Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, April 7
Bowling Green, KY
6:00 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
16-13, 7-4
2
at
0
Western Kentucky
16-16, 2-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Middle Tennessee
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
6
0
WKU
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
3
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hamm, Jaden (4-2)
L: HALL, Dawson (4-3)
S: Sells, James (5)
Batting:
2B: Rutter, Briggs 1
RBI: Mabry, JT 1 ; Rutter, Briggs 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mabry, JT 1 ; Snider, Eston 1
SB: Wright, DJ 2
CS: Coker, Brett 1
HBP: Rutter, Briggs 1
Batting:
2B: RECKART, Drew 1
Base Running:
CS: LIEBERT, Kirk 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF/INF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: MT Athletic Communications
Hamm, Defense Shine in Series-Clinching Win at WKU
4/7/2023 9:20:00 PM | Baseball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Jaden Hamm went seven scoreless innings, James Sells had his second save in as many nights, the defense played error-free baseball and Middle Tennessee Baseball clinched the series and season series against the WKU Hilltoppers with a 2-0 win Friday night.
The Blue Raiders move to 16-13 with the win, and 7-4 in Conference USA play with the win at Nick Denes Field.
Hamm struck out six across his seven-inning outing, allowing just three hits while walking a pair. The Culleoka, Tenn. native retired the first seven batters of the night, and worked a trio of 1-2-3 frames.
Ollie Akens came to pitch in relief in the eighth, recording two outs before giving way to Sells for the four-out save.
The Blue Raiders got on the board first in the third inning, when JT Mabry followed a Luke Vinson bunt single with an RBI groundout to third, scoring Eston Snider.
Briggs Rutter created some separation for the Raiders in the eighth, poking an opposite-field double just inside the first base bag with two outs to score JT Mabry.
WKU had the tying runs in scoring position in the ninth, but Sells worked a strikeout to for out 27 in the win.
The Skipper Speaks
"Hamm's performance was very big. He set the tone for us. We got a run and felt that we were on the verge of tacking on a couple more at time throughout his outing, but he just stayed solid the whole time. We played good defense behind him, Hamm didn't give them much and executed his pitches extremely well," said head coach Jerry Meyers.
"We came up big out of the bullpen again. Akens came in and gave us a couple of outs to get us a little closer because Sells probably only had a short stint in him. Akens allowed us to only need to get four outs out of Sells. We got their starter out early. We didn't get too much off their reliver offensively, but we were able to scratch another run and that was big.
"Every game is huge in the league. You try to win as many as you can. I told our guys that tomorrow is not the third game of a series, tomorrow is a one-game series. We have to come out ready to play and win that one game."
Player Perspective – RHP James Sells
"It feels great to get the save. I put my body in a position to go out there every single day. Whatever Coach Meyers wants me to go, I go out there and get the job done. When I get the pitch call, I just try to think every single pitch, what do I need to do to execute it, I try to get weak contact or a swing and miss. Tomorrow we're going to try and do the same thing," said Sells.
By the Numbers
.188: Middle Tennessee's pitching held the Hilltoppers to just .188 overall hitting. Situationally, WKU was 0-9 with two outs, 1-15 with runners on base and 0-7 with runners in scoring position.
2-2: Rutter reached base four times while going 2-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch and an RBI double on Friday night.
5: Sells' five saves is a team-best. He has earned the save in three consecutive appearances.
Blue Raider Notes
MTSU played error-free baseball for the eighth time in 2023.
The Blue Raiders stuck with the same starting nine for the fourth consecutive game. MTSU is 4-0 across these contests. Meyers' lineup card has featured the same starting infield in all 29 games this year.
Galloway has reached base safely in nine consecutive games, while Coker extends his on-base streak to 24 games.
Next Up
The teams will play the series finale Saturday afternoon, with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch time set.
The game will be streamed on Facebook Live. 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).
The Blue Raiders move to 16-13 with the win, and 7-4 in Conference USA play with the win at Nick Denes Field.
Hamm struck out six across his seven-inning outing, allowing just three hits while walking a pair. The Culleoka, Tenn. native retired the first seven batters of the night, and worked a trio of 1-2-3 frames.
Ollie Akens came to pitch in relief in the eighth, recording two outs before giving way to Sells for the four-out save.
The Blue Raiders got on the board first in the third inning, when JT Mabry followed a Luke Vinson bunt single with an RBI groundout to third, scoring Eston Snider.
Briggs Rutter created some separation for the Raiders in the eighth, poking an opposite-field double just inside the first base bag with two outs to score JT Mabry.
WKU had the tying runs in scoring position in the ninth, but Sells worked a strikeout to for out 27 in the win.
The Skipper Speaks
"Hamm's performance was very big. He set the tone for us. We got a run and felt that we were on the verge of tacking on a couple more at time throughout his outing, but he just stayed solid the whole time. We played good defense behind him, Hamm didn't give them much and executed his pitches extremely well," said head coach Jerry Meyers.
"We came up big out of the bullpen again. Akens came in and gave us a couple of outs to get us a little closer because Sells probably only had a short stint in him. Akens allowed us to only need to get four outs out of Sells. We got their starter out early. We didn't get too much off their reliver offensively, but we were able to scratch another run and that was big.
"Every game is huge in the league. You try to win as many as you can. I told our guys that tomorrow is not the third game of a series, tomorrow is a one-game series. We have to come out ready to play and win that one game."
Player Perspective – RHP James Sells
"It feels great to get the save. I put my body in a position to go out there every single day. Whatever Coach Meyers wants me to go, I go out there and get the job done. When I get the pitch call, I just try to think every single pitch, what do I need to do to execute it, I try to get weak contact or a swing and miss. Tomorrow we're going to try and do the same thing," said Sells.
By the Numbers
.188: Middle Tennessee's pitching held the Hilltoppers to just .188 overall hitting. Situationally, WKU was 0-9 with two outs, 1-15 with runners on base and 0-7 with runners in scoring position.
2-2: Rutter reached base four times while going 2-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch and an RBI double on Friday night.
5: Sells' five saves is a team-best. He has earned the save in three consecutive appearances.
Blue Raider Notes
MTSU played error-free baseball for the eighth time in 2023.
The Blue Raiders stuck with the same starting nine for the fourth consecutive game. MTSU is 4-0 across these contests. Meyers' lineup card has featured the same starting infield in all 29 games this year.
Galloway has reached base safely in nine consecutive games, while Coker extends his on-base streak to 24 games.
Next Up
The teams will play the series finale Saturday afternoon, with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch time set.
The game will be streamed on Facebook Live. 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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