Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 17
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
2:00 p.m. CT
Middle Tennessee
2-0
5
vs
4
Bowling Green
0-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Bowling Green
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
4
11
0
Middle Tennessee
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
2
5
9
2
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Five ninth-inning bases on balls walks off Blue Raiders against Falcons
2/17/2024 7:44:00 PM | Baseball
Briggs Rutter drove in the winning run by drawing the fifth walk of the final frame on Saturday
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee baseball dueled on the mound most of Saturday, but won the game at the plate, displaying tremendous discipline to draw five consecutive walks in the bottom of the ninth, walking off against Bowling Green when Briggs Rutter drew walk number five with the bases loaded to send the home fans home happy on a chilly afternoon at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
The Blue Raiders (2-0) trailed nearly the entire game on Saturday after the Falcons (0-2) hit a two-run home run in the top of the second. MTSU scratched across a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single up the middle from Gabe Jennings, but a run scored on an error in the top of seventh stretched the lead back to two runs for BGSU.
Rutter played hero once again this weekend the bottom of the eighth, blasting a two-RBI double into the right-center field gap to plate Jennings and Luke Vinson, only for the Falcons to hit an RBI-double into right-center of their own in the top of the ninth, putting MTSU down one run heading into their final three outs.
But after a leadoff flyout, MTSU worked the count, drawing walks in five consecutive plate appearances across two pitchers to walk-off with the series clincher. Jennings and Rutter were the Blue Raiders who picked up RBIs on the walk, plating Clay Badylak and Eston Snider, respectively.
Rutter led the way at the plate for MTSU, going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Jennings plated the other two MTSU runs of the night, going 2-for-4 at the dish. The Blue Raiders saw solid performances out of the bullpen from Cole Torbett (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 K) and Jackson Underwood (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) to keep themselves in the game in the middle innings. Matt Schepel pitched four innings in his MTSU debut, striking out three Falcons while giving up two earned runs.
By the Numbers
5: Walks in the ninth inning for MTSU. The Blue Raiders had not drawn a walk once prior ot the final frame, reaching base via nine hits and one hit-by-pitch in innings 1-8.
.471: MTSU's on-base percentage through two games this season.
2: Runners caught stealing by Briggs Rutter through two games. The MTSU backstop has nailed a pair of Falcons trying to swipe second base, one in each game so far this season.
The Skipper, Jerry Meyers, Speaks
"First of all, I appreciate the crowd showing up. There were a few visiting fans, but that was probably a tough one to watch. It was a good game to watch from a certain standpoint, but I appreciate our folks coming out and supporting us as well, because it was probably a little chilly up there, I would imagine.
"Our guys continue to have mature at-bats. Like I said yesterday, those at-bats were mature and we got a bunch of hits. Today, there were mature in crucial times where we didn't chase anything. We made them throw strikes. Some borderline pitches, we had discipline and showed a little bit of maturity at the plate with some good at-bats when we needed them."
Player's Perspective – Briggs Rutter
"We just said get it up. Get the it up in the dugout, get the energy up and have good at-bats. Any time a baseball player is in a situation like that, you try and think 'pass the torch'. That's the mentality and that's exactly what we did. We saw the dude struggling with command in the beginning. Obviously, that's something you take advantage of. Hit one you can get one you can get. If you don't get it, take your walk and pass it on to the next guy."
Up Next
MTSU wraps up the series against the Falcons on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., with coverage available on both ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Radio Network.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on X (formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
The Blue Raiders (2-0) trailed nearly the entire game on Saturday after the Falcons (0-2) hit a two-run home run in the top of the second. MTSU scratched across a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single up the middle from Gabe Jennings, but a run scored on an error in the top of seventh stretched the lead back to two runs for BGSU.
Rutter played hero once again this weekend the bottom of the eighth, blasting a two-RBI double into the right-center field gap to plate Jennings and Luke Vinson, only for the Falcons to hit an RBI-double into right-center of their own in the top of the ninth, putting MTSU down one run heading into their final three outs.
But after a leadoff flyout, MTSU worked the count, drawing walks in five consecutive plate appearances across two pitchers to walk-off with the series clincher. Jennings and Rutter were the Blue Raiders who picked up RBIs on the walk, plating Clay Badylak and Eston Snider, respectively.
Rutter led the way at the plate for MTSU, going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Jennings plated the other two MTSU runs of the night, going 2-for-4 at the dish. The Blue Raiders saw solid performances out of the bullpen from Cole Torbett (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 K) and Jackson Underwood (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) to keep themselves in the game in the middle innings. Matt Schepel pitched four innings in his MTSU debut, striking out three Falcons while giving up two earned runs.
By the Numbers
5: Walks in the ninth inning for MTSU. The Blue Raiders had not drawn a walk once prior ot the final frame, reaching base via nine hits and one hit-by-pitch in innings 1-8.
.471: MTSU's on-base percentage through two games this season.
2: Runners caught stealing by Briggs Rutter through two games. The MTSU backstop has nailed a pair of Falcons trying to swipe second base, one in each game so far this season.
The Skipper, Jerry Meyers, Speaks
"First of all, I appreciate the crowd showing up. There were a few visiting fans, but that was probably a tough one to watch. It was a good game to watch from a certain standpoint, but I appreciate our folks coming out and supporting us as well, because it was probably a little chilly up there, I would imagine.
"Our guys continue to have mature at-bats. Like I said yesterday, those at-bats were mature and we got a bunch of hits. Today, there were mature in crucial times where we didn't chase anything. We made them throw strikes. Some borderline pitches, we had discipline and showed a little bit of maturity at the plate with some good at-bats when we needed them."
Player's Perspective – Briggs Rutter
"We just said get it up. Get the it up in the dugout, get the energy up and have good at-bats. Any time a baseball player is in a situation like that, you try and think 'pass the torch'. That's the mentality and that's exactly what we did. We saw the dude struggling with command in the beginning. Obviously, that's something you take advantage of. Hit one you can get one you can get. If you don't get it, take your walk and pass it on to the next guy."
Up Next
MTSU wraps up the series against the Falcons on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., with coverage available on both ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Radio Network.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on X (formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sells, James (1-0)
L: Penrod,Connar (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Seidel, Sam 1
HR: Krause,Jack 1
RBI: Seidel, Sam 1 ; Krause,Jack 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Newman, Dj 1 ; Ross,Tyler 1 ; Krause,Jack 2
SB: Newman, Dj 1 ; Ross,Tyler 1 ; Takats, TJ 1
CS: Archer,Nathan 1
PO: Birchmeier, Brady 1 ; Takats, TJ 1
Batting:
2B: Rutter, Briggs 1
RBI: Jennings, Gabe 2 ; Rutter, Briggs 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Snider, Eston 2 ; Vinson, Luke 1 ; Jennings, Gabe 1 ; Badylak, Clay 1
HBP: Vinson, Luke 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
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