Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
NOTEBOOK: Softball and Baseball win their first C-USA Series of the Season
3/20/2023 6:24:00 PM | Baseball, General, Men's Golf, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee softball picked up their first C-USA series win of the season in dramatic fashion, walking off on Saturday against UAB with an RBI-single from Julia Garcia to take their second win of the weekend, clinching the series win early.
Garcia drove home the winning run in the bottom of the eighth, hitting a fly ball over the head of the Blazer centerfielder to claim the win. Shelby Sargent was the hero setting up the walk-off, nailing a runner at the plate to keep the game at just a 1-0 deficit before driving in the game tying run in the seventh inning with an RBI-single.
Carcich named Pitcher of the Week by C-USA
Junior Kamryn Carcich was honored by the Conference USA office earlier today, being named Pitcher of the Week. It's the third straight week MTSU has earned a C-USA weekly superlative.
The junior transfer tossed a complete game shutout against SEMO in the Blue Raiders' midweek game, and followed that with a complete game against UAB allowing only one run. In 14 innings pitched this week, she put up a 0.48 ERA.
Baseball takes two from the Red Team
Ending their month-long homestand in style, Middle Tennessee baseball found a way on Sunday, scoring seven runs in their final three innings at bat to come from behind and take the series against Western Kentucky, with an 8-6 win on Sunday.
After starting the C-USA season strong by winning a slugfest on Friday night, 12-8, the Hilltoppers struck back with an 8-4 win on Saturday, setting up the rubber match with the Blue Raiders. Multi-hit days from MTSU's 1-2-3 hitters (JT Mabry, Brett Coker and Jeremiah Boyd) paced the Blue Raider offense, who came back from being down as much as 5-1 in the rubber match.
JT Mabry was the hero of the afternoon, with his two-RBI single breaking the tie game in the bottom of the eighth.
Men's Tennis posts strong Friday doubleheader win
It was smooth sailing for No. 21 Middle Tennessee Men's Tennis on Friday, taking 13 of a possible 14 points against Dartmouth and North Alabama to easily pick up two wins on a special day at the Adams Tennis Complex, where MTSU remembered longtime coach Buck Bouldin after his passing this month.
MTSU will hit the road this week for a challenging slate west of Tennessee, taking on Oklahoma and Texas Tech this coming weekend.
MT Volleyball #PlaysForNae
Here's a quick story I heard at the office when I got back from Durham that I knew I had to share as soon as I could with y'all.
Middle Tennessee volleyball's Caroline Macander and Adri Rhoda were very upset when they first heard news of Smyrna High School's Janae Edmonson's injuries following a car crash while the volleyball player was at a tournament in St. Louis last month.
As many of you around Rutherford County already know, Edmonson was pinned by a car that failed to yield and caused a crash, with her injuries leading to the amputation of both of her legs. Macander, who knew Edmonson from working out at Mid TN Volleyball Club and Rhoda, who met Edmonson while coaching Smyrna during the MTSU team camp this past summer, were looking for ways to help.
"It's a big deal, especially someone in their backyard," assistant coach Taylor Holmes explained. "Caroline was like, 'I shared (the family's fund) on my Instagram, what else can we do?' And so she came up with the idea of a clinic."
NCAA rules limited what MTSU could do directly as a program, but not what the players could do themselves. So, after some help from Hunter Waldron in compliance and some basic outlines of how MTSU runs their summer clinics, Macander, with the help of her teammates, set up and ran a volleyball clinic over the weekend.
Macander made the Google forms, sent out all the emails, led all the publicity, Holmes said. The team's social media accounts helped out when they could.
And when Sunday came, she and every single teammate ran the clinic, raising over $4000 for the Edmonson family, with players from as far away as Huntsville, Ala. making the drive up to support.
"People wrote checks that didn't come," Holmes said. "We just want to help her out any way that we can."
Men's Golf posts strong finish at Schenkel Invitational
Middle Tennessee men's golf finished the weekend strong on Sunday, moving up from fourth to third at Georgia Southern's Schenkel Invitational, outplaying three top 50 teams and completing the tournament seven strokes under par as a team, just the second tournament this season MTSU has finished under par as a team.
"Great finish," Head Coach Mark McEntire said. "I'm very happy for this team. We beat some very good teams, which should help with the rankings. Fantastic finish for Michael. He is such a good player, and this will be good for him for the rest of the year. Great rounds today from Kevin and Owen. Also, Gavin put in a solid round, and I'm very happy with this finish."
Michael Barnard led the way for MTSU, tying for third just two strokes back of the tournament winner, finishing the weekend six strokes under par.
Nina Davis named to WBCA's 30 Under 30 List
Middle Tennessee women's assistant basketball coach Nina Davis has been named Thirty Under 30 for the 2022-23 season as announced by the WBCA Monday.
