Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Sunday, May 12
Murfreesboro, TN.
12:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
18-33, 0
6
vs
10
FIU
22-29, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
FIU
4
2
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
10
11
0
Middle Tennessee
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
6
13
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Aleman, Franco (3-4)
L: Lester, Carson (1-7)
Batting:
2B: Williams, Chris 1
HR: Allen, Logan 1 ; Rog, Kaeber 1
RBI: Cartaya, Derek 2 ; Garcia, Jose 2 ; Allen, Logan 2 ; Hampton Jr., Lorenzo 1 ; Rog, Kaeber 1 ; Williams, Chris 1
SH: Cartaya, Derek 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ford, Jarrett 1 ; Cartaya, Derek 1 ; Shenton, Austin 1 ; Garcia, Jose 2 ; Allen, Logan 1 ; Hampton Jr., Lorenzo 1 ; Rog, Kaeber 2 ; Williams, Chris 1
SB: Shenton, Austin 1 ; Garcia, Jose 1
CS: Valdes, Javier 1
Batting:
2B: Antonini, Aaron 1 ; Thomas, Brycen 1 ; Benefield, Blake 1 ; Mabry, JT 1
3B: Brown, Peter 1
HR: Christian, Myles 1
RBI: Christian, Myles 1 ; Antonini, Aaron 1 ; Thomas, Brycen 1 ; Wigginton, Peyton 1 ; Mabry, JT 1 ; Freeman Jr., Darrell 1
SF: Freeman Jr., Darrell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Christian, Myles 1 ; Antonini, Aaron 1 ; Thomas, Brycen 1 ; Benefield, Blake 1 ; Brown, Peter 1 ; Parker, Tanner 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballRHP/IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
MTSU can’t overcome early deficit in 10-6 loss to FIU
5/12/2019 3:24:00 PM | Baseball
Murfreesboro, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee (18-33, 11-16) knew it needed to bring the bats to the park Sunday afternoon after a weekend filled with strong pitching. Coming off of two straight outings in which its' starters go for at least seven innings, the Blue Raiders found themselves hanging on to a one-game lead in the Conference USA standings against their opponents; the Florida International Panthers (21-29, 11-16).
The Blue Raiders had a much better day at the plate, however another big FIU inning would once again doom MTSU in a 10-6 loss in the final home game of the season.
"We out-hit (FIU) 13 to 10 and ended up losing 10-6," said MTSU Head Coach Jim Toman. "It was just a disappointing loss. The guys were fighting. When you give up nine runs in the first three innings, it's just hard to catch up."
Just as it did in the eighth inning yesterday, Florida International would ride the momentum it built from a four-run inning, this time doing it to start the ballgame in the top of the first.
The Blue Raiders didn't go quietly, however. Shortstop Myles Christian went yard for the second day in a row in the first inning for his team-high 11th home run of the season. With his first-inning solo shot, the former Major League draft pick took the team lead in RBIs with 31.
"(Christian) is a streaky kid," Toman said. "He's certainly been grinding (at the plate) and it's good to see him hit a couple of more home runs."
Christian's team-lead in RBIs wouldn't last for more than an inning, though, as catcher Aaron Antonini drove in his 31st run of the season with a double down the line in left to cut the FIU lead in half in the second inning.
Centerfielder Peter Brown also contributed to the Blue Raiders three-run second inning by leading off the inning with his first triple of the season. Brown would eventually come around to score the first run of the inning. The sophomore finished the afternoon by going 2-for-4 with a run.
The Blue Raiders were led at the plate by first baseman Brycen Thomas. Thomas had arguably his best game of the season, going 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
Darrell Freeman also drove in a run for the Blue Raiders, giving him a total of four in the series.
On the mound, sophomore Grant Williams came out of the bullpen in the third inning in a game that'd had plenty of fireworks to that point. The right-hander did his part to put out the fire by delivering six innings of two-run ball, striking out six Panthers along the way.
"When we put in Williams, he threw pretty well," Toman said. "He had just walk and six (strikeouts)."
Williams was relieved in the ninth inning by Andy Rivera, who came on to pitch a scoreless inning that included a strikeout.
Rivera's outing gave way to a bottom of the ninth where the Blue Raiders would add a pair of runs thanks to an RBI groundout from Peyton Wigginton followed by an RBI single out of JT Mabry that plated Blake Benefield, who doubled in his final at-bat at Reese Smith Field.
"Give FIU credit for winning the series," Toman said. "We've got to get ready for Vanderbilt (on Tuesday) and then Florida Atlantic (next weekend)."
What's next?
The Blue Raiders will make the trip up Interstate 24 for the final midweek game of the season against the Vanderbilt Commodores. First pitch is slated for 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.
The Blue Raiders had a much better day at the plate, however another big FIU inning would once again doom MTSU in a 10-6 loss in the final home game of the season.
"We out-hit (FIU) 13 to 10 and ended up losing 10-6," said MTSU Head Coach Jim Toman. "It was just a disappointing loss. The guys were fighting. When you give up nine runs in the first three innings, it's just hard to catch up."
Just as it did in the eighth inning yesterday, Florida International would ride the momentum it built from a four-run inning, this time doing it to start the ballgame in the top of the first.
The Blue Raiders didn't go quietly, however. Shortstop Myles Christian went yard for the second day in a row in the first inning for his team-high 11th home run of the season. With his first-inning solo shot, the former Major League draft pick took the team lead in RBIs with 31.
"(Christian) is a streaky kid," Toman said. "He's certainly been grinding (at the plate) and it's good to see him hit a couple of more home runs."
Christian's team-lead in RBIs wouldn't last for more than an inning, though, as catcher Aaron Antonini drove in his 31st run of the season with a double down the line in left to cut the FIU lead in half in the second inning.
Centerfielder Peter Brown also contributed to the Blue Raiders three-run second inning by leading off the inning with his first triple of the season. Brown would eventually come around to score the first run of the inning. The sophomore finished the afternoon by going 2-for-4 with a run.
The Blue Raiders were led at the plate by first baseman Brycen Thomas. Thomas had arguably his best game of the season, going 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
Darrell Freeman also drove in a run for the Blue Raiders, giving him a total of four in the series.
On the mound, sophomore Grant Williams came out of the bullpen in the third inning in a game that'd had plenty of fireworks to that point. The right-hander did his part to put out the fire by delivering six innings of two-run ball, striking out six Panthers along the way.
"When we put in Williams, he threw pretty well," Toman said. "He had just walk and six (strikeouts)."
Williams was relieved in the ninth inning by Andy Rivera, who came on to pitch a scoreless inning that included a strikeout.
Rivera's outing gave way to a bottom of the ninth where the Blue Raiders would add a pair of runs thanks to an RBI groundout from Peyton Wigginton followed by an RBI single out of JT Mabry that plated Blake Benefield, who doubled in his final at-bat at Reese Smith Field.
"Give FIU credit for winning the series," Toman said. "We've got to get ready for Vanderbilt (on Tuesday) and then Florida Atlantic (next weekend)."
What's next?
The Blue Raiders will make the trip up Interstate 24 for the final midweek game of the season against the Vanderbilt Commodores. First pitch is slated for 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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