Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Sunday, April 23
12:00 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
20-19, 10-8
5
vs
4
Rice
17-23, 7-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
Rice
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
4
13
0
Middle Tennessee
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
5
8
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sells, James (2-3)
L: Krishna Raj (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Pierce Gallo 1 ; Trey Duffield 1
HR: Ben Royo 1
RBI: Pierce Gallo 1 ; Ben Royo 2 ; Trey Duffield 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Drew Holderbach 2 ; Ben Royo 1 ; Trey Duffield 1
SB: Connor Walsh 1
CS: Connor Walsh 1
HBP: Ben Royo 1
Batting:
2B: Rutter, Briggs 1
HR: Boyd, Jeremiah 2 ; Vinson, Luke 1
RBI: Boyd, Jeremiah 3 ; Vinson, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Snider, Eston 1 ; Boyd, Jeremiah 2 ; Galloway, Jackson 1 ; Vinson, Luke 1
SB: Snider, Eston 1 ; Symlar, Bryce 1 ; Wright, DJ 1
HBP: Vinson, Luke 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF/INF
/ BaseballOF/LHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: MT Athletic Communications
Vinson’s first-pitch home run walks off Blue Raiders over the Owls in extra innings
4/23/2023 4:26:00 PM | Baseball
Jeremiah Boyd his two home runs to help power MTSU past Rice 5-4 on Sunday
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee Baseball walked off of Resse Smith Jr. Field on Sunday winners of an 11-inning instant classic, as Luke Vinson's solo-home run to left-center field gave the Blue Raiders a 5-4 win over Rice.
MTSU (20-19, 10-8 C-USA) led heading into the ninth inning, but the Owls (17-23, 7-11 C-USA) fought back to tie the game in the ninth and take the lead in the top of the tenth, before a wild pitch with a runner on third in a full count allowed MTSU to tie the game back up. James Sells quickly retired the Owls in order in the top of the 11th, setting up Vinson's towering home run past the scoreboard to win the game.
Jeremiah Boyd continued his hot hitting weekend in his first at-bat, driving a 2-2 pitch opposite field into the trees beyond the right field wall, driving in Eston Snider to give MTSU a 2-0 lead after one complete inning. That score would hold through the fourth, when Rice would finally scratch a run across against Blue Raider starter Jake Cothran, who only gave up one run on five hits with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work.
Justin Lee was solid in relief of Cothran, pitching two scoreless innings before making way for Kota Sato, who put in another solid day on the mound. The Yamagata, Japan native struck out three Owls in 2.1 innings, but gave up the game-tying home run in the top of the eighth to knot things up 2-2.
Boyd came back with another counter punch, leading off the bottom of the eighth with a towering home run over the left-center field wall to give MTSU the lead right back, 3-2. A pair of Owl doubles tied the game back up in the top of the ninth, forcing extra innings after the Blue Raiders were retired in order in the bottom half.
Rice and MTSU were both able to score a run in unusual ways in the 10th inning, with the Owls scoring on a squeeze play and the Blue Raiders plating a run on a wild pitch with two outs, keeping the game tied entering the 11th inning. Vinson stepped up to the plate after being retired on three straight fastballs without swinging in his previous at-bat. Not wanting to repeat the strikeout, Vinson swung first pitch, taking the ball out of the park and earning the Blue Raiders the win.
By the Numbers
3: RBIs for Jeremiah Boyd on Sunday. He's tied for ninth in Conference USA with 36 RBIs this season as of press time.
3: Home runs for Jeremiah Boyd this weekend, including two home runs on Sunday. The Presbyterian College transfer hit four home runs this week, including one on the road at Lipscomb.
1: Home runs this season for Luke Vinson, who could not have hit his first bomb of the year in a bigger spot, earning a cooler bath with the walk-off home run.
Skipper's Corner with Head Coach Jerry Meyers
"I told him it was a great idea. What he did was set him up. He took three fastballs right down the middle and it looked like he had no idea and then he threw him another one and hit it out. It was all part of the game plan for him, I guess.
"It was a good win for us obviously, very competitive series all the way throughout. Whoever won today's game was going to feel good about it. Both teams competed equally, we just happened to get the one last crack at them."
Player's Perspective – Luke Vinson
"Before I walked up there, Coach Nichols was like 'I'll probably never tell you this, but I want you to hunt a heater and hit a home run.' It turned out, that's what happened. Honestly, that's probably the hardest ball and the farthest ball I've ever hit. It was cool."
