Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Wednesday, May 24
Houston, TX
1:05 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
vs
UTSA
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Blue Raiders to Open C-USA Championships Against UTSA
5/23/2023 3:37:00 PM | Baseball
Middle Tennessee will play the Roadrunners at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rice University’s Reckling Park.
HOUSTON – The postseason is here.
Middle Tennessee Baseball has wrapped up the 2023 regular season. A new season new commences.
The Blue Raiders finished 25-27 in the regular season, and 14-16 in Conference USA. They are now 0-0.
Finishing seventh in the league's regular season standings, MTSU will see No. 2-seed UTSA on opening day of the Conference USA Baseball Championships. First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CT.
All games of the double elimination tournament are to be held at Reckling Park, the campus of Rice University in Houston. ESPN+ will broadcast each game until the winner-take-all championship matchup, which will be shown on CBS Sports Network. WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will carry the radio broadcast.
Probable Starting Pitcher
RHP Eriq Swan is the Wednesday's schedule starting pitcher.
Quick Hitters
2B JT 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.
C/DH Jeremiah Boyd came to MTSU as a graduate transfer ahead of 2023 and became an instant star. "As high character a person as there is" per head coach Jerry Meyers, Boyd is the squad's home run leader, with 12, and has a team-high .935 OPS. Starting the year on a 12-game hitting streak, one of Boyd's most prolific stretches this year came April 19-23, going 5-16 in four games with four home runs and seven RBIs. The grad student had a 4.0 GPA and was named to the C-USA All-Academic Team
Through 52 regular season games, the Blue Raiders started the same players at second base, third base and the shortstop position. 2B JT Mabry, SS Brett Coker and 3B Gabe Jennings each logged 52 starts in 2023.
RHPs Jaden Hamm and Eriq Swan have been the Blue Raiders' most used starting pitchers. 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. Hamm leads the squad with 14 starts and 74.2 innings. Swan meanwhile is second in starts (11) and third in innings (55).
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' 59.1 innings are fourth-most in the country in relief.
Hamm and Coker were named to the C-USA All-Conference First Team on Tuesday. RHP Patrick Johnson, RHP Ollie Akens and C/OF/UTL Jared Vetetoe all earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.
Scouting the Competition
The top eight teams across the C-USA regular season were invited to the championships. Two separate four-team, double elimination brackets will be played, with the winner of each side playing in a single-game championship game Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee sees UTSA first, with the Roadrunners taking a 38-17 record and a 21-8 C-USA mark heading to the tournament. An NCAA Tournament at-large bubble team, UTSA is currently projected as the third team out of the field by D1 Baseball.
Top-seeded No. 17 Dallas Baptist is in the opposite bracket from the Blue Raiders.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders second game of the championships will depend on its result Wednesday, as well as how Wednesday's game between Charlotte and LA Tech.
If MTSU loses to UTSA, the Raiders will play an elimination game Thursday at 9:00 a.m. against the loser of the Charlotte vs. LA Tech game.
Should Middle Tennessee defeat the Roadrunners on Wednesday, the Blue Raiders will move on to play the winner of Charlotte vs. LA Tech at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Middle Tennessee Baseball has wrapped up the 2023 regular season. A new season new commences.
The Blue Raiders finished 25-27 in the regular season, and 14-16 in Conference USA. They are now 0-0.
Finishing seventh in the league's regular season standings, MTSU will see No. 2-seed UTSA on opening day of the Conference USA Baseball Championships. First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CT.
All games of the double elimination tournament are to be held at Reckling Park, the campus of Rice University in Houston. ESPN+ will broadcast each game until the winner-take-all championship matchup, which will be shown on CBS Sports Network. WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will carry the radio broadcast.
Probable Starting Pitcher
RHP Eriq Swan is the Wednesday's schedule starting pitcher.
Quick Hitters
2B JT 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.
C/DH Jeremiah Boyd came to MTSU as a graduate transfer ahead of 2023 and became an instant star. "As high character a person as there is" per head coach Jerry Meyers, Boyd is the squad's home run leader, with 12, and has a team-high .935 OPS. Starting the year on a 12-game hitting streak, one of Boyd's most prolific stretches this year came April 19-23, going 5-16 in four games with four home runs and seven RBIs. The grad student had a 4.0 GPA and was named to the C-USA All-Academic Team
Through 52 regular season games, the Blue Raiders started the same players at second base, third base and the shortstop position. 2B JT Mabry, SS Brett Coker and 3B Gabe Jennings each logged 52 starts in 2023.
RHPs Jaden Hamm and Eriq Swan have been the Blue Raiders' most used starting pitchers. 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. Hamm leads the squad with 14 starts and 74.2 innings. Swan meanwhile is second in starts (11) and third in innings (55).
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' 59.1 innings are fourth-most in the country in relief.
Hamm and Coker were named to the C-USA All-Conference First Team on Tuesday. RHP Patrick Johnson, RHP Ollie Akens and C/OF/UTL Jared Vetetoe all earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.
Scouting the Competition
The top eight teams across the C-USA regular season were invited to the championships. Two separate four-team, double elimination brackets will be played, with the winner of each side playing in a single-game championship game Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee sees UTSA first, with the Roadrunners taking a 38-17 record and a 21-8 C-USA mark heading to the tournament. An NCAA Tournament at-large bubble team, UTSA is currently projected as the third team out of the field by D1 Baseball.
Top-seeded No. 17 Dallas Baptist is in the opposite bracket from the Blue Raiders.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders second game of the championships will depend on its result Wednesday, as well as how Wednesday's game between Charlotte and LA Tech.
If MTSU loses to UTSA, the Raiders will play an elimination game Thursday at 9:00 a.m. against the loser of the Charlotte vs. LA Tech game.
Should Middle Tennessee defeat the Roadrunners on Wednesday, the Blue Raiders will move on to play the winner of Charlotte vs. LA Tech at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
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
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