The WBCA Thirty Under 30 program was created to recognize 30 up-and-coming women's basketball coaches aged 30 and under at all levels of the game. Each honoree has exemplified their involvement in community service, mentorship and impact on others, professional manner, and attitude and professional association involvement.
Davis just completed her third season as an assistant coach with the Lady Raiders.
"Nina Davis is a rising star in this business and the WBCA was correct in recognizing her talents as one of the young up-and-coming coaches in this industry," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "She has impacted our program tremendously in her three seasons at Middle Tennessee."
March Madness Mascot? Former MT Volleyball Player Dora Peonia
I, like many of y'all, was enraptured by the Fairleigh Dickinson upset of Purdue over the week in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. So many details, from the season FDU had to the coach being in his first year to their SID being a undergraduate at FDU, made for a fun Cinderella story.
Then, I learned from Chelsea Floyd, our Associate Athletic Director for Marketing, Fan Engagement, and Licensing, that a familiar face was helping FDU behind the scenes! Dora Peonia, a former MTSU volleyball player and recent marketing intern here in Murfreesboro, was helping run the marketing operation for the Knights in Columbus, Ohio, particularly focused on the mascot!
Always fun to see our Blue Raiders in the world of sports, particularly on a weekend like the first weekend of March Madness.
(Courtesy Dora Peonia)
Garcia drove home the winning run in the bottom of the eighth, hitting a fly ball over the head of the Blazer centerfielder to claim the win. Shelby Sargent was the hero setting up the walk-off, nailing a runner at the plate to keep the game at just a 1-0 deficit before driving in the game tying run in the seventh inning with an RBI-single.
Walk-off hit by @juliaga87970082 for the win! 👏 #BLUEnited | ⚡️⬆️ pic.twitter.com/z0RZMqkDYr
— MT Softball (@MT_Softball) March 19, 2023
Carcich named Pitcher of the Week by C-USA
Junior Kamryn Carcich was honored by the Conference USA office earlier today, being named Pitcher of the Week. It's the third straight week MTSU has earned a C-USA weekly superlative.
The junior transfer tossed a complete game shutout against SEMO in the Blue Raiders' midweek game, and followed that with a complete game against UAB allowing only one run. In 14 innings pitched this week, she put up a 0.48 ERA.
Kamryn Carcich is your C-USA Pitcher of the Week!
— MT Softball (@MT_Softball) March 20, 2023
Congrats @KamrynCarcich! 👏
📰 https://t.co/WrpHRpGS3P pic.twitter.com/EJvvqYchlF
Baseball takes two from the Red Team
Ending their month-long homestand in style, Middle Tennessee baseball found a way on Sunday, scoring seven runs in their final three innings at bat to come from behind and take the series against Western Kentucky, with an 8-6 win on Sunday.
.@MT_Baseball comes from behind for an 8-6 WIN over WKU to win the first @ConferenceUSA series of the year!#BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/THPAe7pvYU
— MT Athletics (@MTAthletics) March 20, 2023
After starting the C-USA season strong by winning a slugfest on Friday night, 12-8, the Hilltoppers struck back with an 8-4 win on Saturday, setting up the rubber match with the Blue Raiders. Multi-hit days from MTSU's 1-2-3 hitters (JT Mabry, Brett Coker and Jeremiah Boyd) paced the Blue Raider offense, who came back from being down as much as 5-1 in the rubber match.
JT Mabry was the hero of the afternoon, with his two-RBI single breaking the tie game in the bottom of the eighth.
JT GIVES US THE LEAD!!
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) March 19, 2023
We lead by a pair heading into the ninth! pic.twitter.com/uGYvrmq0Ws
"I love JT!!"
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) March 19, 2023
Let's say we love both JT and Coach Nick 😁 pic.twitter.com/BJnu1kBhZh
Men's Tennis posts strong Friday doubleheader win
It was smooth sailing for No. 21 Middle Tennessee Men's Tennis on Friday, taking 13 of a possible 14 points against Dartmouth and North Alabama to easily pick up two wins on a special day at the Adams Tennis Complex, where MTSU remembered longtime coach Buck Bouldin after his passing this month.
For Mr. B!#BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/EdulcJ2qkl
— MT Men's Tennis (@MT_MensTennis) March 17, 2023
MTSU will hit the road this week for a challenging slate west of Tennessee, taking on Oklahoma and Texas Tech this coming weekend.
Nothing better than being back at the ATC! 🎾#BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/WkMETkM0vm
— MT Men's Tennis (@MT_MensTennis) March 18, 2023
MT Volleyball #PlaysForNae
Here's a quick story I heard at the office when I got back from Durham that I knew I had to share as soon as I could with y'all.
