Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, May 20
Tuscaloosa, AL
12:00 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
40-19
5
at
12
Alabama
42-18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Alabama
0
0
4
8
0
0
0
12
7
1
Middle Tennessee
1
1
3
0
0
0
0
5
4
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jaala Torrence (8-2)
L: Munn, Keri (6-3)
Batting:
2B: Bailey Dowling 1
HR: Kali Heivilin 1
RBI: Jenna Johnson 1 ; Bailey Dowling 4 ; Kenleigh Cahalan 1 ; Kali Heivilin 3 ; Marlie Giles 1
SH: Larissa Preuitt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jenna Johnson 1 ; Faith Hensley 1 ; Ashley Prange 1 ; Bailey Dowling 1 ; Ally Shipman 1 ; Abby Duchscherer 1 ; Kenleigh Cahalan 2 ; Kali Heivilin 2 ; Kristen White 2
HBP: Ally Shipman 1
Batting:
HR: Mealer, Laura 1 ; Blevins, Ansley 1
RBI: Mealer, Laura 1 ; Harvey, Anyce 1 ; Gilmore, Riley 1 ; Sargent, Shelby 1 ; Blevins, Ansley 1
SF: Sargent, Shelby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Echols, Shelby 1 ; Mealer, Laura 2 ; Harris, Amaya 1 ; Blevins, Ansley 1
HBP: Tepe, Ava 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C/1B
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
1B
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ SoftballOF/UTL
/ SoftballSS/2B
/ Softball
OF/UTL
/ Softball
Blue Raiders drop winner’s bracket game to Alabama
5/20/2023 4:02:00 PM | Softball
Seven-walk fourth inning too much for MTSU bats to overcome against the Crimson Tide
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Middle Tennessee softball dropped their first game of the Tuscaloosa Regional on Saturday, falling 12-5 to host No. 5 Alabama at Rhoads Stadium.
The Blue Raiders (40-19) took a lead into the fourth inning, but an eight-run frame from the Crimson Tide (42-18) in the top of the fourth proved to be too much for MTSU to overcome at the plate.
Laura Mealer started the Blue Raider offense off with a bang in the bottom of the first, blasting a 1-0 pitch that caught too much of the plate over the wall in straightaway center field to give MTSU a 1-0 lead. Ansley Blevins followed that up with a solo shot over her own to center field, this one in the bottom of the second, to give MTSU a 2-0 lead.
Alabama would score four in the top of the third, three of those four runs unearned after two errors at first base on a grounder and the throw, but MTSU responded well, scoring three more in the bottom of the frame after loading the bases on two walks and a Crimson Tide error. Anyce Harvey ripped a single through the left side of the infield to plate one and Riley Gilmore walked to plate another. Shelby Sargent's sacrifice fly into foul territory in left field scored Amaya Harris to retake the lead for MTSU.
The top of the fourth inning, however, proved to be the Blue Raiders undoing. MTSU issued seven walks while putting four different pitchers on the mound, walking in three of Alabama's eight total runs in the frame. Couple that with a Crimson Tide home run and two-RBI single, and MTSU trailed 12-5.
By the Numbers
7: Walks issued by MTSU's pitching staff in the top of the fourth. The Crimson Tide scored eight runs on just three hits in the frame.
5: Sides retired in order for Kamryn Carcich, who kept Alabama off the scoreboard in the first, second, fifth, sixth and seventh innings after starting the game, exiting the game in the third inning before returning to the circle to record the final out of the fourth inning.
2: Hit-by-pitches from Tepe against the Crimson Tide. The Blue Raider catcher has been hit by three pitches so far in Tuscaloosa and has been hit by 12 pitches total this season.
Thoughts from Head Coach Jeff Breeden
"I'm proud the way our kids fought. We came out and stung them early and got ahead. We never quit. We answered that one inning where they scored, got it back up again and just couldn't continue. You've got to throw strikes, No. 1, and you can't give them free bases.
"Against somebody as good as them, in the atmosphere that we were in today, you can't just keep answering and answering and answering, over and over again. You can answer two or three times, but you're eventually going to run out of steam, and that's kind of what we did today."
Up Next
Middle Tennessee will play the winner of this afternoon's elimination game between LIU and Central Arkansas this evening. First pitch will be approximately 30 minutes after the end of this afternoon's game between the Sharks and the Bears.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Softball), Twitter (@MT_Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
The Blue Raiders (40-19) took a lead into the fourth inning, but an eight-run frame from the Crimson Tide (42-18) in the top of the fourth proved to be too much for MTSU to overcome at the plate.
Laura Mealer started the Blue Raider offense off with a bang in the bottom of the first, blasting a 1-0 pitch that caught too much of the plate over the wall in straightaway center field to give MTSU a 1-0 lead. Ansley Blevins followed that up with a solo shot over her own to center field, this one in the bottom of the second, to give MTSU a 2-0 lead.
Alabama would score four in the top of the third, three of those four runs unearned after two errors at first base on a grounder and the throw, but MTSU responded well, scoring three more in the bottom of the frame after loading the bases on two walks and a Crimson Tide error. Anyce Harvey ripped a single through the left side of the infield to plate one and Riley Gilmore walked to plate another. Shelby Sargent's sacrifice fly into foul territory in left field scored Amaya Harris to retake the lead for MTSU.
The top of the fourth inning, however, proved to be the Blue Raiders undoing. MTSU issued seven walks while putting four different pitchers on the mound, walking in three of Alabama's eight total runs in the frame. Couple that with a Crimson Tide home run and two-RBI single, and MTSU trailed 12-5.
By the Numbers
7: Walks issued by MTSU's pitching staff in the top of the fourth. The Crimson Tide scored eight runs on just three hits in the frame.
5: Sides retired in order for Kamryn Carcich, who kept Alabama off the scoreboard in the first, second, fifth, sixth and seventh innings after starting the game, exiting the game in the third inning before returning to the circle to record the final out of the fourth inning.
2: Hit-by-pitches from Tepe against the Crimson Tide. The Blue Raider catcher has been hit by three pitches so far in Tuscaloosa and has been hit by 12 pitches total this season.
Thoughts from Head Coach Jeff Breeden
"I'm proud the way our kids fought. We came out and stung them early and got ahead. We never quit. We answered that one inning where they scored, got it back up again and just couldn't continue. You've got to throw strikes, No. 1, and you can't give them free bases.
"Against somebody as good as them, in the atmosphere that we were in today, you can't just keep answering and answering and answering, over and over again. You can answer two or three times, but you're eventually going to run out of steam, and that's kind of what we did today."
Up Next
Middle Tennessee will play the winner of this afternoon's elimination game between LIU and Central Arkansas this evening. First pitch will be approximately 30 minutes after the end of this afternoon's game between the Sharks and the Bears.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Softball), Twitter (@MT_Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
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