Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, May 20
5:50 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
41-19
3
vs
0
Central Arkansas
45-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Central Arkansas
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
Middle Tennessee
0
0
0
1
2
0
X
3
4
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mead, Gretchen (19-5)
L: Jordan Johnson (20-5)
Batting:
2B: Tremere Harris 1
Batting:
2B: Mealer, Laura 1
RBI: Mealer, Laura 1 ; Harris, Amaya 1 ; Garcia, Julia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Echols, Shelby 1 ; Mealer, Laura 1 ; Harris, Amaya 1
SB: Mealer, Laura 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
2B
/ SoftballC/3B
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ Softball
OF/UTL
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballSS/2B
/ Softball
Blue Raiders eliminate Central Arkansas to make first ever Regional Final
5/20/2023 9:51:00 PM | Softball
Gretchen Mead throws her second shutout of the weekend
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Middle Tennessee softball brought the energy and the poise in their second game of the day on Saturday, scoring late against Central Arkansas to advance to the Tuscaloosa Regional Final, 3-0, on Saturday at Rhoads Stadium.
Middle Tennessee (41-19) broke a nil-nil stalemate in the bottom of the fourth, with Amaya Harris drawing a leadoff walk and moving up to second on an Anyce Harvey groundout. Julia Garcia then came through with a chopper over the third baseman's head, sending a sprinting Harris around from third to home, where the outfielder slid in just before the tag to score the game's first run. Garcia's single was MTSU's first hit of the game against the ace for the Bears (45-12), Jordan Johnson.
The two out bats came up hot once again for MTSU in the bottom of the fifth, where Shelby Echols' two-out single turned into the Blue Raiders' second run of the night after Laura Mealer ripped a double off the left-center field wall to drive Echols in from first. Mealer, after a steal of third, came around to score on Harris' RBI-single to center.
Gretchen Mead tossed a complete game shutout, her second of the weekend against UCA, striking out two Bears while allowing just five hits, combing with two walks to allow only one baserunner per inning.
By the Numbers
20: Doubles for Laura Mealer in 2023. That moves her into the Top Five in the Nation in doubles this season.
41: Wins for MTSU in 2023, tying the program record from the 2001 season. The Blue Raiders went 41-23 in 2001, meaning that MTSU has already guaranteed the best winning percentage in program history regardless of Sunday's outcome.
12.0: Scoreless innings pitched against UCA by Gretchen Mead in Tuscaloosa. The fifth-year righty shut out the Bears in both of MTSU's games against UCA. Central Arkansas scored 15 runs against LIU just prior to Saturday night's shutout.
Thoughts from Head Coach Jeff Breeden
"Kids played real hard, I'm proud of the way that we played. I thought we were tired, it took a lot of energy to mess with Alabama this afternoon. And then to turnaround and play again, we had to ask them to draw from inside themselves a little bit more than normal. I think they did that. And then Gretchen was amazing again in the circle for us. So glad we brought her back. And we're really looking forward to what it's going to be like hopefully two championship games tomorrow here at the Rhoads House."
Player's Perspective – Julia Garcia
"She was jamming us in. In is my favorite pitch and I saw it. I stepped off the plate in my second pitch, and I tried to hit is down and hard, because we've been focusing on down and hard and not lifting it. That's all I was thinking, trying to get baserunners."
Player's Perspective – Gretchen Mead
"That's the only thing I had in mind when I was working my butt off. Nobody saw what I was doing behind the curtains. This is exactly where I was thinking of, this is where I wanted to end up."
Up Next
With the win, MTSU makes the program's first ever appearance in a Regional Final, and will need to defeat host, No. 5 Alabama, twice on Sunday to advance to the Super Regional Round. The first game of the regional final will start at 1 p.m. CT, with the second game, if necessary after a Blue Raider win, to follow after.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Softball), Twitter (@MT_Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
Middle Tennessee (41-19) broke a nil-nil stalemate in the bottom of the fourth, with Amaya Harris drawing a leadoff walk and moving up to second on an Anyce Harvey groundout. Julia Garcia then came through with a chopper over the third baseman's head, sending a sprinting Harris around from third to home, where the outfielder slid in just before the tag to score the game's first run. Garcia's single was MTSU's first hit of the game against the ace for the Bears (45-12), Jordan Johnson.
The two out bats came up hot once again for MTSU in the bottom of the fifth, where Shelby Echols' two-out single turned into the Blue Raiders' second run of the night after Laura Mealer ripped a double off the left-center field wall to drive Echols in from first. Mealer, after a steal of third, came around to score on Harris' RBI-single to center.
Gretchen Mead tossed a complete game shutout, her second of the weekend against UCA, striking out two Bears while allowing just five hits, combing with two walks to allow only one baserunner per inning.
By the Numbers
20: Doubles for Laura Mealer in 2023. That moves her into the Top Five in the Nation in doubles this season.
41: Wins for MTSU in 2023, tying the program record from the 2001 season. The Blue Raiders went 41-23 in 2001, meaning that MTSU has already guaranteed the best winning percentage in program history regardless of Sunday's outcome.
12.0: Scoreless innings pitched against UCA by Gretchen Mead in Tuscaloosa. The fifth-year righty shut out the Bears in both of MTSU's games against UCA. Central Arkansas scored 15 runs against LIU just prior to Saturday night's shutout.
Thoughts from Head Coach Jeff Breeden
"Kids played real hard, I'm proud of the way that we played. I thought we were tired, it took a lot of energy to mess with Alabama this afternoon. And then to turnaround and play again, we had to ask them to draw from inside themselves a little bit more than normal. I think they did that. And then Gretchen was amazing again in the circle for us. So glad we brought her back. And we're really looking forward to what it's going to be like hopefully two championship games tomorrow here at the Rhoads House."
Player's Perspective – Julia Garcia
"She was jamming us in. In is my favorite pitch and I saw it. I stepped off the plate in my second pitch, and I tried to hit is down and hard, because we've been focusing on down and hard and not lifting it. That's all I was thinking, trying to get baserunners."
Player's Perspective – Gretchen Mead
"That's the only thing I had in mind when I was working my butt off. Nobody saw what I was doing behind the curtains. This is exactly where I was thinking of, this is where I wanted to end up."
Up Next
With the win, MTSU makes the program's first ever appearance in a Regional Final, and will need to defeat host, No. 5 Alabama, twice on Sunday to advance to the Super Regional Round. The first game of the regional final will start at 1 p.m. CT, with the second game, if necessary after a Blue Raider win, to follow after.
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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