Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, April 16
Murfreesboro, TN
12:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
3
vs
2
Charlotte
Photo by: Jonathan Caudle/MT Athletic Communications
Middle Tennessee Softball rallies from two-run deficit to defeat Charlotte 3-2 in series finale
4/16/2022 4:45:00 PM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee (18-25, 5-10 C-USA) rallied from a 2-0 deficit to score three unanswered runs to secure a 3-2 comeback win over the Charlotte 49ers (26-17, 7-11 C-USA) in the Blue Raiders' series finale on Saturday afternoon at Blue Raider Softball Field.
"Both [Danielle] and [Jaya] today, when their number was called, they stepped up and got it done," expressed head coach Jeff Breeden. "They've been on the bench for a while, so you never know when it's going to be your day, and today it was both [Danielle and Jaya's] day."
Breeden added, "I thought Danielle was great today, she really dominated. She stayed down in the zone for the most part. Jaya was also huge for us today, both offensively and defensively. She made some great plays in right field for us, but her tagging up in the fourth on the sacrifice fly was the winning run, so that was huge. I am pleased for both [Danielle and Jaya] and really pleased for us. That gives us some momentum and energy back and we still got life now in the race to get into the conference tournament."
Charlotte got things started in the second. The 49ers connect on back-to-back singles from Kourtney Gremillion and Amelia Wiercioch to open the second to put two on. Lexi Wagner connects on a sacrifice bunt to move the 49ers baserunners to second and third. Then Charlotte's Mekayla Frazier knocked a two-RBI double down the left-field line to give the 49ers the opening 2-0 lead.
The Blue Raiders looked to respond in the bottom half of the second. After an opening groundout, senior Lani Rodriguez and sophomore Jaya Herring connected on a pair of back-to-back singles to get two Blue Raiders aboard with only one down. A fielder's choice swapped lead runners, but a huge RBI-single from freshman Ava Tepe, which fell just fair along the right-field line to plate Herring and bring the Blue Raiders back within one heading to the third, 2-1.
In the fourth inning, Rodriguez led things off with a double into left center to get our first baserunner of the inning. Herring then followed Rodriguez up with yet another back-to-back double, the first of her career, down the left-field line to put two Blue Raiders on and with the go-ahead run in scoring position with no one out. Junior Kaylee Richetto then connected on a one-out RBI-single up the middle to bring across Rodriguez and even the contest at two, 2-2. With the Blue Raiders go-ahead run standing 60 feet away, freshman Abby Shoulders connected on a one-out sacrifice fly just behind first base, giving Herring just enough time with her blazing speed to make a diving tag at home as the 49ers' catcher lost grip on the ball to give the Blue Raiders their first lead of the game and eventually proved to be the game-winner, 3-2.
Herring and Rodriguez led the Blue Raiders on Saturday against Charlotte, going 2-for-3 each against the 49ers. Herring scored a season-best two runs, while Rodriguez scored one run in the contest. Sophomore Shelby Sargent, Tepe, and Richetto each recorded an RBI in the win.
"It felt great [to get my bat going out there]," expressed Jaya Herring. "I haven't been able to play a lot recently, and we heard Kevin Byard talk yesterday, and he talked about that 'you don't need to prove anyone else wrong, just prove yourself right' and I felt like I did that today. I knew I could do it, and I just wanted to get out here and show everybody else that I could to."
Sophomore Danielle Taitt had a career day, pitching her first career complete game against the 49ers. Taitt tied her career-high with a pair of strikeouts, and only allowed two earned runs on seven hits in the Blue Raiders' win.
"[Today] feels great," expressed Danielle Taitt. "We've been struggling, and we just needed this win, and it was a huge team win. I did it, but I couldn't have done it without my team [behind me]."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will not set their sights on their final midweek matchup of the season as they host the Belmont Bruins on Wednesday, April 20 at 5 p.m. CT at Blue Raider Softball Field.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (/BlueRaiderSoftball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (MT_Softball).
"Both [Danielle] and [Jaya] today, when their number was called, they stepped up and got it done," expressed head coach Jeff Breeden. "They've been on the bench for a while, so you never know when it's going to be your day, and today it was both [Danielle and Jaya's] day."
Breeden added, "I thought Danielle was great today, she really dominated. She stayed down in the zone for the most part. Jaya was also huge for us today, both offensively and defensively. She made some great plays in right field for us, but her tagging up in the fourth on the sacrifice fly was the winning run, so that was huge. I am pleased for both [Danielle and Jaya] and really pleased for us. That gives us some momentum and energy back and we still got life now in the race to get into the conference tournament."
Charlotte got things started in the second. The 49ers connect on back-to-back singles from Kourtney Gremillion and Amelia Wiercioch to open the second to put two on. Lexi Wagner connects on a sacrifice bunt to move the 49ers baserunners to second and third. Then Charlotte's Mekayla Frazier knocked a two-RBI double down the left-field line to give the 49ers the opening 2-0 lead.
The Blue Raiders looked to respond in the bottom half of the second. After an opening groundout, senior Lani Rodriguez and sophomore Jaya Herring connected on a pair of back-to-back singles to get two Blue Raiders aboard with only one down. A fielder's choice swapped lead runners, but a huge RBI-single from freshman Ava Tepe, which fell just fair along the right-field line to plate Herring and bring the Blue Raiders back within one heading to the third, 2-1.
In the fourth inning, Rodriguez led things off with a double into left center to get our first baserunner of the inning. Herring then followed Rodriguez up with yet another back-to-back double, the first of her career, down the left-field line to put two Blue Raiders on and with the go-ahead run in scoring position with no one out. Junior Kaylee Richetto then connected on a one-out RBI-single up the middle to bring across Rodriguez and even the contest at two, 2-2. With the Blue Raiders go-ahead run standing 60 feet away, freshman Abby Shoulders connected on a one-out sacrifice fly just behind first base, giving Herring just enough time with her blazing speed to make a diving tag at home as the 49ers' catcher lost grip on the ball to give the Blue Raiders their first lead of the game and eventually proved to be the game-winner, 3-2.
Herring and Rodriguez led the Blue Raiders on Saturday against Charlotte, going 2-for-3 each against the 49ers. Herring scored a season-best two runs, while Rodriguez scored one run in the contest. Sophomore Shelby Sargent, Tepe, and Richetto each recorded an RBI in the win.
"It felt great [to get my bat going out there]," expressed Jaya Herring. "I haven't been able to play a lot recently, and we heard Kevin Byard talk yesterday, and he talked about that 'you don't need to prove anyone else wrong, just prove yourself right' and I felt like I did that today. I knew I could do it, and I just wanted to get out here and show everybody else that I could to."
Sophomore Danielle Taitt had a career day, pitching her first career complete game against the 49ers. Taitt tied her career-high with a pair of strikeouts, and only allowed two earned runs on seven hits in the Blue Raiders' win.
"[Today] feels great," expressed Danielle Taitt. "We've been struggling, and we just needed this win, and it was a huge team win. I did it, but I couldn't have done it without my team [behind me]."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will not set their sights on their final midweek matchup of the season as they host the Belmont Bruins on Wednesday, April 20 at 5 p.m. CT at Blue Raider Softball Field.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (/BlueRaiderSoftball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (MT_Softball).
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
2B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF/UT
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
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