Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Sunday, May 1
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
11 a.m.
Middle Tennessee
22-19, 0
2
vs
1
UTSA
30-14, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UTSA
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
4
1
Middle Tennessee
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
X
2
6
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Seibert, Trent (4-2)
L: Ryan Beaird (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Jonathan Tapia 2 ; Josh Killeen 1
RBI: Sammy Diaz 1
SH: Leyton Barry 1
SF: Sammy Diaz 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jonathan Tapia 1
HBP: Isaiah Walker 1
Batting:
2B: Speirs, Mason 1
HR: Galloway, Jackson 1
RBI: Galloway, Jackson 1 ; Dillingham, Brian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Galloway, Jackson 1 ; Snider, Eston 1
SB: Peralta, KB 1 ; Coker, Brett 1 ; Snider, Eston 1
HBP: Vinson, Luke 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Pitching, Defense help MT nab win in Game 3 against UTSA
5/1/2022 2:59:00 PM | Baseball
Jaden Hamm tossed seven scoreless innings, striking out nine batters.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee baseball battled back with its back against the wall on Sunday, grabbing an eighth inning run to retake the lead and hold on against UTSA, salvaging a game in the three-game series at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
Offense was lacking for both sides on the gorgeous Tennessee afternoon, as both teams combined for just 10 hits across nine innings. Four of MT's six hits came off the bats of Jackson Galloway and Brian Dillingham, with both Blue Raiders contributing one RBI each during the afternoon.
Jaden Hamm was brilliant on the mound, tossing seven scoreless innings, striking out nine Roadrunners while allowing only three hits. Trent Seibert earned the win in relief, striking out two batters in two innings of work while allowing one earned run.
"The guys really brought the energy today," head coach Jim Toman said. "You could tell this was a game that they didn't want to get swept at their own place. I expected them to do this. We went with a defensive lineup to make plays and, knock on wood, it worked."
Hamm was able to strand six Roadrunners on base during his start, feeding off the energy from the Sunday home crowd to find that "dawg" in him to push through and shutdown an offense that scored a combined 25 runs in the first two games of the series.
"After that second inning when I struck out the side, I mixed all my pitches that inning and landed all of them. I was like, 'this is go time!'" Hamm said. "I was able to mix in off speed early, leave my curveball just up in the air and then really bring it late in the count to take or hit over the top."
Toman highlighted the play of outfielders Dillingham, Luke Vinson and Eston Snider as key cogs that held UTSA to just four hits, alongside the picking prowess of first baseman Tatsunori Negishi.
Jackson Galloway continued his hot hitting from Saturday, blasting a solo home run over the fence in left field for his second home run of the series and his sixth-straight hit dating back to yesterday's game, giving MT an early 1-0 lead.
Hamm's pitching would keep MT in the lead most of the rest of the way, until UTSA finally pushed across a run in the top of the eighth once Hamm made way for Seibert on the mound. In the bottom half, however, MT struck back to reclaim the lead. Snider singled off the third baseman's chest, stealing second a few pitches later.
Dillingham then came up in the clutch, powering through mind games from the UTSA pitching staff to blast a single into the right-center field gap, scoring a sprinting Snider from second to give MT a 2-1 lead heading into the top of the ninth.
"I just knew, ever since my first at-bat where I put a good swing on the fastball, I wasn't going to get many fastballs unless they elevate," Dillingham said. "So I was just trying to sit slider the whole time, and work my best to stay behind it."
The win marked Jim Toman's 400th at the collegiate level as a head coach, 329 at Liberty and 71 in four years at Middle Tennessee.
"I've had a lot of good assistant coaches and a lot of good players," Toman said of his career wins. "But I'm just happy, that helped us a lot in the standings. We've done everything we've needed to do, this is only the second series we've lost, and Old Dominion and UTSA might be the two best hitting teams in the league and we were able to on Sunday to pull it off and not get swept."
The Blue Raiders are scheduled to be on the road the next two weekends of conference play, starting with a trip to South Florida to take on FIU next weekend. First pitch from Miami is scheduled for 6 p.m. central on Friday.
Offense was lacking for both sides on the gorgeous Tennessee afternoon, as both teams combined for just 10 hits across nine innings. Four of MT's six hits came off the bats of Jackson Galloway and Brian Dillingham, with both Blue Raiders contributing one RBI each during the afternoon.
Jaden Hamm was brilliant on the mound, tossing seven scoreless innings, striking out nine Roadrunners while allowing only three hits. Trent Seibert earned the win in relief, striking out two batters in two innings of work while allowing one earned run.
"The guys really brought the energy today," head coach Jim Toman said. "You could tell this was a game that they didn't want to get swept at their own place. I expected them to do this. We went with a defensive lineup to make plays and, knock on wood, it worked."
Hamm was able to strand six Roadrunners on base during his start, feeding off the energy from the Sunday home crowd to find that "dawg" in him to push through and shutdown an offense that scored a combined 25 runs in the first two games of the series.
"After that second inning when I struck out the side, I mixed all my pitches that inning and landed all of them. I was like, 'this is go time!'" Hamm said. "I was able to mix in off speed early, leave my curveball just up in the air and then really bring it late in the count to take or hit over the top."
Toman highlighted the play of outfielders Dillingham, Luke Vinson and Eston Snider as key cogs that held UTSA to just four hits, alongside the picking prowess of first baseman Tatsunori Negishi.
Jackson Galloway continued his hot hitting from Saturday, blasting a solo home run over the fence in left field for his second home run of the series and his sixth-straight hit dating back to yesterday's game, giving MT an early 1-0 lead.
Hamm's pitching would keep MT in the lead most of the rest of the way, until UTSA finally pushed across a run in the top of the eighth once Hamm made way for Seibert on the mound. In the bottom half, however, MT struck back to reclaim the lead. Snider singled off the third baseman's chest, stealing second a few pitches later.
Dillingham then came up in the clutch, powering through mind games from the UTSA pitching staff to blast a single into the right-center field gap, scoring a sprinting Snider from second to give MT a 2-1 lead heading into the top of the ninth.
"I just knew, ever since my first at-bat where I put a good swing on the fastball, I wasn't going to get many fastballs unless they elevate," Dillingham said. "So I was just trying to sit slider the whole time, and work my best to stay behind it."
The win marked Jim Toman's 400th at the collegiate level as a head coach, 329 at Liberty and 71 in four years at Middle Tennessee.
"I've had a lot of good assistant coaches and a lot of good players," Toman said of his career wins. "But I'm just happy, that helped us a lot in the standings. We've done everything we've needed to do, this is only the second series we've lost, and Old Dominion and UTSA might be the two best hitting teams in the league and we were able to on Sunday to pull it off and not get swept."
The Blue Raiders are scheduled to be on the road the next two weekends of conference play, starting with a trip to South Florida to take on FIU next weekend. First pitch from Miami is scheduled for 6 p.m. central on Friday.
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