Middle Tennessee volleyball's Caroline Macander and Adri Rhoda were very upset when they first heard news of Smyrna High School's Janae Edmonson's injuries following a car crash while the volleyball player was at a tournament in St. Louis last month.
As many of you around Rutherford County already know, Edmonson was pinned by a car that failed to yield and caused a crash, with her injuries leading to the amputation of both of her legs. Macander, who knew Edmonson from working out at Mid TN Volleyball Club and Rhoda, who met Edmonson while coaching Smyrna during the MTSU team camp this past summer, were looking for ways to help.
"It's a big deal, especially someone in their backyard," assistant coach Taylor Holmes explained. "Caroline was like, 'I shared (the family's fund) on my Instagram, what else can we do?' And so she came up with the idea of a clinic."
NCAA rules limited what MTSU could do directly as a program, but not what the players could do themselves. So, after some help from Hunter Waldron in compliance and some basic outlines of how MTSU runs their summer clinics, Macander, with the help of her teammates, set up and ran a volleyball clinic over the weekend.
Macander made the Google forms, sent out all the emails, led all the publicity, Holmes said. The team's social media accounts helped out when they could.
And when Sunday came, she and every single teammate ran the clinic, raising over $4000 for the Edmonson family, with players from as far away as Huntsville, Ala. making the drive up to support.
"People wrote checks that didn't come," Holmes said. "We just want to help her out any way that we can."
Men's Golf posts strong finish at Schenkel Invitational
Middle Tennessee men's golf finished the weekend strong on Sunday, moving up from fourth to third at Georgia Southern's Schenkel Invitational, outplaying three top 50 teams and completing the tournament seven strokes under par as a team, just the second tournament this season MTSU has finished under par as a team.
"Great finish," Head Coach Mark McEntire said. "I'm very happy for this team. We beat some very good teams, which should help with the rankings. Fantastic finish for Michael. He is such a good player, and this will be good for him for the rest of the year. Great rounds today from Kevin and Owen. Also, Gavin put in a solid round, and I'm very happy with this finish."
Final results: pic.twitter.com/ChcUAPsrew
— MT Men's Golf (@MT_MGolf) March 19, 2023
Michael Barnard led the way for MTSU, tying for third just two strokes back of the tournament winner, finishing the weekend six strokes under par.
A great tournament for Michael Barnard!#BlueRaiders pic.twitter.com/ltGVx39gqf
— MT Men's Golf (@MT_MGolf) March 19, 2023
Nina Davis named to WBCA's 30 Under 30 List
Middle Tennessee women's assistant basketball coach Nina Davis has been named Thirty Under 30 for the 2022-23 season as announced by the WBCA Monday.
The WBCA Thirty Under 30 program was created to recognize 30 up-and-coming women's basketball coaches aged 30 and under at all levels of the game. Each honoree has exemplified their involvement in community service, mentorship and impact on others, professional manner, and attitude and professional association involvement.
Davis just completed her third season as an assistant coach with the Lady Raiders.
"Nina Davis is a rising star in this business and the WBCA was correct in recognizing her talents as one of the young up-and-coming coaches in this industry," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "She has impacted our program tremendously in her three seasons at Middle Tennessee."
Congratulations to our very own @__NinaDavis, who has been named to the @WBCA1981's 30 under 30 list! 👏
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) March 20, 2023
📰 https://t.co/56sS0zSl3O#BLUEnited | #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/oiEe2WFpbA
I'm blessed to be recognized on this incredible 30 under 30 list! I'm grateful that I'm able to do something that I love to do! S/O to my family for always supporting, our amazing staff that push me everyday to new heights, and my players that make this journey beyond worth it! https://t.co/4JzqZCxGdB
— Nina Davis (@__NinaDavis) March 20, 2023
March Madness Mascot? Former MT Volleyball Player Dora Peonia
I, like many of y'all, was enraptured by the Fairleigh Dickinson upset of Purdue over the week in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. So many details, from the season FDU had to the coach being in his first year to their SID being a undergraduate at FDU, made for a fun Cinderella story.
Then, I learned from Chelsea Floyd, our Associate Athletic Director for Marketing, Fan Engagement, and Licensing, that a familiar face was helping FDU behind the scenes! Dora Peonia, a former MTSU volleyball player and recent marketing intern here in Murfreesboro, was helping run the marketing operation for the Knights in Columbus, Ohio, particularly focused on the mascot!
#16 FDU defeats #1 Purdue HISTORY FOR THE FDU MASCOT pic.twitter.com/MWLMX6isDB
— The Irrelevant Fan (@bagsfan75_Tony) March 18, 2023
Always fun to see our Blue Raiders in the world of sports, particularly on a weekend like the first weekend of March Madness.
(Courtesy Dora Peonia)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
C
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/ Softball
SS
/ Baseball
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OH
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