Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 22
Clarksville, TN
6 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
at
Austin Peay State University
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Blue Raiders Set for Road Matchup with UAB
3/21/2022 7:00:00 PM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – Middle Tennessee packs its bags and heads back on the road this week with a conference weekend series at UAB.
WEEK SCHEDULE
March 22 at Austin Peay - 6 p.m. (ESPN+) - POSTPONED
March 25 at UAB - 6 p.m. (CUSA.TV)
March 26 at UAB - 2 p.m. (CUSA.TV)
March 27 at UAB - 1 p.m. (CUSA.TV)
The Blue Raiders started C-USA play 1-2 vs. Old Dominion but ended the weekend on a positive note, defeating the Monarchs 13-5.
MT's bats have scored 10-or-more runs in a game four times this season, including a 13-run performance in the most recent game vs. Old Dominion. The Blue Raiders have scored in bunches in those games, scoring 11 runs in their final two innings vs. Old Dominion March 20, eight runs in the first two innings at Auburn March 11, seven runs in the final two innings vs. Western Carolina March 2 and an 11-run seventh inning vs. Illinois Feb. 26. All of those games have resulted in Blue Raider wins.
Mason Speirs and Nathan Sanders are having career seasons 20 games into the 2022 campaign.
Speirs, a catcher from Westminster, CO, leads the team in batting average (min. 25 ABs) at .383 and OPS (1.047). Recording 18 hits in 47 at-bats, Speirs already has more hits in 2022 than his 15 combined in his two previous seasons.
Sanders' 16 RBI lead the team. The outfielder from Smyrna, Tenn. is hitting .292 in his 16 games. Sanders went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI vs. Western Carolina March 2 and combined to go 5-for-9, including seven RBI and four walks in three games at Auburn.
Fausto Lopez, Brett Coker and JT Mabry have started all 20 games for the Blue Raiders this season in their respective positions. Lopez carries a streak of 91 consecutive starts in a Blue Raider uniform over the past three seasons. Lopez needs 29 more starts in a row to crack the top 10 program list for consecutive games played.
JT Mabry carries a nine-game hitting streak into Tuesday's game at Austin Peay. Mabry's four-hit day opened the series vs. ODU. He finished the C-USA opening weekend 6-for-13 with four runs scored and three RBI.
Jackson Galloway is finding his groove at the plate. His grand slam March 20 highlighted a 5-for-13 weekend, hitting a home run, triple and driving in five RBI. Galloway smacked the first Blue Raider grand slam since 2019. In his current six-game hit streak, Galloway is 8-for-23 with two home runs.
SERIES HISTORY
Middle Tennessee 41, UAB 43
REMATCH WITH THE GOVERNORS POSTPONED Middle Tennessee's midweek contest at Austin Peay has been postponed due to inclement weather in Clarksville. No makeup date has been announced.
SCOUTING THE BLAZERS Middle Tennessee faces another top C-USA team in UAB this weekend. The Blazers are off to a 14-6 start and opened conference play winning two of three against Rice. UAB started the season off by sweeping Northwestern in a four-game series. The Blazers have won seven of their last 10 after a 1-16 loss at Auburn March 2.
UAB went 18-36 (11-21 C-USA) last season and was picked 11th in the C-USA preseason poll. Head coach Casey Dunn is in his first season leading the team.
UAB faces Alabama March 23 before hosting the Blue Raiders.
The Blazers have the second-fewest strikeouts at the plate in the conference (129) and are batting .310 as a team. Christian Hall leads the team in batting average (.433) and OPS (1.169). John Marc Mullins has six doubles and two home runs for a .394 batting average. No Blazer with more than 40 at-bats is batting under .200.
On the mound, UAB has a 4.59 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, seven saves and 137 strikeouts. Brooks Walton is 4-0 with a 3.37 ERA in five starts while Jackson Reynolds is 1-1 with a 3.25 ERA and 29 strikeouts in five starts. In the bullpen, Thomas Ballard and Collin Taylor have combined for six earned runs and 19 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched.
