Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, April 13
Murfreesboro, TN.
4:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
15-21, 0
9
vs
2
UAB
16-21, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UAB
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
12
3
Middle Tennessee
2
1
0
1
3
0
0
2
X
9
12
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zoz, David (2-2)
L: GRAHAM, Tanner (3-3)
Batting:
2B: DAVIS, Zack 2 ; JOHNSON, Blake 1 ; WILEY, Justin 1 ; ANTHES, Nathan 1 ; TOLBERT, Tyler 1
RBI: ANTHES, Nathan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JOHNSON, Blake 1 ; TOLBERT, Tyler 1
SB: SCHULTZ, Colton 1
CS: WILEY, Justin 1
HBP: LADNER, Ian 1 ; ANTHES, Nathan 1
PO: DAVIS, Jess 1
Batting:
2B: Benefield, Blake 1 ; Christian, Myles 1 ; Spencer, AJ 1 ; Carnevale, Nick 1
RBI: Prewett, Darien 2 ; Benefield, Blake 1 ; Wigginton, Peyton 1 ; Spencer, AJ 1 ; Carnevale, Nick 1 ; Thomas, Brycen 1 ; Parker, Tanner 1
SH: Parker, Tanner 1
SF: Parker, Tanner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Prewett, Darien 1 ; Benefield, Blake 1 ; Wigginton, Peyton 1 ; Spencer, AJ 1 ; Carnevale, Nick 4 ; Thomas, Brycen 1
SB: Carnevale, Nick 1
CS: Wigginton, Peyton 1
HBP: Benefield, Blake 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
4
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Raiders tag UAB for nine runs in series-clinching 9-2 win
4/13/2019 7:52:00 PM | Baseball
Murfreesboro, Tenn.—Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jim Toman stared at the lineup card on Sunday afternoon. He had another quirk that'd been thrown his way. After experimenting with left-handed pitcher Peyton Wigginton as the team's designated hitter, he found success with it. The second quirk? Throwing a reliever in left field. Toman penciled AJ Spencer's name into the lineup.
That proved to be a great decision in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs in the inning, Wigginton reached base for the second time of the afternoon. AJ Spencer stepped into the box looking for his first hit of the afternoon. It'd been three seasons since he regularly swung a bat. UAB starter Tanner Graham left a breaking ball over the inside-half of the strike zone and Spencer's eyes opened wide. The senior smacked a double off the wall in left to extend the Middle Tennessee (16-21, 9-6) lead to 5-1 over UAB (15-21, 3-12) a score which they'd turn into a series-clinching 9-2 win on Spencer's 22nd birthday.
"The at-bat before (the RBI double) I got beat with an inside fastball," Spencer said. "So I actually went up there looking to hit a fastball. He threw me a fastball on the first pitch and I was looking for it again. On the second pitch, I got a breaking ball and saw he left it up (in the strike zone) and put a good swing on it."
Much different from last night's late game-heroics, the Blue Raiders cruised to the win early, scoring a run in four of the game's first six innings.
"I'm proud of the team," Head Coach Jim Toman said. "After we lose the first game of the series we came back and won the whole thing. (AJ) Spencer had a big two-out double that scored a run. Almost everyone in the lineup contributed in some way tonight. Overall, it was a pretty well-played game by us."
Third basemen Nick Carnevale had a great day on the base paths, scoring a team-leading three runs. Carnevale wasn't the only Blue Raider to have a successful day offensively. Leadoff-hitter Darien Prewett extended his reached-safely streak to 14 games with a 3-for-5 day at the plate. The fifth through ninth hitters in the Blue Raider batting order each collected at least one hit and drove in at least one run.
MTSU starter David Zoz won his second game of the season behind six innings of two run ball. The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native stranded seven Blazers in his fifth start of the season. Josh Young and Scheldon Paulk came out of the bullpen to combine for three innings of shutout ball to secure the Blue Raiders ninth in-conference win of the year.
"The big thing today was that Zoz was really good and gave us six strong innings," Coach Toman said. "He competed and gave us a chance. He scattered some hits and for the most part threw strikes and only walked one."
What's next?
MTSU will head to Nashville for a mid-week matchup with the Lipscomb Bisons on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
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.
That proved to be a great decision in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs in the inning, Wigginton reached base for the second time of the afternoon. AJ Spencer stepped into the box looking for his first hit of the afternoon. It'd been three seasons since he regularly swung a bat. UAB starter Tanner Graham left a breaking ball over the inside-half of the strike zone and Spencer's eyes opened wide. The senior smacked a double off the wall in left to extend the Middle Tennessee (16-21, 9-6) lead to 5-1 over UAB (15-21, 3-12) a score which they'd turn into a series-clinching 9-2 win on Spencer's 22nd birthday.
"The at-bat before (the RBI double) I got beat with an inside fastball," Spencer said. "So I actually went up there looking to hit a fastball. He threw me a fastball on the first pitch and I was looking for it again. On the second pitch, I got a breaking ball and saw he left it up (in the strike zone) and put a good swing on it."
Much different from last night's late game-heroics, the Blue Raiders cruised to the win early, scoring a run in four of the game's first six innings.
"I'm proud of the team," Head Coach Jim Toman said. "After we lose the first game of the series we came back and won the whole thing. (AJ) Spencer had a big two-out double that scored a run. Almost everyone in the lineup contributed in some way tonight. Overall, it was a pretty well-played game by us."
Third basemen Nick Carnevale had a great day on the base paths, scoring a team-leading three runs. Carnevale wasn't the only Blue Raider to have a successful day offensively. Leadoff-hitter Darien Prewett extended his reached-safely streak to 14 games with a 3-for-5 day at the plate. The fifth through ninth hitters in the Blue Raider batting order each collected at least one hit and drove in at least one run.
MTSU starter David Zoz won his second game of the season behind six innings of two run ball. The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native stranded seven Blazers in his fifth start of the season. Josh Young and Scheldon Paulk came out of the bullpen to combine for three innings of shutout ball to secure the Blue Raiders ninth in-conference win of the year.
"The big thing today was that Zoz was really good and gave us six strong innings," Coach Toman said. "He competed and gave us a chance. He scattered some hits and for the most part threw strikes and only walked one."
What's next?
MTSU will head to Nashville for a mid-week matchup with the Lipscomb Bisons on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
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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