Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Sunday, February 23
Murfreesboro, TN
1 PM
Middle Tennessee
3-4
4
vs
0
Missouri State
3-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Missouri State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
Middle Tennessee
0
0
2
1
0
0
1
0
X
4
8
1
Blue Raiders Shut Out Missouri State For Third Shutout in Four Games
2/23/2020 5:21:00 PM | Baseball
Murfreesboro, Tenn.— The Middle Tennessee baseball team came to the ballpark Sunday afternoon with a sour taste in its' mouth. Just a day removed from a game that it handed to the opponent, the Blue Raiders took the field with a new look and a different demeanor. Blue tops, white-pinstripe pants and new-look lineup was perhaps just what the doctor ordered for Middle Tennessee in a 4-0 win over Missouri State.
"Our hitting is coming around and we're starting to steal some bases and make some things happen," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jim Toman. "When you win three out of four against some pretty good teams, that's a pretty good weekend. Confidence definitely comes when you win games."
Though there were some changes to the lineup, one thing remained the same: the dominance from the Blue Raider pitching staff. Starter Justin Medlin kept the ball rolling by going for 5.2 shutout innings before giving way to fifth-year senior Walker Armstrong, who delivered 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. David Zoz came on in the ninth to slam the door and preserve the third shutout in the last four games for MTSU.
"We had three shutouts this weekend, you just can't pitch much better than that," Toman said. "The pitchers have been great through all four games this weekend."
Missouri State threatened in the seventh inning, loading the bases with nobody out. Walker Armstrong coaxed three straight outs to escape the jam: a pop out to Brycen Thomas at first, a force-out at the plate on a grounder hit to third-baseman DJ Wright and another force-play at second base on a ground ball to defensive-replacement JT Mabry.
Another key trend Middle Tennessee continued was its' production out of the bottom of the lineup. The sixth through ninth hitters for Middle combined to go 5-for-11 with three runs and three stolen bases, thanks in large part to Blue Raider designated hitter Hunter Sullivan, who took advantage of being inserted into the starting lineup.
"We've got a bunch of guys on our team that are solid hitters," said Sullivan. "We're all ready to hit, pinch run and be put in the game defensively. When you get the call, you just got to be ready and mentally prepared for it."
The redshirt-junior stepped into the box for his first at-bat in a scoreless game in the bottom of the third. Missouri State starter Peyton Carson fired a pitch over the outside-half of the plate. Sullivan rocked back in his stance and extended his bat through the strike zone, lofting a ball just over the outstretched glove of Missouri State first baseman Ben Whetstone for a base hit. Sullivan would come around to score the game's first run thanks to a beautiful sacrifice-bunt by leadoff-man Fausto Lopez and the Blue Raiders never looked back. It was the beginning of what was a special afternoon for Sullivan, as he became the first player to steal three bases in a game since Robert Lawrence did it against Troy in 2012.
"I've got a lot of confidence in myself and a lot of my teammates on the base paths," Sullivan said. "That's our goal is to get guys into scoring position so that we can score runs. That's how we look at stealing bases."
Sullivan finished the afternoon going 3-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and a run scored to go along with his electric performance on the base paths.
Sunday's game was also the conclusion of the SAF classic, a four-day stretch in which the Blue Raiders faced four different opponents. Aside from Sunday's victory over Missouri State, the Blue Raiders collected wins over Evansville and Bradley.
MTSU will hit the road this week, traveling first to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a midweek matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. The Blue Raiders will bus further south to New Orleans for a three-game weekend-set with the Tulane Green Wave. First pitch Friday afternoon is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
"Our hitting is coming around and we're starting to steal some bases and make some things happen," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jim Toman. "When you win three out of four against some pretty good teams, that's a pretty good weekend. Confidence definitely comes when you win games."
Though there were some changes to the lineup, one thing remained the same: the dominance from the Blue Raider pitching staff. Starter Justin Medlin kept the ball rolling by going for 5.2 shutout innings before giving way to fifth-year senior Walker Armstrong, who delivered 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. David Zoz came on in the ninth to slam the door and preserve the third shutout in the last four games for MTSU.
"We had three shutouts this weekend, you just can't pitch much better than that," Toman said. "The pitchers have been great through all four games this weekend."
Missouri State threatened in the seventh inning, loading the bases with nobody out. Walker Armstrong coaxed three straight outs to escape the jam: a pop out to Brycen Thomas at first, a force-out at the plate on a grounder hit to third-baseman DJ Wright and another force-play at second base on a ground ball to defensive-replacement JT Mabry.
Another key trend Middle Tennessee continued was its' production out of the bottom of the lineup. The sixth through ninth hitters for Middle combined to go 5-for-11 with three runs and three stolen bases, thanks in large part to Blue Raider designated hitter Hunter Sullivan, who took advantage of being inserted into the starting lineup.
"We've got a bunch of guys on our team that are solid hitters," said Sullivan. "We're all ready to hit, pinch run and be put in the game defensively. When you get the call, you just got to be ready and mentally prepared for it."
The redshirt-junior stepped into the box for his first at-bat in a scoreless game in the bottom of the third. Missouri State starter Peyton Carson fired a pitch over the outside-half of the plate. Sullivan rocked back in his stance and extended his bat through the strike zone, lofting a ball just over the outstretched glove of Missouri State first baseman Ben Whetstone for a base hit. Sullivan would come around to score the game's first run thanks to a beautiful sacrifice-bunt by leadoff-man Fausto Lopez and the Blue Raiders never looked back. It was the beginning of what was a special afternoon for Sullivan, as he became the first player to steal three bases in a game since Robert Lawrence did it against Troy in 2012.
"I've got a lot of confidence in myself and a lot of my teammates on the base paths," Sullivan said. "That's our goal is to get guys into scoring position so that we can score runs. That's how we look at stealing bases."
Sullivan finished the afternoon going 3-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and a run scored to go along with his electric performance on the base paths.
Sunday's game was also the conclusion of the SAF classic, a four-day stretch in which the Blue Raiders faced four different opponents. Aside from Sunday's victory over Missouri State, the Blue Raiders collected wins over Evansville and Bradley.
MTSU will hit the road this week, traveling first to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a midweek matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. The Blue Raiders will bus further south to New Orleans for a three-game weekend-set with the Tulane Green Wave. First pitch Friday afternoon is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Medlin, Justin (1-1)
L: Carson,Peyton (0-2)
Batting:
3B: Whetstone,Ben 1
Base Running:
HBP: Hull,Mason 1
Batting:
2B: Hagenow, Jake 1
RBI: Lopez, Fausto 1 ; Wright, DJ 1 ; Mabry, JT 1 ; Sullivan, Hunter 1
SH: Lopez, Fausto 1
SF: Wright, DJ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wright, DJ 1 ; Bennett, Greg 1 ; Sullivan, Hunter 1 ; Hagenow, Jake 1
SB: Wright, DJ 1 ; Bennett, Greg 1 ; Sullivan, Hunter 3
PO: Sullivan, Hunter 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP/INF
/ BaseballINF/RHP
/ BaseballRHP/INF
/ Baseball
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