WEEK SCHEDULE
March 22 at Austin Peay - 6 p.m. (ESPN+) - POSTPONED
March 25 at UAB - 6 p.m. (CUSA.TV)
March 26 at UAB - 2 p.m. (CUSA.TV)
March 27 at UAB - 1 p.m. (CUSA.TV)
The Blue Raiders started C-USA play 1-2 vs. Old Dominion but ended the weekend on a positive note, defeating the Monarchs 13-5.
MT's bats have scored 10-or-more runs in a game four times this season, including a 13-run performance in the most recent game vs. Old Dominion. The Blue Raiders have scored in bunches in those games, scoring 11 runs in their final two innings vs. Old Dominion March 20, eight runs in the first two innings at Auburn March 11, seven runs in the final two innings vs. Western Carolina March 2 and an 11-run seventh inning vs. Illinois Feb. 26. All of those games have resulted in Blue Raider wins.
Mason Speirs and Nathan Sanders are having career seasons 20 games into the 2022 campaign.
Speirs, a catcher from Westminster, CO, leads the team in batting average (min. 25 ABs) at .383 and OPS (1.047). Recording 18 hits in 47 at-bats, Speirs already has more hits in 2022 than his 15 combined in his two previous seasons.
Sanders' 16 RBI lead the team. The outfielder from Smyrna, Tenn. is hitting .292 in his 16 games. Sanders went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI vs. Western Carolina March 2 and combined to go 5-for-9, including seven RBI and four walks in three games at Auburn.
Fausto Lopez, Brett Coker and JT Mabry have started all 20 games for the Blue Raiders this season in their respective positions. Lopez carries a streak of 91 consecutive starts in a Blue Raider uniform over the past three seasons. Lopez needs 29 more starts in a row to crack the top 10 program list for consecutive games played.
JT Mabry carries a nine-game hitting streak into Tuesday's game at Austin Peay. Mabry's four-hit day opened the series vs. ODU. He finished the C-USA opening weekend 6-for-13 with four runs scored and three RBI.
Jackson Galloway is finding his groove at the plate. His grand slam March 20 highlighted a 5-for-13 weekend, hitting a home run, triple and driving in five RBI. Galloway smacked the first Blue Raider grand slam since 2019. In his current six-game hit streak, Galloway is 8-for-23 with two home runs.
SERIES HISTORY
Middle Tennessee 41, UAB 43
REMATCH WITH THE GOVERNORS POSTPONED Middle Tennessee's midweek contest at Austin Peay has been postponed due to inclement weather in Clarksville. No makeup date has been announced.
SCOUTING THE BLAZERS Middle Tennessee faces another top C-USA team in UAB this weekend. The Blazers are off to a 14-6 start and opened conference play winning two of three against Rice. UAB started the season off by sweeping Northwestern in a four-game series. The Blazers have won seven of their last 10 after a 1-16 loss at Auburn March 2.
UAB went 18-36 (11-21 C-USA) last season and was picked 11th in the C-USA preseason poll. Head coach Casey Dunn is in his first season leading the team.
UAB faces Alabama March 23 before hosting the Blue Raiders.
The Blazers have the second-fewest strikeouts at the plate in the conference (129) and are batting .310 as a team. Christian Hall leads the team in batting average (.433) and OPS (1.169). John Marc Mullins has six doubles and two home runs for a .394 batting average. No Blazer with more than 40 at-bats is batting under .200.
On the mound, UAB has a 4.59 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, seven saves and 137 strikeouts. Brooks Walton is 4-0 with a 3.37 ERA in five starts while Jackson Reynolds is 1-1 with a 3.25 ERA and 29 strikeouts in five starts. In the bullpen, Thomas Ballard and Collin Taylor have combined for six earned runs and 19 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched.
Players Mentioned
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