Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, March 19
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
3 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
7-12, 0-2
3
vs
6
Old Dominion University
16-1, 2-0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Old Dominion
0
0
0
0
0
4
2
0
0
6
10
1
Middle Tennessee
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
3
6
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nick Pantos (4-0)
L: Swan, Eriq (0-3)
S: Noah Dean (4)
Batting:
2B: Kenny Levari 1 ; Andy Garriola 2 ; Tommy Bell 1
HR: Thomas Wheeler 1
RBI: Brock Gagliardi 2 ; Tommy Bell 2 ; Thomas Wheeler 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Carter Trice 1 ; Andy Garriola 1 ; Matt Coutney 1 ; Robbie Petracci 1 ; Tommy Bell 1 ; Thomas Wheeler 1
HBP: Josh Trujillo 1
Batting:
HR: McLeod, Mason 1
RBI: Sanders, Nathan 1 ; McLeod, Mason 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Mabry, JT 1 ; Galloway, Jackson 1 ; McLeod, Mason 1
SB: Coker, Brett 1
CS: Speirs, Mason 1
HBP: Morgan, Wyatt 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
MT drops game two to Old Dominion
3/19/2022 6:57:00 PM | Baseball
Eriq Swan strikes out a career-high 10 Monarchs in his best start of the season.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee baseball kept things competitive with Old Dominion, but could not get over the hump, as a productive sixth inning proved to be too much to overcome in a 6-3 loss on Saturday afternoon at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
The Blue Raiders (7-12, 0-2 C-USA) held the lead at the end of the game's first five innings, thanks to great pitching from starter Eriq Swan, who fanned a career high 10 batters in 5.2 innings of work. But ODU (16-1, 2-0 C-USA) finally got to the sophomore in the top of the sixth, taking three of its four runs in the inning off his line to take the lead and never relinquish it, despite some late rallies from MT.
"The positives are that the two young pitchers pitched well, Swan and Sells," head coach Jim Toman said. "But, we didn't score enough runs, we left four guys on (base) in the first two innings. We hit the ball pretty hard. It just seems like right now, when you're not quite winning the game, the ball just goes right at people. When you get up on a team like this, you need to add on and we didn't add on."
Swan was the hard-luck loser, giving up three earned runs in 5.2 innings while striking out 10 and only walking two. He pitched out of multiple runners in scoring position situations in the early innings, effectively changing speeds to keep the Monarchs off balance.
"After about the first inning, I felt really confident," Swan said. "The slider and the change up were really good today. I was working them off the fastball and found success with that. A lot of guys sit hard on those fastballs, but at this level, you've got to keep them off of it."
JT Mabry got MT going early in the bottom of the first, extending his hitting streak to eight games with a base hit up the middle. Mabry came around to score the game's first run later in the inning to give MT a 1-0 lead.
MT would hold off the Monarchs for four more frames, but ODU got on the board quickly in the top of the sixth, scoring two runs on a two-out, two-strike double off the bat of Tommy Bell. Thomas Wheeler then connected for a homer off of Peyton Wigginton to give ODU a 4-1 lead. The Monarchs added two more runs in the top of the seventh to take a commanding 6-1 lead.
Middle Tennessee finally struck back in the bottom of the seventh. Mason McLeod pinch hit in the No. 9 hole and blasted a home run over the right field fence to cut the lead to 6-3. It was MT's second pinch hit home run of the week, as Wyatt Morgan went yard against Austin Peay off the bench on Tuesday, March 15.
McLeod, listed as a catcher on the MT roster, had already made two appearances for MT this season, albeit out of the bullpen in a pair of blowouts. The home run came in McLeod's first at bat as a Blue Raider.
"It's not really the way I expected it to go coming into this season, but I'm just a baseball player, so anyway I can help the team, I will," McLeod said of his pitching appearances. "I've just been working really hard, day in and day out, waiting for a chance and I finally got the opportunity. I knew the situation was big, but I couldn't let it get too big. I was just going up there looking for a pitch to hit and I got one."
James Sells again put together some good innings out of the bullpen, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings while only allowing one hit to keep the Blue Raiders in the game late.
