Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Sunday, April 2
12:00 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
14-13, 5-4
13
vs
12
FIU
13-16, 2-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
FIU
1
3
1
0
1
1
1
0
4
12
13
2
Middle Tennessee
2
1
1
1
2
0
1
0
5
13
15
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dewey, Daniel (1-0)
L: RITCHEY, Jackson (2-1)
Batting:
2B: ROSARIO, Mike 1 ; LORIGA, Bryan 1
3B: GIRARDI, Dante 1
HR: ROSARIO, Mike 1 ; LORIGA, Bryan 1
RBI: ROSARIO, Mike 4 ; LORIGA, Bryan 1 ; GIRARDI, Dante 1 ; SANCHEZ, Alec 1 ; FIGUEROA, Adrian 1 ; WALLEN, Henry 1 ; RONEY, Brendan 1 ; QUEVEDO, Roylan 1
SH: WALLEN, Henry 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ROSARIO, Mike 2 ; LORIGA, Bryan 2 ; SANCHEZ, Alec 2 ; GUIDA, Ryne 1 ; FIGUEROA, Adrian 1 ; RONEY, Brendan 2 ; QUEVEDO, Roylan 1 ; SOTOLONGO,Robert 1
SB: ROSARIO, Mike 2 ; SANCHEZ, Alec 1 ; QUEVEDO, Roylan 2
Batting:
2B: Boyd, Jeremiah 1 ; Snider, Eston 1
HR: Boyd, Jeremiah 1
RBI: Mabry, JT 1 ; Coker, Brett 1 ; Boyd, Jeremiah 3 ; Rutter, Briggs 1 ; Wright, DJ 1 ; Snider, Eston 4
SF: Coker, Brett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Coker, Brett 2 ; Boyd, Jeremiah 1 ; Rutter, Briggs 1 ; Galloway, Jackson 2 ; Wright, DJ 1 ; Jennings, Gabe 2 ; Snider, Eston 3 ; Vinson, Luke 1
SB: Snider, Eston 1
HBP: Mabry, JT 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
3
H
5
RBI
4
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballSS
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Middle Tennessee Scores Five in the Ninth to Walk-Off FIU and Complete Series Sweep at Home
4/2/2023 4:46:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee Blue Raider (14-13, 5-4) fans were treated to an awesome afternoon at Sunday's game against the FIU Panthers (13-16, 2-7). Ninety-eight year old World War II veteran Jack O. Weatherford, who's namesake is on the Universities Chair of Finance, delivered the game's ceremonial first pitch to catcher Briggs Rutter and fittingly saw a dogfight of a game in which Middle Tennessee complete the sweep of the Panthers in a 13-12 walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth that involved Rutter.
After allowing four runs in the top of the ninth to make it a 12-8 game, MTSU plated four runs in the bottom of the ninth prior to its' clean-up hitter, Rutter, digging into the box.
Facing FIU side-arm pitcher Mario Fernandez, Rutter laid off several sliders to get himself into a good hitters count at 3-1 and drew the game-winning walk that plated Luke Vinson and brought upon an ensuing Gatorade bath by his teammates in right field.
After MTSU gave up an early run, Jeremiah Boyd hit his second home run of the series and seventh of the season when he sent an Angel Tiburcio fastball over the CityAuto sign in right field to put the Blue Raiders on top 2-1.
FIU responded with a three-spot in the second inning after getting a pair of runners into scoring position with one out and capitalizing on a pair of RBI singles and a Blue Raider error to regain the lead at 4-2. MTSU pulled back within a run in the bottom of the second after a two-out double by Eston Snider that eventually led to him scoring after an FIU error to make it a 4-3 game heading into the third.
FIU added another run in the top of the third inning to take a 5-3 lead before Jeremiah Boyd picked up his third RBI of the game on a double down the line in left to bring Brett Coker in to score from first and make it 5-4.
JT Mabry tied the game at 5-5 in the fourth on a single into center field that brought Eston Snider around to score his second run of the afternoon. For Mabry, it was his eighth RBI of the series up to that point.
FIU regained the lead in the fifth inning, the fourth lead change of the game, after loading the bases and scoring a run to spell the end of the day for MTSU starter Eriq Swan. The hard-throwing right-hander allowed four earned runs in 4.1 innings of work before giving way to sophomore Jalen Wirtz.
Eston Snider drove in his first two RBIs of the afternoon on a big two-out hit in the fifth inning to put the Blue Raiders back on top 7-6. FIU tied it up in the bottom of the inning, but MTSU relievers Jake Cothran and Kota Sato combined to limit the damage to just one run after the Panthers had loaded the bases. Blue Raider pitching had left nine runners on base to that point of the afternoon.
FIU took the lead back on the sixth lead change of the game in the seventh by pushing a run across on an RBI double by leadoff man Mike Rosario to make it 8-7.
Offensively, MTSU was paced by Eston Snider, who had a career day. The sophomore went 5-for-5 with four RBI, including an important one in the ninth to keep the inning alive and the game-tying RBI in the eighth. The five hits and four RBIs were season high's for Snider as well as his three runs scored, the biggest of which coming as the tying run in the ninth.
By the Numbers
8: The number of RBIs in the series by Blue Raider second baseman JT Mabry
7: The team-high in home runs by Jeremiah Boyd, whose gone deep in back-to-back games.
5: Season-high in hits for Eston Snider and the number of runs scored in the ninth inning by MTSU.
The Skipper Speaks
"There was multiple examples of (our resolve at the plate) throughout the game. Obviously, the most glaring example was in the ninth. We're a veteran offensive club. Some of our maturity came in handy, having several quality at-bats throughout the weekend. A lot of the times they scored or got ahead, we came back and answered."
