Blue Raiders scrap their way to win over Austin Peay

Wednesday, March 16

Murfreesboro, TN

5:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

12-14

Austin Peay

13-11

Austin Peay

Middle Tennessee

3/16/2022 8:16:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Gretchen Mead picked up her second win of the season in the circle

By: Sam Doughton, MT Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee softball picked up a scrappy non-conference win, scoring three of their four runs unearned to get past Austin Peay 4-2 on Wednesday evening at Blue Raider Softball Field.

"A win's a win, I'm glad we won," head coach Jeff Breeden said. "We're scrappy all the time. We just try to hang around and score enough to do it and tonight we did."

The Blue Raiders (12-14) got four scoreless innings in relief from Gretchen Mead and Claire Woods, who both danced in and out of trouble, stranding three straight base runners on third for the Governors (13-11) in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Mead picked up her second win of 2022, Woods picked up her second save of the season.

"It feels really good to be able to trust my defense behind me," Mead said. "I can give up a few dinky hits here and there and trust that they can make outs behind me."

The Governors left eight runners on in total throughout the evening, and were able to get the tying run to first in the top of the seventh. But Woods struck out Brooke Pfefferle looking on a pitch outside to slam the door shut.

"I think this game at the beginning of the year, we might've folded and gave it away," junior outfielder Kelci Hill said. "But we've been working really hard, and I think we're ready for conference."

Middle Tennessee was led at the plate by Hill, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Lani Rodriguez scored two runs for the Blue Raiders, while Kaylee Richetto drove in two RBIs with a second inning single to lead MT in that category.

"We've just been working a lot on getting on the line and hitting whatever the first mistake is," Hill said. "We capitalized on her, she was throwing a lot of outside, so we were just going with the pitch."

After the Governors took a lead on a solo home run in the top of the first, the Blue Raiders would take their first lead of the game in the bottom of the second. Kaylee Richetto smacked a single to right field, scoring two to give MT a 2-1 advantage after runners reached second and third on an error by the Austin Peay second baseman.

Austin Peay tied the game back up in the top of third, but MT quickly retook the lead with a two-out rally. Laura Mealer tripled off the left-center wall and came home two batters later on a Kelci Hill single up the middle, giving the Blue Raiders a 3-2 lead heading into the fourth.

Middle Tennessee would add one more insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, when Rodriguez came from second to slide around the tag at home on another second base error for the Governors, who got out of the inning when Shelby Sargent was caught in a pickle trying to give Savannah Freeman a chance to score from third.

After a tough non-conference slate, Conference USA play is scheduled to begin for MT on Friday against Southern Miss at Blue Raiders Softball Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

"If we're not ready, we're never going to be," Breeden said of his young lineup. "We've played a tremendously hard schedule and put them in situations where, if we can draw from those situations that we've had all up to this point this weekend, then everything will work out fine."

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