Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, March 10
Murfreesboro, TN
12:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
9-13
0
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5
Northern Iowa
7-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
UNI
1
0
0
0
4
0
0
5
8
0
Middle Tennessee
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
Blue Raiders split against UNI and UT Martin on opening day of MTSU Invitational
3/10/2022 11:39:00 PM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Softball (10-13) split its pair of contests on opening day of the MTSU Invitational, falling against UNI (7-9), 5-0, but finishing the day with a 4-3 win over UT Martin (12-6) on Thursday at Blue Raider Softball Field.
Middle Tennessee 0 vs. UNI 5
UNI got things started early, leading off the game with a walk, before connecting on a double and then a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the first.
Although being down a run, the Blue Raiders held a 3-2 advantage in hits over the Panthers through four innings, however the Blue Raiders struggled to put together back-to-back at-bats.
The Panthers added to their lead in the fifth. After a leadoff flyout, the Panthers connected on a double and then reached on a fielder's choice to put two on with only one out. The Blue Raiders then went to the bullpen and brought out senior Kailey Ahlstrom to take over on the mound for the Blue Raiders. Ahlstrom gave up a pair of back-to-back singles, which pushed across three RBIs for the Panthers and extended UNI's lead to four, 4-0. Ahlstrom struck out a Panther batter to secure the Blue Raiders second out of the inning, but another Panther RBI-double brought in another run for UNI and gave the Panthers a 5-0 lead. The Blue Raiders went to the bullpen once more in the fifth, calling on senior Gretchen Mead to close out the inning.
Rodriguez connected on a single into center field in the bottom of the seventh, but the Blue Raider struggled to find offense against the Panthers as UNI would take the 5-0 contest.
Senior Lani Rodriguez led the Blue Raiders against the Panthers, batting 2-for-3, while freshman Abby Shoulders and sophomore Amaya Harris also posted hits in the contest, going 1-for-2 and 1-for-3, respectively.
Middle Tennessee 4 vs. UT Martin 3
The Blue Raiders looked to bounce back in their second contest of the day against the Skyhawks. Harris led things off with a leadoff single down the right-field line. Harris moved to third after a groundout and stealing third, but the Blue Raiders struggled to bring her home as she was stranded on third after the first half-inning.
However, it didn't take long for the Blue Raiders to really get things going. Hill led off the second inning with a single through the left side. Richetto was hit by pitch to put two on with no outs for the Blue Raiders. After the Blue Raiders first out, freshman Ava Tepe knocked a single into right-center to break the scoreless stalemate and record her first career RBI, giving the Blue Raiders the opening 1-0 lead. Sophomore Shelby Sargent connected on a sacrifice groundout to bring across Richetto and give the Blue Raiders a two-run advantage.
The Skyhawks got one back in the third, hitting a leadoff triple and then bringing the run across on a sacrifice fly to cut the Blue Raiders lead to one, 2-1.
UT Martin opened the fourth with a leadoff home run to even the game at two apiece, 2-2. The Skyhawks connected on another one-out sacrifice fly to push another run across and give the Skyhawks their first lead of the game in the fourth, 3-2.
The Skyhawks maintained a one-run advantage through the top of the fifth, however the Blue Raiders got things going again in the bottom of the fifth. After a leadoff groundout, Shoulders drew a walk, just before Mealer connected on her third home run, and first two-run homer of the season, to put the Blue Raiders back on top, 4-3.
The Skyhawks couldn't produce another hit over the final two innings of play as the Blue Raiders would carry their one-run advantage through the seventh before claiming the 4-3 win over the Skyhawks.
Hill led the Blue Raiders in the contest, going 2-for-3 and scoring a run, while Tepe, Mealer and Sargent recorded the Blue Raiders three RBIs. Richetto and Harris also posted hits in the win.
Senior Corrina Dodd got the start on the mound for the Blue Raiders, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing three runs on three hits and striking out a pair of Skyhawks. Mead posted her first win of the season, putting in 2.2 innings of work and allowing no hits and no runs, and tying for a game-high three strikeouts in the win.
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will close out their home-opening tournament tomorrow as they take on the Illinois State Redbirds at 11 a.m., and then play their MTSU Invitational finale against Chattanooga at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (/BlueRaiderSoftball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (MT_Softball).
Middle Tennessee 0 vs. UNI 5
UNI got things started early, leading off the game with a walk, before connecting on a double and then a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the first.
