Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, April 14
San Antonio, TX
6:00 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
at
UTSA
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
MTSU Heads to Lone Star State for Series at UTSA
4/13/2023 6:39:00 PM | Baseball
SAN ANTONIO – Middle Tennessee Baseball has won six straight games in Conference USA play and will look to continue momentum in league play when it visits conference leading UTSA for a three-game series this weekend.
First pitch on Friday is set for 6:00 p.m. A 2:00 p.m. start is slated for Saturday before the teams close the series with a 12:00 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
The games will be streamed on C-USA TV. WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will have the radio broadcast.
All-Time Against UTSA
The Roadrunners lead the all-time series between the teams, 18-8. The Blue Raiders took last year's series finale in Murfreesboro, 2-1 via a pair of solo home runs from Jackson Galloway and Brian Dillingham.
Probable Starting Pitchers
The Raiders' starting rotation is unchanged from last week's sweep at WKU. Freshman Patrick Johnson will take the hill on Friday, before Jaden Hamm goes Saturday and Eriq Swan starts the Sunday series finale.
Quick Hitters
MTSU and UTSA both lead C-USA in hitting, in different ways. The Blue Raiders lead the league with a .310 AVG across league games, while UTSA is first in the conference with a
.315 overall AVG.
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 ground outs and stranding the tying runner on first as Middle Tennessee left Bowling Green with a 5-4 win. Sells went on to win C-USA Pitcher of the Week for his performance.
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. Even in a midweek loss at Georgia State this past Tuesday, Blue Raider pitching allowed just a .192 AVG and held the Panthers hitless with two outs and runners in scoring position.
Through 31 games this season, the MTSU has used the same starting infield in all but one game. 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 C-USA games, all with an identical starting lineup sans for starting pitcher.
Scouting the Roadrunners
UTSA stands atop the Conference USA standings—with a 9-2 record in the league and a 25-8 mark overall. The Roadrunners are 6-0 at home in conference play, with sweeps over Florida Atlantic and WKU.
The team is fresh off a 5-1 signature midweek win over SEC foe Texas A&M in College Station. In its past league series, UTSA split a pair of matchups at Charlotte before seeing the series finale called off due to weather.
Senior infielder and Baylor transfer Antonio Valdez leads the squad with a .409 AVG which also places him second in C-USA. He is also third in the league in OPS with a team-high 1.237 clip.
Senior outfielder Shane Sirdashney follows Valdez with a .350 AVG and is one of six players hitting north of .300.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders return home to face Lipscomb on Tuesday evening at Reese Smith Jr Field. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. MTSU will be at Lipscomb on Wednesday night before returning to conference play next weekend at home against Rice.
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 on Friday is set for 6:00 p.m. A 2:00 p.m. start is slated for Saturday before the teams close the series with a 12:00 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
The games will be streamed on C-USA TV. WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will have the radio broadcast.
All-Time Against UTSA
The Roadrunners lead the all-time series between the teams, 18-8. The Blue Raiders took last year's series finale in Murfreesboro, 2-1 via a pair of solo home runs from Jackson Galloway and Brian Dillingham.
Probable Starting Pitchers
The Raiders' starting rotation is unchanged from last week's sweep at WKU. Freshman Patrick Johnson will take the hill on Friday, before Jaden Hamm goes Saturday and Eriq Swan starts the Sunday series finale.
Quick Hitters
MTSU and UTSA both lead C-USA in hitting, in different ways. The Blue Raiders lead the league with a .310 AVG across league games, while UTSA is first in the conference with a
.315 overall AVG.
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 ground outs and stranding the tying runner on first as Middle Tennessee left Bowling Green with a 5-4 win. Sells went on to win C-USA Pitcher of the Week for his performance.
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. Even in a midweek loss at Georgia State this past Tuesday, Blue Raider pitching allowed just a .192 AVG and held the Panthers hitless with two outs and runners in scoring position.
Through 31 games this season, the MTSU has used the same starting infield in all but one game. 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 C-USA games, all with an identical starting lineup sans for starting pitcher.
Scouting the Roadrunners
UTSA stands atop the Conference USA standings—with a 9-2 record in the league and a 25-8 mark overall. The Roadrunners are 6-0 at home in conference play, with sweeps over Florida Atlantic and WKU.
The team is fresh off a 5-1 signature midweek win over SEC foe Texas A&M in College Station. In its past league series, UTSA split a pair of matchups at Charlotte before seeing the series finale called off due to weather.
Senior infielder and Baylor transfer Antonio Valdez leads the squad with a .409 AVG which also places him second in C-USA. He is also third in the league in OPS with a team-high 1.237 clip.
Senior outfielder Shane Sirdashney follows Valdez with a .350 AVG and is one of six players hitting north of .300.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders return home to face Lipscomb on Tuesday evening at Reese Smith Jr Field. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. MTSU will be at Lipscomb on Wednesday night before returning to conference play next weekend at home against Rice.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Players Mentioned
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