on Tennessee. The Volunteers went into Tuesday leading the country in team ERA (.57), with the Blue Raiders one spot behind (.80 ERA).
"We just have to go out and play as hard as we can; that's all Coach Toman preaches," Christian said. "I think if we do that and we come out like we did today and have fun, it's going to be a good game."
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Spring Sports Show hosted by The Boulevard – April 21, 2025: Softball and Baseball
Monday, April 21
🎥 from the 52nd annual Groundhog Day Luncheon! Also, we play baseball this month 🤩
Sunday, February 02
MTSU Baseball 2025 52nd Annual Groundhog Day Luncheon
Friday, January 31
