Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 9
Murfreesboro, TN
2:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
vs
Austin Peay
Middle Tennessee Slugs Three Home Runs in Midweek Win Against Austin Peay
3/16/2021 9:05:00 PM | Baseball
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.—The age-old saying goes the third time is the charm, and the third time was definitely the charm for Middle Tennessee on a beautiful Tuesday night in Clarksville as the Blue Raiders smashed three early home runs that led to a 4-2 win against the Austin Peay Governors.
JT Mabry opened up the scoring when he sent a 1-0 fastball over the wall in left field. The solo shot was the Blue Raider (10-5, C-USA 0-0) second baseman's second home run of the young season and it put Middle Tennessee on top 1-0 in the second inning. After Austin Peay (3-11, OVC 0-0) tied it up in their half of the second, Hunter Sullivan and Jake Hagenow each hit solo shots' of their own in the top of the third inning to push the Middle Tennessee lead out to 3-1. For Sullivan, it was his first home run of the year and for Hagenow it was his second.
Fausto Lopez hit a leadoff double down the left field line in the fifth inning and came around to score after two wild pitches to give MTSU a 4-2 lead.
Middle Tennessee was led offensively by Jake Hagenow, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, RBI and a walk serving as the team's designated hitter.
Luke Vinson, who came on as a defensive replacement for Cole Escher, drew a walk and swiped his seventh bag of the season.
The Blue Raider coaching staff decided to give the ball to Justin Medlin for his first start of the season. In just his second appearance, the southpaw went 2.1 innings and allowed just one earned run.
Medlin gave way to freshman Jaden Hamm in the third. The Culleoka, Tennessee, native did a good job dancing out of danger with the bases loaded and nobody out in the third to keep the MTSU lead intact at 3-2 to end the third inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Hamm induced his second double-play ball of the night to escape a hairy situation that began with runners on first and second and nobody out. The right-hander totaled 3.2 innings and with two strikeouts to earn his first career win.
Austin Cheeley entered the game for Middle Tennessee in the seventh inning and tossed two scoreless innings.
The Governors made things interesting in the ninth, once again loading the bases, but David Zoz came on from the bullpen with one out to slam the door and get his second save of the year by getting a huge strikeout followed by a spectacular diving catch by defensive replacement Bryce Symlar in left field to rob the Governors of the game-winning hit.
Middle Tennessee will continue the road swing this weekend when it heads to Memphis, Tennessee, to take on the Tigers for a four-game set at FedEx Park.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders
JT Mabry opened up the scoring when he sent a 1-0 fastball over the wall in left field. The solo shot was the Blue Raider (10-5, C-USA 0-0) second baseman's second home run of the young season and it put Middle Tennessee on top 1-0 in the second inning. After Austin Peay (3-11, OVC 0-0) tied it up in their half of the second, Hunter Sullivan and Jake Hagenow each hit solo shots' of their own in the top of the third inning to push the Middle Tennessee lead out to 3-1. For Sullivan, it was his first home run of the year and for Hagenow it was his second.
Fausto Lopez hit a leadoff double down the left field line in the fifth inning and came around to score after two wild pitches to give MTSU a 4-2 lead.
Middle Tennessee was led offensively by Jake Hagenow, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, RBI and a walk serving as the team's designated hitter.
Luke Vinson, who came on as a defensive replacement for Cole Escher, drew a walk and swiped his seventh bag of the season.
The Blue Raider coaching staff decided to give the ball to Justin Medlin for his first start of the season. In just his second appearance, the southpaw went 2.1 innings and allowed just one earned run.
Medlin gave way to freshman Jaden Hamm in the third. The Culleoka, Tennessee, native did a good job dancing out of danger with the bases loaded and nobody out in the third to keep the MTSU lead intact at 3-2 to end the third inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Hamm induced his second double-play ball of the night to escape a hairy situation that began with runners on first and second and nobody out. The right-hander totaled 3.2 innings and with two strikeouts to earn his first career win.
Austin Cheeley entered the game for Middle Tennessee in the seventh inning and tossed two scoreless innings.
The Governors made things interesting in the ninth, once again loading the bases, but David Zoz came on from the bullpen with one out to slam the door and get his second save of the year by getting a huge strikeout followed by a spectacular diving catch by defensive replacement Bryce Symlar in left field to rob the Governors of the game-winning hit.
Middle Tennessee will continue the road swing this weekend when it heads to Memphis, Tennessee, to take on the Tigers for a four-game set at FedEx Park.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders
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