Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Wednesday, September 28
Murfreesboro, TN
5:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
vs
Volunteer State Community College
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Softball to Open Fall Schedule vs. Volunteer State on Wednesday
9/27/2022 7:00:00 PM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will embark on its fall 2022 campaign on Wednesday evening, when they face Volunteer State Community College at the Blue Raider Softball Field. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m.
The game is the first of eight scheduled matchups during the 22-23 fall season. As with all tilts during the fall, Wednesday's game will be 10 innings.
"We are anxious to get started," said Blue Raider head coach Jeff Breeden. "Being able to compete against somebody else, we're just looking to see how all of these kids adapt to the speed of our game, and how everybody starts to gel together."
MTSU returns 10 players from last year's team, including pitcher Gretchen Mead. The graduate student from Kingwood, Tex. Is the longest-tenured member of the Blue Raider roster, and the sole player older than a junior. Mead led the '22 pitching staff in appearances with 28, and will co-headline this year's corps of pitcher alongside fellow returners Keri Munn and Claire Woods.
Middle infielder Laura Mealer (pictured) is back after posting a team-high .350 batting average, 1.034 OPS and 10 home runs in 2022. The Chapel Hill, Ten. native started in all 53 games a season ago as a freshman. With a year of experience under her belt now, Mealer takes the reins of a batting order that also returns each of its next two top hitters from last season. Fellow sophomore Anyce Harvey hit .326 in 2021, while junior Amaya Harris brings her .314 AVG and 50 hits into the fall season from a year ago.
The Blue Raiders also bring in nine newcomers. Transfers C/3B Julia Garcia (Maryland-Eastern Shore), P Kamryn Carcich (Murray State), 2B Shelby Echols (Houston Baptist) and OF Savannah Behabetz (Incarnate Word) are all expected to immediately contribute and compete for spots in the lineup.
In addition, Middle Tennessee welcomes a five-member freshman class. P Paige Connors comes to Murfreesboro from Lake Travis, Tex., and will be the sole lefty in the Blue Raider pitching staff. C Ansley Blevins is set to be a second-generation MTSU student-athlete; her mother played volleyball for the Raiders from 1992-95.
OF Lexi Medlock joins the Middle Tennessee roster from Murfreesboro's Siegel High School, 1B Riley Gilmore will look to lend her power to the batting order, while SS Julia Sitterding will seek to provide depth to the middle infield.
Breeden returns for his 11th season as head coach in 2023, and assistant coach Tony Foti is back for his 10th campaign. Together, Breeden and Foti led the Blue Raiders to a 26-22 record in 2021, including an 11-8 mark in Conference USA action.
Middle Tennessee also welcomes the newest member of its coaching staff, Helen Peña. The graduate of California Polytechnic State University comes to Rutherford County from the University of Memphis, where she spent the previous five years on the Tigers' staff.
After Wednesday, the Blue Raiders will return to action this weekend with 2 p.m. matchups on both Saturday and Sunday. They'll face Trevecca Nazarene University on Saturday, before turning their attention to Jackson State Community College on Sunday.
The game is the first of eight scheduled matchups during the 22-23 fall season. As with all tilts during the fall, Wednesday's game will be 10 innings.
"We are anxious to get started," said Blue Raider head coach Jeff Breeden. "Being able to compete against somebody else, we're just looking to see how all of these kids adapt to the speed of our game, and how everybody starts to gel together."
MTSU returns 10 players from last year's team, including pitcher Gretchen Mead. The graduate student from Kingwood, Tex. Is the longest-tenured member of the Blue Raider roster, and the sole player older than a junior. Mead led the '22 pitching staff in appearances with 28, and will co-headline this year's corps of pitcher alongside fellow returners Keri Munn and Claire Woods.
Middle infielder Laura Mealer (pictured) is back after posting a team-high .350 batting average, 1.034 OPS and 10 home runs in 2022. The Chapel Hill, Ten. native started in all 53 games a season ago as a freshman. With a year of experience under her belt now, Mealer takes the reins of a batting order that also returns each of its next two top hitters from last season. Fellow sophomore Anyce Harvey hit .326 in 2021, while junior Amaya Harris brings her .314 AVG and 50 hits into the fall season from a year ago.
The Blue Raiders also bring in nine newcomers. Transfers C/3B Julia Garcia (Maryland-Eastern Shore), P Kamryn Carcich (Murray State), 2B Shelby Echols (Houston Baptist) and OF Savannah Behabetz (Incarnate Word) are all expected to immediately contribute and compete for spots in the lineup.
In addition, Middle Tennessee welcomes a five-member freshman class. P Paige Connors comes to Murfreesboro from Lake Travis, Tex., and will be the sole lefty in the Blue Raider pitching staff. C Ansley Blevins is set to be a second-generation MTSU student-athlete; her mother played volleyball for the Raiders from 1992-95.
OF Lexi Medlock joins the Middle Tennessee roster from Murfreesboro's Siegel High School, 1B Riley Gilmore will look to lend her power to the batting order, while SS Julia Sitterding will seek to provide depth to the middle infield.
Breeden returns for his 11th season as head coach in 2023, and assistant coach Tony Foti is back for his 10th campaign. Together, Breeden and Foti led the Blue Raiders to a 26-22 record in 2021, including an 11-8 mark in Conference USA action.
Middle Tennessee also welcomes the newest member of its coaching staff, Helen Peña. The graduate of California Polytechnic State University comes to Rutherford County from the University of Memphis, where she spent the previous five years on the Tigers' staff.
After Wednesday, the Blue Raiders will return to action this weekend with 2 p.m. matchups on both Saturday and Sunday. They'll face Trevecca Nazarene University on Saturday, before turning their attention to Jackson State Community College on Sunday.
Players Mentioned
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OF/UT
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SS/2B
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P/3B
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