High-Energy Tepe sets the table for Blue Raider Lineup

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The start of an ideal inning at the plate for Blue Raider softball in 2023 typically looks a little bit like the bottom of the first MTSU had against FAU on April 1 earlier this season.

Shelby Echols, the speedy infielder in the leadoff spot, gets on base with a bunt single. Laura Mealer, the power hitting shortstop, gets a single of her own on an unexpected bunt. Two runners on, nobody out. When catcher Ava Tepe steps up to the plate and drops a bunt of her own, moving her teammates up to second and third.

People familiar with the sport might gasp, seeing a No. 3 hitter laydown a sacrifice bunt, as Tepe has done 10 times this season. The No. 3 hitter, after all, is often one of the best power hitters on the team. But their gasps quickly turn into cheers, as they did on April 1, when Anyce Harvey smacks a double into the gap and scores both Echols and Mealer in the top of the first.

"We're playing Ava in the three spot in an unconventional role," head coach Jeff Breeden said after that game. "I don't need her necessarily to produce RBIs. I need her, when 1 and 2 are on base, to move those baserunners."

It happened again in the bottom of the third that day, where a single from Echols and a walk from Mealer again led to a sacrifice bunt from Tepe to move the runners, and a two-RBI hit from Harvey followed, pushing MTSU past the Owls 4-3 on the afternoon.

"Just move the runners, that's my job in that spot so I try to execute as well as I can," Tepe said of her role. "Luckily, I always have those two on in front of me. And Anyce or Riley (Gilmore) scores them in."

Is that unconventional small ball, starting that sacrifice process so early in the lineup? There's no question about that.

But having a table setter like Tepe in the middle of the order opens up a plethora of options for the Blue Raider offense thanks to a player that has made herself central to the identity of the Blue Raiders in just her sophomore season.

Tepe began her Blue Raider career as a walk-on Breeden had not even seen play live until she stepped on the field for her first day of practice in Murfreesboro. The Cincinnati, Ohio native wanted to come to MTSU for its Music Business program, with the goal of being a talent scout for a record label in the future. Middle Tennessee, of course, had one of the top programs in that field in the country and softball was a way into that school. So, she stayed persistent, emailing the coaching staff many times before they finally said yes.

Like a lot of walk-ons, there wasn't a lot of expectations for her role early. Breeden said that worst come to worst, they'd get a bullpen catcher out of bringing Tepe on. But quickly, she found herself tested in the Blue Raider lineup.

"You never know when your opportunity is going to come, you've just got to take advantage of it," Tepe said. "Luckily, I was able to do that."

Her energy, the first thing anybody notices about Tepe on the field, was contagious. Her catching skills, both in blocking and framing and in her rapport with her pitching staff, were evident. And she very quickly established herself as a tough out at the plate, only striking out 11 times all season in 29 starts.

All in all, it was enough to get her on scholarship, as penciled in as the catcher of the future for a new look Blue Raider team that coming fall. From there, the development continued, as Tepe worked with pitching coach Helen Peña to learn how to call games. Now, Tepe calls every pitch on her own, after consulting with the pitching staff's scouting report during the week.

"It's really easy to talk to her about what we're thinking and what we're seeing," pitcher Gretchen Mead said. "I probably shake off like two pitches a game. Coming to conference, I don't really want to have to think up there. And I trust in what she's doing."

With the catching came along the bat as well, as Tepe has seen her batting average rise by 35 points between this season and last. The No. 3 spot in the lineup she occupies, however, was a midseason adjustment, one that stemmed from a role that Kirsten Uselton played on the 2018 Conference USA Championship team, moving Precious Birdsong up as she got on base.

Breeden points out that Tepe doesn't always need to sacrifice bunt at No. 3, though her 10 sacrifice hits through 39 games played this season, ranking her 16th in the country in sacrifice hits per game, shows how effective it can be. The hitting growth has been a big boost, of course, as her 16 RBIs this season, 10 of which have come since moving up in the lineup, have more than doubled her total from a season ago.

But perhaps the biggest boost the Blue Raider catcher brings to the team is her energy, which can't help but make you smile when you come to the ballpark. Whether she's donning a Darth Vader mask during warmups to celebrate Star Wars Trivia Night or being the first person off the top step of the dugout to celebrate a teammates' hit, her energy is contagious. Breeden said that the day she shows up to the field with anything less than the most energy on the team will be the first.

"Whenever that day is, that means something's gone stupid," Breeden said. "Either she's deathly sick or somebody's kicked her dog."

Tepe, for her part, isn't sure where that energy started from ("That would be a better question for my mom," she said). But she knows why it's a part of her game now.

"I've just always been that way," Tepe said. "I think energy, for everyone, just brings great vibes and makes the game a lot more fun."

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Shelby Echols

Anyce Harvey

Gretchen Mead

Laura Mealer

Ava Tepe

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