Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, April 1
Charlotte, NC
4:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
at
Charlotte
League play to open Thursday at Charlotte
3/31/2021 1:00:00 PM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The push for a second Conference USA championship officially begins Thursday when Middle Tennessee opens league play at Charlotte for a four-game series.
Friday's doubleheader was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. CT but has since been moved up. The second game of the series and first game on Friday will now begin at 1 p.m. CT, with the second game of the day beginning 30 minutes after the completion of the first.
Games 27-30: Middle Tennessee (14-12, 0-0 C-USA) at Charlotte (14-7, 0-0 C-USA)
» Thursday, April 1 | 4 p.m. CT
» Friday, April 2 | 1 p.m. CT
» Friday, April 2 | 3:30 p.m. CT
» Saturday, April 3 | 11 a.m. CT
About the Blue Raiders
» MT came away with an extra inning win at Murray State on Tuesday, its third of the season, as Amber Baldwin tossed a complete game and reached a new career high for innings pitched.
» The 1-2 punch of Summer Burgess (.329 avg; 28 hits) and Kelci Hill (.351 avg; 27 hits) leads the Blue Raiders at the top of the order.
» MT boasts four players in C-USA's toughest to strike out top 10. Claire Smith (1 K per 26.5 at bats) followed by Lani Rodriguez, Hill and Nahri Tath-Slezak all rank in the top eight.
» Early innings are crucial for the Blue Raiders, who are 9-0 when scoring first and 0-7 when the opponent scores in the first inning.
» MT is first in C-USA with 46 stolen bases as a team, led by freshman Jaya Herring with a 10-for-11 mark on the basepaths.
» Corrina Dodd's 1.66 ERA is third in C-USA, and she's tied with Baldwin for the team lead in wins (5).
» Defensively, the Blue Raiders lead the league with a fielding percentage of .965.
» In the preseason, Charlotte was picked to finish third in the east division and received one first place vote, while MT was slotted fourth in the east behind the 49ers.
All-time vs. Charlotte
» Charlotte owns a 14-5 advantage in the all-time series over the Blue Raiders.
» MT took two games in the three-game set at Charlotte in the most recent series against the 49ers, which took place in Charlotte in March 2019.
Scouting the 49ers
» Thursday's game will be the first Charlotte has played since March 14, as the program's COVID-19 protocols caused the 49ers to cancel its visit to the Auburn tournament and postpone games at South Carolina and UAB.
» Junior catcher Bailey Vannoy was Charlotte's only C-USA Preseason Team pick and leads her team in batting average (.391), hits (25), runs (19) and homers (6) and is second in C-USA with a slugging percentage of .813.
» Graduate student and outfielder Spenser Gray leads off with a .338 batting average and is a team-best 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.
» Junior pitcher Lindsey Walljasper carries the load for the 49ers in the circle. Walljasper, a Nebraska transfer, has a team-best 3.49 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 80.0 innings pitched and is tied for a C-USA best eight wins on the year.
Next Time Out
» MT continues its extended road stretch with a Tuesday afternoon meeting at Jacksonville State next week before returning home to host a four-game series against Marshall on April 9-11.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Softball), Facebook (Blue Raider Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
Friday's doubleheader was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. CT but has since been moved up. The second game of the series and first game on Friday will now begin at 1 p.m. CT, with the second game of the day beginning 30 minutes after the completion of the first.
Games 27-30: Middle Tennessee (14-12, 0-0 C-USA) at Charlotte (14-7, 0-0 C-USA)
» Thursday, April 1 | 4 p.m. CT
» Friday, April 2 | 1 p.m. CT
» Friday, April 2 | 3:30 p.m. CT
» Saturday, April 3 | 11 a.m. CT
About the Blue Raiders
» MT came away with an extra inning win at Murray State on Tuesday, its third of the season, as Amber Baldwin tossed a complete game and reached a new career high for innings pitched.
» The 1-2 punch of Summer Burgess (.329 avg; 28 hits) and Kelci Hill (.351 avg; 27 hits) leads the Blue Raiders at the top of the order.
» MT boasts four players in C-USA's toughest to strike out top 10. Claire Smith (1 K per 26.5 at bats) followed by Lani Rodriguez, Hill and Nahri Tath-Slezak all rank in the top eight.
» Early innings are crucial for the Blue Raiders, who are 9-0 when scoring first and 0-7 when the opponent scores in the first inning.
» MT is first in C-USA with 46 stolen bases as a team, led by freshman Jaya Herring with a 10-for-11 mark on the basepaths.
» Corrina Dodd's 1.66 ERA is third in C-USA, and she's tied with Baldwin for the team lead in wins (5).
» Defensively, the Blue Raiders lead the league with a fielding percentage of .965.
» In the preseason, Charlotte was picked to finish third in the east division and received one first place vote, while MT was slotted fourth in the east behind the 49ers.
All-time vs. Charlotte
» Charlotte owns a 14-5 advantage in the all-time series over the Blue Raiders.
» MT took two games in the three-game set at Charlotte in the most recent series against the 49ers, which took place in Charlotte in March 2019.
Scouting the 49ers
» Thursday's game will be the first Charlotte has played since March 14, as the program's COVID-19 protocols caused the 49ers to cancel its visit to the Auburn tournament and postpone games at South Carolina and UAB.
» Junior catcher Bailey Vannoy was Charlotte's only C-USA Preseason Team pick and leads her team in batting average (.391), hits (25), runs (19) and homers (6) and is second in C-USA with a slugging percentage of .813.
» Graduate student and outfielder Spenser Gray leads off with a .338 batting average and is a team-best 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.
» Junior pitcher Lindsey Walljasper carries the load for the 49ers in the circle. Walljasper, a Nebraska transfer, has a team-best 3.49 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 80.0 innings pitched and is tied for a C-USA best eight wins on the year.
Next Time Out
» MT continues its extended road stretch with a Tuesday afternoon meeting at Jacksonville State next week before returning home to host a four-game series against Marshall on April 9-11.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Softball), Facebook (Blue Raider Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
Players Mentioned
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