Mason Spiers nearly pulled Middle Tennessee within one in the bottom of the eighth, but his blast to left field got caught in a headwind and fell harmlessly into a Monarch glove, preventing a two-run homer. It was one of many hard hit balls that found ODU gloves in the latter innings on Saturday.
"I think everybody 1-through-9 in the lineup is doing their job and sometimes baseball is just a game of chance," McLeod said. "Right now, things aren't really going our way offensively, we're making a lot of hard outs, loud contact. But at the end of the day, if we just keep working and stick to our plan, something's got to give back to us."
Up Next
Middle Tennessee will look to avoid the series sweep on Sunday against Old Dominion. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Blue Raiders (7-12, 0-2 C-USA) held the lead at the end of the game's first five innings, thanks to great pitching from starter Eriq Swan, who fanned a career high 10 batters in 5.2 innings of work. But ODU (16-1, 2-0 C-USA) finally got to the sophomore in the top of the sixth, taking three of its four runs in the inning off his line to take the lead and never relinquish it, despite some late rallies from MT.
"The positives are that the two young pitchers pitched well, Swan and Sells," head coach Jim Toman said. "But, we didn't score enough runs, we left four guys on (base) in the first two innings. We hit the ball pretty hard. It just seems like right now, when you're not quite winning the game, the ball just goes right at people. When you get up on a team like this, you need to add on and we didn't add on."
Swan was the hard-luck loser, giving up three earned runs in 5.2 innings while striking out 10 and only walking two. He pitched out of multiple runners in scoring position situations in the early innings, effectively changing speeds to keep the Monarchs off balance.
"After about the first inning, I felt really confident," Swan said. "The slider and the change up were really good today. I was working them off the fastball and found success with that. A lot of guys sit hard on those fastballs, but at this level, you've got to keep them off of it."
JT Mabry got MT going early in the bottom of the first, extending his hitting streak to eight games with a base hit up the middle. Mabry came around to score the game's first run later in the inning to give MT a 1-0 lead.
MT would hold off the Monarchs for four more frames, but ODU got on the board quickly in the top of the sixth, scoring two runs on a two-out, two-strike double off the bat of Tommy Bell. Thomas Wheeler then connected for a homer off of Peyton Wigginton to give ODU a 4-1 lead. The Monarchs added two more runs in the top of the seventh to take a commanding 6-1 lead.
Middle Tennessee finally struck back in the bottom of the seventh. Mason McLeod pinch hit in the No. 9 hole and blasted a home run over the right field fence to cut the lead to 6-3. It was MT's second pinch hit home run of the week, as Wyatt Morgan went yard against Austin Peay off the bench on Tuesday, March 15.
McLeod, listed as a catcher on the MT roster, had already made two appearances for MT this season, albeit out of the bullpen in a pair of blowouts. The home run came in McLeod's first at bat as a Blue Raider.
"It's not really the way I expected it to go coming into this season, but I'm just a baseball player, so anyway I can help the team, I will," McLeod said of his pitching appearances. "I've just been working really hard, day in and day out, waiting for a chance and I finally got the opportunity. I knew the situation was big, but I couldn't let it get too big. I was just going up there looking for a pitch to hit and I got one."
James Sells again put together some good innings out of the bullpen, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings while only allowing one hit to keep the Blue Raiders in the game late.
Mason Spiers nearly pulled Middle Tennessee within one in the bottom of the eighth, but his blast to left field got caught in a headwind and fell harmlessly into a Monarch glove, preventing a two-run homer. It was one of many hard hit balls that found ODU gloves in the latter innings on Saturday.
"I think everybody 1-through-9 in the lineup is doing their job and sometimes baseball is just a game of chance," McLeod said. "Right now, things aren't really going our way offensively, we're making a lot of hard outs, loud contact. But at the end of the day, if we just keep working and stick to our plan, something's got to give back to us."
Up Next
Middle Tennessee will look to avoid the series sweep on Sunday against Old Dominion. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Spring Sports Show hosted by The Boulevard – April 21, 2025: Softball and Baseball
Monday, April 21
🎥 from the 52nd annual Groundhog Day Luncheon! Also, we play baseball this month 🤩
Sunday, February 02
MTSU Baseball 2025 52nd Annual Groundhog Day Luncheon
Friday, January 31
