Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Tuesday, April 11
Decatur, Ga.
3:00 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
at
Georgia State
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Middle Tennessee to Head South for Midweek Test at Georgia State
4/10/2023 6:00:00 PM | Baseball
DECATUR, Ga. – Middle Tennessee Baseball has won six straight games and is fresh off a weekend series sweep at WKU. Continuing their seven-game road swing, the Blue Raiders return to action Tuesday for a non-conference matchup at Georgia State.
First pitch from GSU Baseball Complex at Decatur, Ga. is set for 3:00 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will be carrying the radio broadcast.
All-Time Against Georgia State
The Blue Raiders lead the all-time series 5-1 over Georgia State. GSU's only win over MTSU came in 1996. In the teams' most recent meeting in Decatur on May 4 last year, the Raiders rode a 3-5 day from Brett Coker and eighth inning RBI from Luke Vinson and JT Mabry to earn a 9-7, come-from-behind victory over the Panthers.
Probable Starting Pitcher
RHP Jalen Wirtz is set to start Tuesday's road game.
Quick Hitters
RHP James Sells had a save in each of MTSU's three wins at rival WKU on April 6-8. on Thursday, Sells recorded the final four outs and retired the side in order in the ninth to clinch a 6-3 win. The righty once again registered a four-out save Friday night, recording a pair of strikeouts and stranding the tying runners in scoring position as the Blue Raiders clinched the series with a 2-0 victory. Sells would go 1.2 frames in Saturday's weekend finale, inducing a trio of groundouts and stranding the tying runner on first as Middle Tennessee left Bowling Green with a 5-4 win.
In their recent series at WKU, the Blue Raider pitching staff allowed a .207 AVG and just five total earned runs. RHPs Patrick Johnson and Jaden Hamm had 7.0+ frame starts with just one combined ER.
MTSU leads Conference USA in batting average in conference games (.310). Across all games, the Blue Raiders sit in second at .308, just six points behind UTSA. Five Blue Raiders are hitting over .300, with Coker leading at a .377 clip and Mabry, Jeremiah Boyd, Luke Vinson and Briggs Rutter joining in that category.
Through 30 games this season, the Blue Raiders have used the same starting infield. DJ Wright has maned first base, Mabry has played at second, Coker has been the everyday shortstop and Gabe Jennings has occupied the third base position. The Blue Raiders are 5-0 in their most recent games, all with an identical starting lineup sans for starting pitcher.
Scouting the Panthers
Georgia State currently sits in 10th place among 14 teams in the Sun Belt Conference with a 5-7 league record. Overall, the Panthers are 15-17.
The club won its series finale at James Madison on Saturday but had dropped six in a row prior to that. Those games included a home sweep at the hands of conference foe Coastal Carolina, as well as a midweek setback against Alabama State.
The Panthers boast a power five win, a 12-11 victory over Georgia Tech at Coolray Field which lasted 14 innings.
GSU bats .300 as a team, with five individuals over that mark, with senior Max Ryerson leading the squad at .390. Junior infielder Dylan Strickland is second at .367 and leads the squad with 10 home runs.
Next Up
After returning from Atlanta, the Blue Raiders will travel to San Antonio for a three-game C-USA series at league-leading UTSA, beginning Friday.
The next game at Resse Smith Jr. Field is slated for Tuesday, April 18 against Lipscomb, with a 6:00 p.m. start time.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
First pitch from GSU Baseball Complex at Decatur, Ga. is set for 3:00 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will be carrying the radio broadcast.
All-Time Against Georgia State
The Blue Raiders lead the all-time series 5-1 over Georgia State. GSU's only win over MTSU came in 1996. In the teams' most recent meeting in Decatur on May 4 last year, the Raiders rode a 3-5 day from Brett Coker and eighth inning RBI from Luke Vinson and JT Mabry to earn a 9-7, come-from-behind victory over the Panthers.
Probable Starting Pitcher
RHP Jalen Wirtz is set to start Tuesday's road game.
Quick Hitters
RHP James Sells had a save in each of MTSU's three wins at rival WKU on April 6-8. on Thursday, Sells recorded the final four outs and retired the side in order in the ninth to clinch a 6-3 win. The righty once again registered a four-out save Friday night, recording a pair of strikeouts and stranding the tying runners in scoring position as the Blue Raiders clinched the series with a 2-0 victory. Sells would go 1.2 frames in Saturday's weekend finale, inducing a trio of groundouts and stranding the tying runner on first as Middle Tennessee left Bowling Green with a 5-4 win.
In their recent series at WKU, the Blue Raider pitching staff allowed a .207 AVG and just five total earned runs. RHPs Patrick Johnson and Jaden Hamm had 7.0+ frame starts with just one combined ER.
MTSU leads Conference USA in batting average in conference games (.310). Across all games, the Blue Raiders sit in second at .308, just six points behind UTSA. Five Blue Raiders are hitting over .300, with Coker leading at a .377 clip and Mabry, Jeremiah Boyd, Luke Vinson and Briggs Rutter joining in that category.
Through 30 games this season, the Blue Raiders have used the same starting infield. DJ Wright has maned first base, Mabry has played at second, Coker has been the everyday shortstop and Gabe Jennings has occupied the third base position. The Blue Raiders are 5-0 in their most recent games, all with an identical starting lineup sans for starting pitcher.
Scouting the Panthers
Georgia State currently sits in 10th place among 14 teams in the Sun Belt Conference with a 5-7 league record. Overall, the Panthers are 15-17.
The club won its series finale at James Madison on Saturday but had dropped six in a row prior to that. Those games included a home sweep at the hands of conference foe Coastal Carolina, as well as a midweek setback against Alabama State.
The Panthers boast a power five win, a 12-11 victory over Georgia Tech at Coolray Field which lasted 14 innings.
GSU bats .300 as a team, with five individuals over that mark, with senior Max Ryerson leading the squad at .390. Junior infielder Dylan Strickland is second at .367 and leads the squad with 10 home runs.
Next Up
After returning from Atlanta, the Blue Raiders will travel to San Antonio for a three-game C-USA series at league-leading UTSA, beginning Friday.
The next game at Resse Smith Jr. Field is slated for Tuesday, April 18 against Lipscomb, with a 6:00 p.m. start time.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
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