Player's Perspective – Jeremiah Boyd
"Earlier this week, our hitting coach, Coach Nichols, we all had a conversation. And he said 'I would much rather you look foolish on a off-speed pitch than for you to miss a fastball.' When he told me that, I don't know what clicked, but I was really struggling the past couple of weeks. I was struggling a little bit, my numbers had come down a little bit. When he said that, it really helped.
"From then on, I was going to be out in front of everything and I'm just going to allow my ability to adjust. It started at Lipscomb, and from there it just took off. This weekend, I was just trying to make sure I was on the fastball enough to where I could adjust to the off speed out front, and it really paid off."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders head up the road to Nashville, Tenn. on Tuesday to take on in-state rival Belmont at E.S. Rose Park. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
MTSU (20-19, 10-8 C-USA) led heading into the ninth inning, but the Owls (17-23, 7-11 C-USA) fought back to tie the game in the ninth and take the lead in the top of the tenth, before a wild pitch with a runner on third in a full count allowed MTSU to tie the game back up. James Sells quickly retired the Owls in order in the top of the 11th, setting up Vinson's towering home run past the scoreboard to win the game.
Jeremiah Boyd continued his hot hitting weekend in his first at-bat, driving a 2-2 pitch opposite field into the trees beyond the right field wall, driving in Eston Snider to give MTSU a 2-0 lead after one complete inning. That score would hold through the fourth, when Rice would finally scratch a run across against Blue Raider starter Jake Cothran, who only gave up one run on five hits with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work.
Justin Lee was solid in relief of Cothran, pitching two scoreless innings before making way for Kota Sato, who put in another solid day on the mound. The Yamagata, Japan native struck out three Owls in 2.1 innings, but gave up the game-tying home run in the top of the eighth to knot things up 2-2.
Boyd came back with another counter punch, leading off the bottom of the eighth with a towering home run over the left-center field wall to give MTSU the lead right back, 3-2. A pair of Owl doubles tied the game back up in the top of the ninth, forcing extra innings after the Blue Raiders were retired in order in the bottom half.
Rice and MTSU were both able to score a run in unusual ways in the 10th inning, with the Owls scoring on a squeeze play and the Blue Raiders plating a run on a wild pitch with two outs, keeping the game tied entering the 11th inning. Vinson stepped up to the plate after being retired on three straight fastballs without swinging in his previous at-bat. Not wanting to repeat the strikeout, Vinson swung first pitch, taking the ball out of the park and earning the Blue Raiders the win.
By the Numbers
3: RBIs for Jeremiah Boyd on Sunday. He's tied for ninth in Conference USA with 36 RBIs this season as of press time.
3: Home runs for Jeremiah Boyd this weekend, including two home runs on Sunday. The Presbyterian College transfer hit four home runs this week, including one on the road at Lipscomb.
1: Home runs this season for Luke Vinson, who could not have hit his first bomb of the year in a bigger spot, earning a cooler bath with the walk-off home run.
Skipper's Corner with Head Coach Jerry Meyers
"I told him it was a great idea. What he did was set him up. He took three fastballs right down the middle and it looked like he had no idea and then he threw him another one and hit it out. It was all part of the game plan for him, I guess.
"It was a good win for us obviously, very competitive series all the way throughout. Whoever won today's game was going to feel good about it. Both teams competed equally, we just happened to get the one last crack at them."
Player's Perspective – Luke Vinson
"Before I walked up there, Coach Nichols was like 'I'll probably never tell you this, but I want you to hunt a heater and hit a home run.' It turned out, that's what happened. Honestly, that's probably the hardest ball and the farthest ball I've ever hit. It was cool."
Player's Perspective – Jeremiah Boyd
"Earlier this week, our hitting coach, Coach Nichols, we all had a conversation. And he said 'I would much rather you look foolish on a off-speed pitch than for you to miss a fastball.' When he told me that, I don't know what clicked, but I was really struggling the past couple of weeks. I was struggling a little bit, my numbers had come down a little bit. When he said that, it really helped.
"From then on, I was going to be out in front of everything and I'm just going to allow my ability to adjust. It started at Lipscomb, and from there it just took off. This weekend, I was just trying to make sure I was on the fastball enough to where I could adjust to the off speed out front, and it really paid off."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders head up the road to Nashville, Tenn. on Tuesday to take on in-state rival Belmont at E.S. Rose Park. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
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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