Veteran roster infused with talented incoming transfers has Middle Tennessee baseball primed to make a deep postseason run in 2022

2/14/2022 11:05:00 AM | Baseball

By: Anthony Fiorella

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.—When Brett Coker stepped into the box for his first at-bat of last season's 2021 Conference USA Baseball Tournament, not many people had he and his Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders pegged to be there, let alone make any sort of noise. It only took one pitch, however, for Coker to send a fastball on the outer half of the plate over the right field fence and give Middle Tennessee the early lead. It was a lead MTSU didn't give up in its 7-2 victory over the No. 16 Charlotte 49ers.

Last year, Middle Tennessee proved it was a force to be reckoned with on the diamond. With much of his experienced squad returning from last season, Head Coach Jim Toman has plenty of reasons to be excited heading into 2022.

"We have a lot more depth offensively and we have some veterans back on the mound," Toman said. "We have to have some people step up on the mound, but we have some good arms. We have a combination of good arms and good depth with our position players. We have a relatively veteran crew. I can put a junior or senior at almost every position. Our first five or six pitchers are older. Our guys understand it's time to take another jump (this season). "

When the Blue Raiders head out of the dugout for the first time against St. John's this Friday, fans will notice a lot of familiar faces around the infield, an infield that is one of the deepest in Conference USA. While Coker returns to man the hot corner, a position that he defended very well a year ago, the tandem of shortstop Fausto Lopez and second baseman JT Mabry will get together for their third season together as the Middle Tennessee middle infield.

"Fausto and I do everything together on and off the field," Mabry said. "We've had a good deal going the last three years to push each other and learn from each other offensively and defensively. I love playing beside him."

While Lopez has been a staple at the top of the lineup, Mabry improved leaps and bounds offensively in 2021. The junior posted career highs in batting average (.277), at-bats (188), hits (52), RBIs (22), slugging percentage (.404), walks (14), stolen bases (8) and home runs (6). Defensively, Mabry had a solid year, posting a career-high .967 fielding percentage and had a team-high 146 assists while helping Lopez turn 42 double plays.

"The offseason was great and I got a lot of work done," Mabry said. "I went out this past summer and changed some things with my swing. Last year I had a big leg-kick and this year I'm cutting it down a little bit to try and be more consistent. It helped out in the summer and fall, so we'll see how it goes this season."

At first base, the combination of Brycen Thomas, Jacob Williams and DJ Wright have all seen the largest amount of reps not only at first, but also as the team's designated hitter along with left-handed hitting transfer Wyatt Morgan. Another name that has emerged as a player to watch this season over at first is Austin Baal. The left-handed hitting Baal had a slugging percentage of .578 with 22 RBIs and 11 extra-base hits in just over 100 plate appearances at USC-Union last year and looks to become a force at the dish.

Behind the plate, Mason Speirs and Briggs Rutter look to have shored up the primary catching duties while incoming transfer Nick Jones isn't far from tossing his name in the hat as a guy that can make an impact this season. Speirs is in his third season with the Blue Raiders and has built a great deal of trust with the pitching staff. Rutter was great for Middle Tennessee down the stretch, coming through in a lot of pressure situations at the plate and providing a spark to the lineup.

One of the more intriguing spots is the outfield. After losing Cole Escher and Hunter Sullivan, two of the team's more consistent hitters from a year ago, a couple of spots are up for grabs. Between returners Bryce Symlar, Nathan Sanders, Brian Dillingham and Jacob Wright, Middle Tennessee is by no means inexperienced at the position.

Sanders has hit .250 and swiped 10 bases in his two years as a Blue Raider and is known for his range and strong arm in centerfield, boasting a 1.000 career fielding percentage and looks to get back to his former self at the plate following an injury-ridden 2021.

Transfers Jackson Galloway and Tatsunori Negishi help round out what should be an exciting group to watch this year. Negishi is a left-handed bat from Japan by way of Orange Coast College. Last year, Negishi hit an impressive .447 and scored 12 runs while slugging .638. Galloway hit .420 with 10 home runs and 64 RBIs in 2021 with Johnson County Community College.

"We think Tatsunori Negishi has a chance to be a good hitter and pitches some," Toman said. "We look for him to play in right field and Jackson Galloway is a kid that hit over .400 in junior college and has earned a spot in the outfield. Wyatt Morgan is a transfer with a strong bat from the left side that can DH and Nick Jones, who is a catcher that transferred from Memphis, can swing the bat with some power. We could have four or five new names in the lineup compared to last year."

For a group that lost two all-conference players to the professional ranks, the Middle Tennessee pitching staff is a good-looking group coming into the year. Back in the rotation for their fourth and fifth years, respectively, are Peyton Wigginton and Zach Keenan. The left-handed Wigginton had a career low 3.16 ERA and held opponents to a .248 average as the teams Saturday starter. Keenan started on Sunday's and struck out a career-high 62 batters last season while walking just 13.

One surprise bright spot from last year that adds the icing to the cake for the rotation is lefty Trent Seibert. As one of the three seniors in the rotation, Seibert filled in nicely last season as a transfer out of Charleston Southern. The southpaw started 11 games and had a 3.77 ERA in 59 innings of work. While we've seen consistency from Wigginton and Keenan over the past three seasons, the consistency from Seibert at both the back end of the rotation and in an occasional relief role will likely be the measuring stick for where Middle Tennessee can stack up at the end of the year in the conference standings.

"Hearing the walkie-talkie buzz and say 'Seibert, get hot' is a heck of a rush" Seibert said. "I started some in junior college and came in last year and was a starter, too, so I've been in different situations. If (Zach) Keenan has to start a game, I come in relief and (Eriq) Swan has to close to win a game, that's what we'll do. We're all committed to doing whatever it takes to win ballgames."

Hard-throwing right-hander Eriq Swan will likely slot in as the team's midweek starter. The sophomore showed promise in his first season, posting a respectable 3.57 ERA in 17.2 innings of work with a 19:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Out of the bullpen, Middle Tennessee will likely look toward Jaden Hamm, Jack Julian and Charlie Mac Toman to eat up most of the innings, as they've shown consistency over the fall and spring scrimmages in that role.

Schedule-wise, Middle Tennessee will hit the road for its first eight games of the year to try and avoid any potential bad weather. The Blue Raiders host Lipscomb on March 1 at 3:00 p.m. for the first home game of the year. Middle Tennessee then will hit the road one more time to play the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers before returning home to begin conference play against Old Dominion on March 18.

With the return of midweek games, Middle Tennessee will see many local opponents once again in 2022. Aside from Lipscomb, MT will play Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt, Austin Peay and Belmont. In conference play, Middle hosts rival Western Kentucky on April Fools weekend and ranked opponents Charlotte on April 14-16. Powerhouse Southern Mississippi will visit the Reese to close out the regular season on the weekend of May 19-21.

"We're leaving everything between the lines this year," Seibert said. "We have guys that push each other. I can tell how much harder guys are working this year. I think our team realizes how talented we are and knows that we can not only win a conference tournament, but get to a regional and win. It's only up from here."

Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.