Middle Tennessee Softball falls in series opener against Charlotte

Thursday, April 14

Murfreesboro, TN

6:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

17-24, 4-9

Charlotte

25-16, 6-10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Charlotte	1	0	1	1	4	0	0	7	12	0
Middle Tennessee	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	10	0

Game Notes (PDF)Box Score (PDF)

4/14/2022 10:13:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Jonathan Caudle, MT Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Softball (17-24, 4-9 C-USA) dropped its series opener, 7-2, against the Charlotte 49ers (25-16, 6-10 C-USA) on Thursday night at Blue Raider Softball Field.

Charlotte took the opening lead in the first. Back-to-back-to-back singles from the 49ers, which was capped by Charlotte's Ella Chancey scored Bailey Vannoy to put the 49ers in front, 1-0.

The 49ers extended their lead to two in the top of the third after an RBI-double from Chancey brought across Mekayla Frazier.

The Blue Raiders got one back in the bottom of the third. Middle Tennessee opened the third on fire as back-to-back singles from freshman Laura Mealer and junior Kelci Hill put two Blue Raiders on with no one out. A groundout from freshman Claire Czajkowski moved Mealer and Hill to second and third, before sophomore Amaya Harris would score Mealer on a single through the left side to bring the Blue Raiders within one, 2-1.

The 49ers extended their lead back to two in the top of the fourth. Charlotte's Cori Henderson led off the inning with a single. After stealing second and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt. Henderson scored on an obstruction off a sacrifice fly from Ashleigh Washington to retake the two-run lead, 3-1.

In the top of the fifth, the 49ers continued to add to their lead. After a leadoff single from Frazier, Vannoy connected on a home run over the left-field wall to plate two and push Charlotte's lead to 5-1. The Blue Raiders secured two flyouts, but the 49ers drew a walk before Henderson connected on the second home run of the inning to push two more across and give Charlotte a 7-1 advantage halfway through the fifth.

The Blue Raiders secured two hits in the fifth and one in the sixth but couldn't bring a run across as they looked to try and rally from the six-run deficit in the seventh. After an opening flyout, Mealer connected on a solo shot over the left-field wall, marking her ninth home run of the season, to put another one on the board for the Blue Raiders, 7-2, but that was as close as MT would eventually fall 7-2.

Mealer had a phenomenal day for the Blue and White, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, knocking the Blue Raiders sole home run of the contest, while scoring two runs and recording an RBI. Senior Lani Rodrigues and Harris posted a pair of hits for the Blue Raiders, going 2-for-3 and 2-for-2, respectively. Harris also recorded the Blue Raiders other RBI in the loss.

Senior Gretchen Mead got the start in the circle for the Blue Raiders, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits, and striking out a pair. Sophomore Danielle Taitt closed out the game for MT, going 2.1 innings and allowing just three hits, while also tying her career-high with two strikeouts in the loss.

Up Next
The Blue Raiders will take on the Charlotte 49ers for game two of the series tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT.

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