Blue Raiders hold on to claim series-opening win against Bonnies

Friday, March 8

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

12:30 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

7-6

St. Bonaventure

3-8

St. Bonaventure

Middle Tennessee

3/8/2024 3:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

James Sells tossed six innings of one-hit ball to open the four-game series against St. Bonaventure

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee baseball outdueled St. Bonaventure on Friday afternoon, taking advantage of a strong start from James Sells on the mound and continued hot hitting to win 6-4 at Reese Smith Jr. Field.

The Blue Raiders (7-6) had Sells more than match the Bonnies' (3-8) right-hander Chance Moore most of the early innings, with MTSU able to scratch across three runs in the game's first five innings, while Sells took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. A pair of sacrifice flies, one in the second inning from Clay Badylak and one in the fourth inning off the bat of Cale Vinson, scored Luke Vinson and Jackson Galloway, respectively. Gabe Jennings' lead-off home run in the bottom of the fifth stretched MTSU's lead to 3-0 early.

The Bonnies were able to score one run in the top of the sixth, scoring a runner from third on a double play that bounced off Sells' leg (score that 1-6-4-3 GDP on your scorecard!). MTSU, however, would again find their bats, chasing Moore in the bottom of the seventh and having Brady Holloway take Joel Connors' first pitch of day over the right field fence, 460 feet from home plate for a three-run home run.

St. Bonaventure rallied in the ninth inning, scoring three run in the final frame, but Cole Torbett struck out the final two batters he faced to get out of jam with two runners on and earn the save.

Gabe Jennings led the Blue Raiders at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and two runs scored. Briggs Rutter, Brady Holloway and Jackson Galloway each finished with two hits on Friday. Sells struck out two Bonnies, allowing just one hit and one run across six innings of work to earn his third win of the season. Cole Torbett earned his second save of 2024 in three innings of work, striking out four batters.

By the Numbers
2: Runs scored for MTSU on sacrifice flies on Friday.
4: Runs scored for MTSU on home runs on Friday.
12: Groundouts generated by Sells on Friday, two-thirds of his total outs on the afternoon.

The Skipper, Jerry Meyers, Speaks
"I thought Sells did a really nice job. He threw strike one and we've been talking about racing to two strikes. To get ahead 0-0, I think he did that pretty well and we played good defense behind him. They put some balls in play with two strikes, some of those were good pitches that he didn't quite finish them off, but he got some outs. He did a really nice job, he gave us some mileage there.

Player's Perspective – James Sells
"I had a game plan going in, trying to mix pitches in certain locations. I watched some video and me and Coach Wiz got a game plan on how I wanted to attack and I was able to go out there and execute. Fastball command wasn't the best early, but around the fourth inning I started making adjustments. Just tried to live down in the zone and help teammates make plays and that's exactly what they did."

Up Next
The Blue Raiders continue the four-game series with St. Bonaventure on Saturday with a doubleheader at Reese Smith Jr. Field. First pitch for Game 1 is currently scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Network, with Game 2 to follow 30 minutes after. Fans can get into both games on Saturday with just a single ticket!

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