Blue Raiders top Bonnies 8-3 to take the series

Sunday, March 10

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

12:00 p.m. CT

Middle Tennessee

8-7

St. Bonaventure

4-9

St. Bonaventure

Middle Tennessee

3/10/2024 3:31:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Thanks to an explosive first inning, Middle Tennessee defeated St. Bonaventure in the rubber match 8-3 on Sunday afternoon.

The Blue Raiders (8-7) struck first in the opening frame plating five two-out runs. Luke Vinson scored first on a wild pitch, while MTSU plated a pair of runs RBI singles from Trace Phillips and Nathan Brewer. The final two runs came across after Clay Badylak laced a double to left center field.

The Bonnies (4-9) finally got on the board in the third after a fielding error by MTSU, however, the Blue Raiders took advantage of a St. Bonaventure error in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead. After plating another run in the sixth and one in the eighth, Middle Tennessee took an 8-1 lead into the ninth.

St. Bonaventure found a late spark in the ninth, plating a pair of runs, but the Blue Raiders would go on to win 8-3. Patrick Johnson (1-0) earned the win for the Blue Raiders, while Noah Czajkowski (0-2) was tabbed with the loss.

Eston Snider and Luke Vinson led the way with a pair of hits, while six other Blue Raiders each collected a hit. Clay Badylak tallied a team-high two RBI, while Snider scored a team-high two runs.

By the Numbers
7: Seven Blue Raiders logged a hit on the afternoon.
2: Two-way player, Trace Phillips got the start on the mound for MTSU. The freshman went four innings, giving up four hits and no earned runs. In the DH slot, he went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
3: The Blue Raiders gave up just three runs on the day, tying a season-low for an opponent.

The Skipper, Jerry Meyers, Speaks
"Trace Phillips… It was only his second outing and we're trying to build his pitch count up. He missed the entire month of January, so we're trying to get him back. He had some really efficient spurts in there early today. Hopefully, we can get him extended, so he can do some deeper work for us at times… There is a ton of room for improvement. That's the thing. Secure a win when we can, and try to win the series when we have the opportunity. We're not going to take that for granted."

Up Next
Middle Tennessee will take on Southern Indiana on Tuesday, March 12 at The Reese. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.

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).