Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, May 18
Charlotte, NC
5:00 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
at
Charlotte
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Blue Raiders Face Charlotte in Queen City to Close Regular Season
5/17/2023 6:02:00 PM | Baseball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For Middle Tennessee Baseball, the end of the regular season is in sight, but a pivotal series remains before the Blue Raiders pack their bags for the Conference USA Championships next week.
The Charlotte 49ers await MTSU (25-24, 14-13 C-USA) for a three-game series, with the league's No. 3-7 seeds all still to be determined ahead of the conference tournament.
First pitch from Charlotte's Hayes Stadium is set for 5:00 p.m. CT on Thursday night. Game 2 of the series starts the same time Friday night before the teams close the regular season at 12:00 p.m. CT Saturday.
ESPN+ will broadcast each game, with WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App carrying the radio broadcast.
Probable Starting Pitcher
Eriq Swan will start Thursday night and Jaden Hamm will get the nod one night later. Saturday's starter is still TBD.
Standings Watch
With just three games left in the C-USA regular season, the Blue Raiders sit in a five-team logjam, fighting for seeds No. 3-7. MTSU officially is in a three-way tie for fifth, with Florida Atlantic and LA Tech. The Blue Raiders are half behind fourth place Charlotte and a full game back third place WKU.
Quick Hitters
The Raiders recognized five seniors and graduate students at last Sunday's senior day ceremony. 2B JT Mabry, SS Brett Coker, 1B DJ Wright, C/DH Jeremiah Boyd and OF Gino Avros all were honored pregame, as well as senior manager Noah Baughman.
Mabry is hitting his stride at the right time in the season. The leader in multi-hit games this year with 19, the grad student currently rides an eight-game hitting streak and a nine-game on-base streak. Over his past eight games, Mabry is hitting .417 with three home runs.
RHPs Jaden Hamm and Eriq Swan have become a promising on-two punch on the mound. Hamm has started in each weekend series, with Swan recently returning to the rotation after turning in multiple effective outing from the bullpen. On April 29 vs. LA Tech, the pair combined for a team season-high 15 strikeouts, with Swan allowing just one baserunner in his first three frames. And in a May 13 doubleheader against UAB, the duo each turned in quality starts, with Hamm striking out 11 in 6.0 IP and Swan allowing no hits in 5.2 scoreless frames.
RHP James Sells leads the Raiders with six saves this year, three of them coming in a three-game series sweep at rival WKU April 6-8. The sophomore tossed six scoreless frames out of the 'pen against DBU on May 6 in a win. On May 13, he had two wins on the same day, taking winning decisions out of the bullpen in a doubleheader sweep over UAB. Sells' five wins equal a team-high. In addition, Sells' 58.1 innings are third most in the country in relief.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders will briefly return to Murfreesboro after the series, before embarking to Houston for the Conference USA Championships.
MTSU's first game of the double elimination tournament will be Wednesday, May 24, with a first pitch time to be determined by its seed.
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 Charlotte 49ers await MTSU (25-24, 14-13 C-USA) for a three-game series, with the league's No. 3-7 seeds all still to be determined ahead of the conference tournament.
First pitch from Charlotte's Hayes Stadium is set for 5:00 p.m. CT on Thursday night. Game 2 of the series starts the same time Friday night before the teams close the regular season at 12:00 p.m. CT Saturday.
ESPN+ will broadcast each game, with WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App carrying the radio broadcast.
Probable Starting Pitcher
Eriq Swan will start Thursday night and Jaden Hamm will get the nod one night later. Saturday's starter is still TBD.
Standings Watch
With just three games left in the C-USA regular season, the Blue Raiders sit in a five-team logjam, fighting for seeds No. 3-7. MTSU officially is in a three-way tie for fifth, with Florida Atlantic and LA Tech. The Blue Raiders are half behind fourth place Charlotte and a full game back third place WKU.
Quick Hitters
The Raiders recognized five seniors and graduate students at last Sunday's senior day ceremony. 2B JT Mabry, SS Brett Coker, 1B DJ Wright, C/DH Jeremiah Boyd and OF Gino Avros all were honored pregame, as well as senior manager Noah Baughman.
Mabry is hitting his stride at the right time in the season. The leader in multi-hit games this year with 19, the grad student currently rides an eight-game hitting streak and a nine-game on-base streak. Over his past eight games, Mabry is hitting .417 with three home runs.
RHPs Jaden Hamm and Eriq Swan have become a promising on-two punch on the mound. Hamm has started in each weekend series, with Swan recently returning to the rotation after turning in multiple effective outing from the bullpen. On April 29 vs. LA Tech, the pair combined for a team season-high 15 strikeouts, with Swan allowing just one baserunner in his first three frames. And in a May 13 doubleheader against UAB, the duo each turned in quality starts, with Hamm striking out 11 in 6.0 IP and Swan allowing no hits in 5.2 scoreless frames.
RHP James Sells leads the Raiders with six saves this year, three of them coming in a three-game series sweep at rival WKU April 6-8. The sophomore tossed six scoreless frames out of the 'pen against DBU on May 6 in a win. On May 13, he had two wins on the same day, taking winning decisions out of the bullpen in a doubleheader sweep over UAB. Sells' five wins equal a team-high. In addition, Sells' 58.1 innings are third most in the country in relief.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders will briefly return to Murfreesboro after the series, before embarking to Houston for the Conference USA Championships.
MTSU's first game of the double elimination tournament will be Wednesday, May 24, with a first pitch time to be determined by its seed.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Players Mentioned
3B/OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
SS
/ Baseball
RHP
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RHP
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