Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
COLUMN: Giving the people something worth coming back for
4/30/2023 7:45:00 PM | Softball
“Everybody that was here this weekend, they're going to be looking forward to what's going happen with this team next fall,” Jeff Breeden said.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The challenge for the weekend for Middle Tennessee Softball from head coach Jeff Breeden was simple. But that simplicity made it all the more remarkable.
"I told our kids that we want this weekend to make sure on Sunday, when our fans leave here, that they saw us compete as hard as we can compete and that they're going to look forward to next fall when they can come back and watch us again," Breeden said after MTSU's 3-2 win over UTSA on Friday.
It's a simple thing to want that in your final home series in a season, a product worth watching on the field that can also engage the local community. It's a must have when your sport is a free admission sport on campus, after all. But when you're MTSU softball, and you're guaranteed to lose only one player off of this year's team? Ending strong sends an even greater message for the future.
With the Blue Raiders' sweep of the Roadrunners this week, MTSU is 33-15 in 2023. They're 14-6 at home, a pretty typical line for Breeden's best teams in Murfreesboro. They're 12-8 in Conference USA, already the most conference wins the softball program has had since joining C-USA and the most conference wins in a season since the team had 14 in the Sun Belt in 2007.
Good, even great numbers, for sure. But all the more remarkable numbers given where the program was a season ago. A 19-34 overall record, a 6-18 C-USA record, a losing record at home, on the road and at neutral sites.
"It was tough, because I do play a team sport, so for me there aren't any individual successes," said all-conference shortstop Laura Mealer in February. "At the end of the year, we didn't even make it to the conference tournament, so it was a major backlash."
In just one season, MTSU softball has generated a complete turnaround of fortune, and made Blue Raider Softball Field the place to be on home weekends. Whether its fans dancing along to "Copperhead Road" with the team just before lineup announcements or shouting in glee at a double in the gap, joining in the joy from the Blue Raider dugout, the vibes have changed in Murfreesboro. And that starts within the team itself.
"This has been one of the closest teams that I've been on," freshman Riley Gilmore said. "Just knowing that we all have each other's back and that we all believe in each other. It's been amazing."
Breeden brought in a plethora of new faces this offseason to remake the roster. The six true freshmen were par for the course in his time at MTSU, but the four transfers, Kamryn Carcich, Shelby Echols, Julia Garcia and Savannah Behabetz, were easily the most Breeden had brought in a single offseason. All four of those transfers were going to be leaned on to be contributors right away, along with several of the freshmen.
In the end, all ten of those newcomers, plus new pitching coach Helen Peña, jelled instantly with a core that featured plenty of key roles from a season ago, whether that was Anyce Harvey's bat, Shelby Sargent's glove in center field, Amaya Harris' speed or Gretchen Mead's steady hand in the circle. That perhaps was the biggest key from that offseason. Even amid the hard times last year, one could see the makings of a good team. They were also just missing some key additional pieces as well.
A second pitcher that can both start and close out games, that's just as competitive as Mead (hello, Kamryn Carcich).
A pair of corner infielders that can hit for power and be solid defensively (good tidings, Julia Garcia and Ansley Blevins).
A true leadoff hitter that, when paired up Harris to bat ahead of Mealer, puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses (salutations, Shelby Echols).
A third outfielder that's just as good with a glove as Sargent and Harris that can hit enough to stay in the lineup (welcome, Savannah Behabetz).
But it's more than just the stat sheets, as much as the team batting average (.303, which if it stands would be the best in program history) or team ERA (2.49, shaving off near a run and half from 2022) show the growth on the field. It's the character of the players they brought in. Breeden and his staff found folks that fit his program's culture, while also allowing them to bring in their own leadership from their past careers to help bring his young core along.
"Everyone took me in with open arms," Echols said. "Coach Breeden, Coach Peña, the amount of people that come and support us is really awesome."
And while the one player moving on from the program, Gretchen Mead, is the kind of player who will be tough to replace, a fifth-year senior who wants the ball every game and has grown exponentially in her time in Murfreesboro, the fact that she's the only piece leaving already has Breeden excited for the future. Even with plenty of work still head in the team's final C-USA series at North Texas next weekend and postseason play thereafter.
"You saw the crowds we had this week, the crowds were huge, our kids did a great job with the young kids that were here," Breeden said. "I think that everybody was here this weekend, they're going to be looking forward to what's going happen with this team next fall. We're all going to be the same, except for one, with some new additions."
There will be time for that look to the future. For now, even if the team will not walk the runway to Boney M.'s "Sunny" for another nine months, won't back spin a hung change up over the padded walls in left field, there's hundreds of fans in attendance that can't wait for it all to happen again.
