Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
COLUMN: On two MTSU diamonds, the glory of victory and the agony of defeat
4/2/2023 7:32:00 PM | Baseball, General, Softball
MTSU baseball and softball each treated neutral fans well on Sunday, but had polar opposite endings
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The time between the ending of Middle Tennessee's softball 12-inning loss to FAU and Middle Tennessee baseball's walk-off win over FIU across campus was more tranquil than one might expect.
That likely had a lot to do with me being with the softball team, who put together 12 superb innings of pitching between three different arms, featured an exhilarating home run robbery by Savannah Behabetz and a heart-pumping inside-the-park home run from Laura Mealer. But the Blue Raiders couldn't quite get that final run around at the right time, twice stranding a runner on third in extra innings before a 12th-inning solo shot from the Owls proved to be the final dagger.
"What I told our kids was that I thought we wasted an excellent pitching performance today," head coach Jeff Breeden said. "I thought (Gretchen Mead) was excellent and I thought (Kamryn Carcich) was excellent. We didn't have enough offense; we didn't string enough offense together to produce a win. Our offense, sure 100 percent for a fact, let our pitchers down."
Somehow, those 12 innings lasted just over three hours in real time, a blistering pace of just over 15 minutes an inning that would make Rob Manfred blush, meaning that I had long wrapped up interviews with Breeden by the time MTSU baseball was rallying. My colleague Anthony Fiorella was keeping me informed of the back-and-forth nature of the game, as so many Sunday games are in college baseball, where pitching is at a premium.
(Sidebar: If you're a Conference USA official and happen to be reading this column, welcome! I have a suggestion for y'all. You know that super useful scheduling trick y'all pull during conference play with basketball, sending the men's teams on the road against the same teams that the women are playing at home each week (and vice versa!)?
I, personally, would love if that trick were extended to baseball and softball for a plethora of reasons from making sure fans don't have to choose between teams, helping schools have the best TV/streaming production possible on each game, to me selfishly wanting to watch both programs play at home rather than being forced to pick one each weekend. Just an idea!)
The Panthers and Blue Raiders were tied 8-8 heading into the ninth, but FIU scored four runs in the top half to take themselves out of even needing a save opportunity in the bottom half. MTSU, however, went straight to work.
A pair of lead off walks gave the Blue Raiders two early base runners, and a wild pitch moved them into scoring position. DJ Wright grounded in a run, then a pair of singles from Gabe Jennings and Eston Snider scored another run. Things were interesting with two runners on.
Luke Vinson walked to load the bases, then a passed ball plated Jennings. JT Mabry wore a pitch to load the bases again and Brett Coker hit a fly ball to center to score Snider.
12-12, tie game!
A rattled FIU switched pitchers with two outs, trying to force extras, but walked the bases loaded again. Two pitched, two balls to Briggs Rutter, who started the rally with a leadoff walk at the start of the inning. Another pitching change.
But it didn't matter, the 3-1 pitch was low and Rutter walked it off with a walk.
"There were multiple examples of (our resolve at the plate) throughout the game," head coach Jerry Meyers relayed to Fiorella. "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."
The scenes at Reese Smith Jr. Field, as y'all can see from the feed, were triumphant. The atmosphere across campus was far more subdued.
Of course, with the calendar just turning over to April, the good news is there's plenty of ball to be played. And thanks to their two series wins out of three to start the year, both MTSU teams are comfortably in the top half of the Conference USA standings. And plenty of positives for both teams to take from the weekend.
"I think today showed just how much we trust in each other as a team," Eston Snider said. "It's not about necessarily hitting a home run, it's about passing the bat and getting it to the next batter."
But the agony of defeat is staying with me as much as the thrill of victory this weekend.
"We didn't quit today, we kept battling, battling, battling, but it just didn't go our way." Breeden said of his team as "Friends in Low Places" played over the loudspeakers. "They're stung about this one."
That likely had a lot to do with me being with the softball team, who put together 12 superb innings of pitching between three different arms, featured an exhilarating home run robbery by Savannah Behabetz and a heart-pumping inside-the-park home run from Laura Mealer. But the Blue Raiders couldn't quite get that final run around at the right time, twice stranding a runner on third in extra innings before a 12th-inning solo shot from the Owls proved to be the final dagger.
