Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Wednesday, April 19
Nashville, TN
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
18-18
6
at
2
Lipscomb
19-18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Middle Tennessee
0
0
1
0
1
3
1
0
0
6
9
1
Lipscomb
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
5
3
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sato, Kota (1-1)
L: DUNKELBERGER, Michae (2-5)
Batting:
2B: Coker, Brett 1 ; Wright, DJ 1
HR: Boyd, Jeremiah 1
RBI: Snider, Eston 1 ; Coker, Brett 1 ; Mabry, JT 1 ; Boyd, Jeremiah 2
SH: Rutter, Briggs 1 ; Vinson, Luke 1
SF: Coker, Brett 1 ; Mabry, JT 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Coker, Brett 1 ; Galloway, Jackson 1 ; Boyd, Jeremiah 1 ; Wright, DJ 2 ; Jennings, Gabe 1
CS: Mabry, JT 1
Batting:
RBI: KELLY, Austin 1 ; COPPEDGE, David 1
SF: KELLY, Austin 1 ; COPPEDGE, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KETCHUP, Caleb 1 ; BERG, Jake 1
SB: KETCHUP, Caleb 2 ; VERGARA, Alex 1
HBP: VERGARA, Alex 1 ; BERG, Jake 1 ; COPPEDGE, David 1
PO: COPPEDGE, David 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballSS
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF/INF
/ Baseball
Photo by: MT Athletic Communications
Blue Raiders Ride Sato’s Career Night in Win at Lipscomb
4/19/2023 9:26:00 PM | Baseball
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Entering Wednesday night's game on a five-game losing streak, Middle Tennessee Baseball was seeking a spark.
With two outs in the first, they received just that from RHP Kota Sato at Lipscomb's Dugan Field.
The sophomore from Yamagata, Japan entered the game out of the bullpen in the opening inning. He would follow with MTSU career-highs in innings pitched (6.0) and strikeouts (6), allowing no runs on three hits and one walk. The transfer from Edmonds College tossed 101 pitches on the night, and earned his first winning decision as a Division I baseball player.
With the 6-2 win over the Bisons, the Blue Raiders get back to .500 overall at 18-18 and split the home-and-home midweek series with Lipscomb, responding from Tuesday's loss.
Lipscomb struck first in the opening inning, but the Blue Raiders answered in the third on an Eston Snider infield RBI single.
Middle Tennessee took its first lead in the fifth, when DJ Wright advanced home on a wild pitch after doubling in the inning.
The Raiders created separation an inning later, riding a Brett Coker leadoff double that scored on a JT Mabry sacrifice fly. After Jackson Galloway walked with two outs, Jeremiah Boyd made the Bisons pay for the free pass, launching a 105 mph, 414-foot homer to make it 5-1.
The Blue Raiders added to their cushion in the seventh on a Coker sacrifice fly. Lipscomb scored a run in the ninth to make it a four-run game, but didn't come closer than that.
The Skipper Speaks
"The fun part is when we win, but before the game I told the team to stay loose, play free and compete for today, not to worry about what happened yesterday. I felt like we did that. The way the first inning went, Lipscomb had a good guy on the mound, and we had to make a move on the mound. We could have easily fallen into a mode that we weren't looking for, but we didn't do that. We responded well, so I'm pleased with that for sure," said head coach Jerry Meyers.
On Sato: "He has a really strong demeanor about him. His last outing he was pretty good as well, but an outstanding job tonight for sure. He mixed three pitches, he located well and gave us a chance to play defense."
By the Numbers
.150: Sato allowed the Bisons to hit just .150 on the evening across his career outing. Overall, Lipscomb batted .172 Wednesday night and .077 with runners on base.
2.1: RHP James Sells finished the game with a 2.1-inning outing from the bullpen, striking out three.
8: Eight Blue Raiders reached base safely, spreading their nine hits almost exactly evenly across the lineup. Gabe Jennings led the lineup with a 2-4 evening, while scoring a run.
4: MTSU manufactured offense Wednesday via the sacrifice, with two sacrifice flies and a pair of sacrifice bunts. This number of sacrifices tied a season-high.
Blue Raider Notes
Sells has been the final pitcher in four straight Blue Raider wins, earning three saves on April 6-8 at WKU. Wednesday night did not present a save situation for Sells, however.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders return to Murfreesboro for a C-USA series this weekend against Rice. First pitch Friday is slated got 6:00 p.m., and a 3:00 p.m. start is scheduled for Saturday before a 12:00 p.m. Sunday series finale.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+. WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will have the radio broadcast.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
With two outs in the first, they received just that from RHP Kota Sato at Lipscomb's Dugan Field.
The sophomore from Yamagata, Japan entered the game out of the bullpen in the opening inning. He would follow with MTSU career-highs in innings pitched (6.0) and strikeouts (6), allowing no runs on three hits and one walk. The transfer from Edmonds College tossed 101 pitches on the night, and earned his first winning decision as a Division I baseball player.
With the 6-2 win over the Bisons, the Blue Raiders get back to .500 overall at 18-18 and split the home-and-home midweek series with Lipscomb, responding from Tuesday's loss.
Lipscomb struck first in the opening inning, but the Blue Raiders answered in the third on an Eston Snider infield RBI single.
Middle Tennessee took its first lead in the fifth, when DJ Wright advanced home on a wild pitch after doubling in the inning.
The Raiders created separation an inning later, riding a Brett Coker leadoff double that scored on a JT Mabry sacrifice fly. After Jackson Galloway walked with two outs, Jeremiah Boyd made the Bisons pay for the free pass, launching a 105 mph, 414-foot homer to make it 5-1.
The Blue Raiders added to their cushion in the seventh on a Coker sacrifice fly. Lipscomb scored a run in the ninth to make it a four-run game, but didn't come closer than that.
The Skipper Speaks
"The fun part is when we win, but before the game I told the team to stay loose, play free and compete for today, not to worry about what happened yesterday. I felt like we did that. The way the first inning went, Lipscomb had a good guy on the mound, and we had to make a move on the mound. We could have easily fallen into a mode that we weren't looking for, but we didn't do that. We responded well, so I'm pleased with that for sure," said head coach Jerry Meyers.
On Sato: "He has a really strong demeanor about him. His last outing he was pretty good as well, but an outstanding job tonight for sure. He mixed three pitches, he located well and gave us a chance to play defense."
By the Numbers
.150: Sato allowed the Bisons to hit just .150 on the evening across his career outing. Overall, Lipscomb batted .172 Wednesday night and .077 with runners on base.
2.1: RHP James Sells finished the game with a 2.1-inning outing from the bullpen, striking out three.
8: Eight Blue Raiders reached base safely, spreading their nine hits almost exactly evenly across the lineup. Gabe Jennings led the lineup with a 2-4 evening, while scoring a run.
4: MTSU manufactured offense Wednesday via the sacrifice, with two sacrifice flies and a pair of sacrifice bunts. This number of sacrifices tied a season-high.
Blue Raider Notes
Sells has been the final pitcher in four straight Blue Raider wins, earning three saves on April 6-8 at WKU. Wednesday night did not present a save situation for Sells, however.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders return to Murfreesboro for a C-USA series this weekend against Rice. First pitch Friday is slated got 6:00 p.m., and a 3:00 p.m. start is scheduled for Saturday before a 12:00 p.m. Sunday series finale.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+. WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will have the radio broadcast.
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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