I just hope it will keep happening all the way through the end of May.
"I told our kids that we want this weekend to make sure on Sunday, when our fans leave here, that they saw us compete as hard as we can compete and that they're going to look forward to next fall when they can come back and watch us again," Breeden said after MTSU's 3-2 win over UTSA on Friday.
It's a simple thing to want that in your final home series in a season, a product worth watching on the field that can also engage the local community. It's a must have when your sport is a free admission sport on campus, after all. But when you're MTSU softball, and you're guaranteed to lose only one player off of this year's team? Ending strong sends an even greater message for the future.
With the Blue Raiders' sweep of the Roadrunners this week, MTSU is 33-15 in 2023. They're 14-6 at home, a pretty typical line for Breeden's best teams in Murfreesboro. They're 12-8 in Conference USA, already the most conference wins the softball program has had since joining C-USA and the most conference wins in a season since the team had 14 in the Sun Belt in 2007.
Good, even great numbers, for sure. But all the more remarkable numbers given where the program was a season ago. A 19-34 overall record, a 6-18 C-USA record, a losing record at home, on the road and at neutral sites.
"It was tough, because I do play a team sport, so for me there aren't any individual successes," said all-conference shortstop Laura Mealer in February. "At the end of the year, we didn't even make it to the conference tournament, so it was a major backlash."
In just one season, MTSU softball has generated a complete turnaround of fortune, and made Blue Raider Softball Field the place to be on home weekends. Whether its fans dancing along to "Copperhead Road" with the team just before lineup announcements or shouting in glee at a double in the gap, joining in the joy from the Blue Raider dugout, the vibes have changed in Murfreesboro. And that starts within the team itself.
"This has been one of the closest teams that I've been on," freshman Riley Gilmore said. "Just knowing that we all have each other's back and that we all believe in each other. It's been amazing."
Breeden brought in a plethora of new faces this offseason to remake the roster. The six true freshmen were par for the course in his time at MTSU, but the four transfers, Kamryn Carcich, Shelby Echols, Julia Garcia and Savannah Behabetz, were easily the most Breeden had brought in a single offseason. All four of those transfers were going to be leaned on to be contributors right away, along with several of the freshmen.
In the end, all ten of those newcomers, plus new pitching coach Helen Peña, jelled instantly with a core that featured plenty of key roles from a season ago, whether that was Anyce Harvey's bat, Shelby Sargent's glove in center field, Amaya Harris' speed or Gretchen Mead's steady hand in the circle. That perhaps was the biggest key from that offseason. Even amid the hard times last year, one could see the makings of a good team. They were also just missing some key additional pieces as well.
A second pitcher that can both start and close out games, that's just as competitive as Mead (hello, Kamryn Carcich).
A pair of corner infielders that can hit for power and be solid defensively (good tidings, Julia Garcia and Ansley Blevins).
A true leadoff hitter that, when paired up Harris to bat ahead of Mealer, puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses (salutations, Shelby Echols).
A third outfielder that's just as good with a glove as Sargent and Harris that can hit enough to stay in the lineup (welcome, Savannah Behabetz).
But it's more than just the stat sheets, as much as the team batting average (.303, which if it stands would be the best in program history) or team ERA (2.49, shaving off near a run and half from 2022) show the growth on the field. It's the character of the players they brought in. Breeden and his staff found folks that fit his program's culture, while also allowing them to bring in their own leadership from their past careers to help bring his young core along.
"Everyone took me in with open arms," Echols said. "Coach Breeden, Coach Peña, the amount of people that come and support us is really awesome."
And while the one player moving on from the program, Gretchen Mead, is the kind of player who will be tough to replace, a fifth-year senior who wants the ball every game and has grown exponentially in her time in Murfreesboro, the fact that she's the only piece leaving already has Breeden excited for the future. Even with plenty of work still head in the team's final C-USA series at North Texas next weekend and postseason play thereafter.
"You saw the crowds we had this week, the crowds were huge, our kids did a great job with the young kids that were here," Breeden said. "I think that everybody was here this weekend, they're going to be looking forward to what's going happen with this team next fall. We're all going to be the same, except for one, with some new additions."
There will be time for that look to the future. For now, even if the team will not walk the runway to Boney M.'s "Sunny" for another nine months, won't back spin a hung change up over the padded walls in left field, there's hundreds of fans in attendance that can't wait for it all to happen again.
I just hope it will keep happening all the way through the end of May.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
C/1B
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
2B
/ Softball
C/3B
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
OF/INF
/ Softball
OF/UTL
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
SS/2B
/ Softball
OF/UTL
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