B6 | Inside-the-park home run by @Laura_Mealer5 for the lead! 🔥
— MT Softball (@MT_Softball) April 2, 2023
MTSU 2 - FAU 1 #BLUEnited | ⚡️⬆️ pic.twitter.com/KIGSq5Mhgb
"What I told our kids was that I thought we wasted an excellent pitching performance today," head coach Jeff Breeden said. "I thought (Gretchen Mead) was excellent and I thought (Kamryn Carcich) was excellent. We didn't have enough offense; we didn't string enough offense together to produce a win. Our offense, sure 100 percent for a fact, let our pitchers down."
Somehow, those 12 innings lasted just over three hours in real time, a blistering pace of just over 15 minutes an inning that would make Rob Manfred blush, meaning that I had long wrapped up interviews with Breeden by the time MTSU baseball was rallying. My colleague Anthony Fiorella was keeping me informed of the back-and-forth nature of the game, as so many Sunday games are in college baseball, where pitching is at a premium.
(Sidebar: If you're a Conference USA official and happen to be reading this column, welcome! I have a suggestion for y'all. You know that super useful scheduling trick y'all pull during conference play with basketball, sending the men's teams on the road against the same teams that the women are playing at home each week (and vice versa!)?
I, personally, would love if that trick were extended to baseball and softball for a plethora of reasons from making sure fans don't have to choose between teams, helping schools have the best TV/streaming production possible on each game, to me selfishly wanting to watch both programs play at home rather than being forced to pick one each weekend. Just an idea!)
The Panthers and Blue Raiders were tied 8-8 heading into the ninth, but FIU scored four runs in the top half to take themselves out of even needing a save opportunity in the bottom half. MTSU, however, went straight to work.
A pair of lead off walks gave the Blue Raiders two early base runners, and a wild pitch moved them into scoring position. DJ Wright grounded in a run, then a pair of singles from Gabe Jennings and Eston Snider scored another run. Things were interesting with two runners on.
Snider AGAIN!
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) April 2, 2023
He has four RBI on the day! We are not going away quietly! pic.twitter.com/Qy8fc1fX88
Luke Vinson walked to load the bases, then a passed ball plated Jennings. JT Mabry wore a pitch to load the bases again and Brett Coker hit a fly ball to center to score Snider.
12-12, tie game!
TIE. GAME.
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) April 2, 2023
Coker with a sac fly and we're square at 12! pic.twitter.com/ykmlIJpU6i
A rattled FIU switched pitchers with two outs, trying to force extras, but walked the bases loaded again. Two pitched, two balls to Briggs Rutter, who started the rally with a leadoff walk at the start of the inning. Another pitching change.
But it didn't matter, the 3-1 pitch was low and Rutter walked it off with a walk.
A WALK OFF WALK!!!
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) April 2, 2023
RUTTER DRAWS A BASES LOADED WALK AND WE WIN ON A FIVE-RUN NINTH pic.twitter.com/bxVQNrv59n
"There were multiple examples of (our resolve at the plate) throughout the game," head coach Jerry Meyers relayed to Fiorella. "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."
The pitch. The walk. The win. The celebration.#BLUEnited | #BlueCrew pic.twitter.com/PgFsPTnsqR
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) April 2, 2023
The scenes at Reese Smith Jr. Field, as y'all can see from the feed, were triumphant. The atmosphere across campus was far more subdued.
Of course, with the calendar just turning over to April, the good news is there's plenty of ball to be played. And thanks to their two series wins out of three to start the year, both MTSU teams are comfortably in the top half of the Conference USA standings. And plenty of positives for both teams to take from the weekend.
"I think today showed just how much we trust in each other as a team," Eston Snider said. "It's not about necessarily hitting a home run, it's about passing the bat and getting it to the next batter."
But the agony of defeat is staying with me as much as the thrill of victory this weekend.
"We didn't quit today, we kept battling, battling, battling, but it just didn't go our way." Breeden said of his team as "Friends in Low Places" played over the loudspeakers. "They're stung about this one."
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
SS
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Softball
SS/2B
/ Softball
C
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
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