Player's Perspective – Sophomore RF Eston Snider
"The game had a lot of back-and-forth action and was exciting. I think today showed just how much we trust in each other as a team. It's not about necessarily hitting a home run, it's about passing the bat and getting it to the next batter. Coming into today, I was struggling a bit. I think it was more mentally than physically. I've been trying to just breathe and relax, and a lot of that comes from having a team that supports you. Going up there and being confident in myself and sticking to the approach really helped."
Player's Perspective – Junior C Briggs Rutter
"I was just trying to see the ball up and get a good pitch to hit. I know there guys throw a lot of off-speed pitches, so I was trying to see if he'd land one in the zone. Coach had me in a good approach, there, and mixed in a couple of takes. We had a really long inning and batted around back to me. Taking that walk is not really a big thing for me, but before me we had eight really great at-bats, so I think it was a big deal for all of us."
Blue Raider Notes
Brett Coker extended his on-base streak to 22 games.
JT Mabry has now hit safely in 22 of his last 23 games, carrying a .393 average on the year.
Middle Tennessee scored a season-high 27 runs for a three-game series this weekend against Florida International.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders will take the short trip up to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to face off with rival Western Kentucky in an important three-game set with the Hilltoppers this coming Thursday. First pitch from Nick Denes field is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. C.D.T.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
After allowing four runs in the top of the ninth to make it a 12-8 game, MTSU plated four runs in the bottom of the ninth prior to its' clean-up hitter, Rutter, digging into the box.
Facing FIU side-arm pitcher Mario Fernandez, Rutter laid off several sliders to get himself into a good hitters count at 3-1 and drew the game-winning walk that plated Luke Vinson and brought upon an ensuing Gatorade bath by his teammates in right field.
After MTSU gave up an early run, Jeremiah Boyd hit his second home run of the series and seventh of the season when he sent an Angel Tiburcio fastball over the CityAuto sign in right field to put the Blue Raiders on top 2-1.
FIU responded with a three-spot in the second inning after getting a pair of runners into scoring position with one out and capitalizing on a pair of RBI singles and a Blue Raider error to regain the lead at 4-2. MTSU pulled back within a run in the bottom of the second after a two-out double by Eston Snider that eventually led to him scoring after an FIU error to make it a 4-3 game heading into the third.
FIU added another run in the top of the third inning to take a 5-3 lead before Jeremiah Boyd picked up his third RBI of the game on a double down the line in left to bring Brett Coker in to score from first and make it 5-4.
JT Mabry tied the game at 5-5 in the fourth on a single into center field that brought Eston Snider around to score his second run of the afternoon. For Mabry, it was his eighth RBI of the series up to that point.
FIU regained the lead in the fifth inning, the fourth lead change of the game, after loading the bases and scoring a run to spell the end of the day for MTSU starter Eriq Swan. The hard-throwing right-hander allowed four earned runs in 4.1 innings of work before giving way to sophomore Jalen Wirtz.
Eston Snider drove in his first two RBIs of the afternoon on a big two-out hit in the fifth inning to put the Blue Raiders back on top 7-6. FIU tied it up in the bottom of the inning, but MTSU relievers Jake Cothran and Kota Sato combined to limit the damage to just one run after the Panthers had loaded the bases. Blue Raider pitching had left nine runners on base to that point of the afternoon.
FIU took the lead back on the sixth lead change of the game in the seventh by pushing a run across on an RBI double by leadoff man Mike Rosario to make it 8-7.
Offensively, MTSU was paced by Eston Snider, who had a career day. The sophomore went 5-for-5 with four RBI, including an important one in the ninth to keep the inning alive and the game-tying RBI in the eighth. The five hits and four RBIs were season high's for Snider as well as his three runs scored, the biggest of which coming as the tying run in the ninth.
By the Numbers
8: The number of RBIs in the series by Blue Raider second baseman JT Mabry
7: The team-high in home runs by Jeremiah Boyd, whose gone deep in back-to-back games.
5: Season-high in hits for Eston Snider and the number of runs scored in the ninth inning by MTSU.
The Skipper Speaks
"There was multiple examples of (our resolve at the plate) throughout the game. Obviously, the most glaring example was in the ninth. We're a veteran offensive club. Some of our maturity came in handy, having several quality at-bats throughout the weekend. A lot of the times they scored or got ahead, we came back and answered."
Player's Perspective – Sophomore RF Eston Snider
"The game had a lot of back-and-forth action and was exciting. I think today showed just how much we trust in each other as a team. It's not about necessarily hitting a home run, it's about passing the bat and getting it to the next batter. Coming into today, I was struggling a bit. I think it was more mentally than physically. I've been trying to just breathe and relax, and a lot of that comes from having a team that supports you. Going up there and being confident in myself and sticking to the approach really helped."
Player's Perspective – Junior C Briggs Rutter
"I was just trying to see the ball up and get a good pitch to hit. I know there guys throw a lot of off-speed pitches, so I was trying to see if he'd land one in the zone. Coach had me in a good approach, there, and mixed in a couple of takes. We had a really long inning and batted around back to me. Taking that walk is not really a big thing for me, but before me we had eight really great at-bats, so I think it was a big deal for all of us."
Blue Raider Notes
Brett Coker extended his on-base streak to 22 games.
JT Mabry has now hit safely in 22 of his last 23 games, carrying a .393 average on the year.
Middle Tennessee scored a season-high 27 runs for a three-game series this weekend against Florida International.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders will take the short trip up to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to face off with rival Western Kentucky in an important three-game set with the Hilltoppers this coming Thursday. First pitch from Nick Denes field is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. C.D.T.
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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