Although being down a run, the Blue Raiders held a 3-2 advantage in hits over the Panthers through four innings, however the Blue Raiders struggled to put together back-to-back at-bats.
The Panthers added to their lead in the fifth. After a leadoff flyout, the Panthers connected on a double and then reached on a fielder's choice to put two on with only one out. The Blue Raiders then went to the bullpen and brought out senior Kailey Ahlstrom to take over on the mound for the Blue Raiders. Ahlstrom gave up a pair of back-to-back singles, which pushed across three RBIs for the Panthers and extended UNI's lead to four, 4-0. Ahlstrom struck out a Panther batter to secure the Blue Raiders second out of the inning, but another Panther RBI-double brought in another run for UNI and gave the Panthers a 5-0 lead. The Blue Raiders went to the bullpen once more in the fifth, calling on senior Gretchen Mead to close out the inning.
Rodriguez connected on a single into center field in the bottom of the seventh, but the Blue Raider struggled to find offense against the Panthers as UNI would take the 5-0 contest.
Senior Lani Rodriguez led the Blue Raiders against the Panthers, batting 2-for-3, while freshman Abby Shoulders and sophomore Amaya Harris also posted hits in the contest, going 1-for-2 and 1-for-3, respectively.
Middle Tennessee 4 vs. UT Martin 3
The Blue Raiders looked to bounce back in their second contest of the day against the Skyhawks. Harris led things off with a leadoff single down the right-field line. Harris moved to third after a groundout and stealing third, but the Blue Raiders struggled to bring her home as she was stranded on third after the first half-inning.
However, it didn't take long for the Blue Raiders to really get things going. Hill led off the second inning with a single through the left side. Richetto was hit by pitch to put two on with no outs for the Blue Raiders. After the Blue Raiders first out, freshman Ava Tepe knocked a single into right-center to break the scoreless stalemate and record her first career RBI, giving the Blue Raiders the opening 1-0 lead. Sophomore Shelby Sargent connected on a sacrifice groundout to bring across Richetto and give the Blue Raiders a two-run advantage.
The Skyhawks got one back in the third, hitting a leadoff triple and then bringing the run across on a sacrifice fly to cut the Blue Raiders lead to one, 2-1.
UT Martin opened the fourth with a leadoff home run to even the game at two apiece, 2-2. The Skyhawks connected on another one-out sacrifice fly to push another run across and give the Skyhawks their first lead of the game in the fourth, 3-2.
The Skyhawks maintained a one-run advantage through the top of the fifth, however the Blue Raiders got things going again in the bottom of the fifth. After a leadoff groundout, Shoulders drew a walk, just before Mealer connected on her third home run, and first two-run homer of the season, to put the Blue Raiders back on top, 4-3.
The Skyhawks couldn't produce another hit over the final two innings of play as the Blue Raiders would carry their one-run advantage through the seventh before claiming the 4-3 win over the Skyhawks.
Hill led the Blue Raiders in the contest, going 2-for-3 and scoring a run, while Tepe, Mealer and Sargent recorded the Blue Raiders three RBIs. Richetto and Harris also posted hits in the win.
Senior Corrina Dodd got the start on the mound for the Blue Raiders, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing three runs on three hits and striking out a pair of Skyhawks. Mead posted her first win of the season, putting in 2.2 innings of work and allowing no hits and no runs, and tying for a game-high three strikeouts in the win.
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will close out their home-opening tournament tomorrow as they take on the Illinois State Redbirds at 11 a.m., and then play their MTSU Invitational finale against Chattanooga at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (/BlueRaiderSoftball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (MT_Softball).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: PACKARD, Kailyn (4-3)
L: Munn, Keri (3-5)
Batting:
2B: MOSS, Sammy 1 ; SANDERS, Kylee 1 ; LAMPRECHT, Daryn 1
RBI: MOSS, Sammy 1 ; PARKS, Madison 3 ; SANDERS, Kylee 1
SF: PARKS, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DODGE, Mya 2 ; MOSS, Sammy 1 ; PARKS, Madison 1 ; LAMPRECHT, Daryn 1
SB: DODGE, Mya 2 ; PARKS, Madison 1 ; SANDERS, Kylee 1
CS: DODGE, Mya 1
Batting:
SH: Shoulders, Abby 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
2B/3B
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballIF/UT
/ Softball
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