Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, February 21
Macon, GA
3:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
at
Mercer
Blue Raiders travel to Macon, Ga. for Mercer Tournament
2/20/2025 11:35:00 AM | Softball
The tournament features matchups vs. Mercer, UConn, Jacksonville, and Alabama State
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Softball will be traveling back to Georgia to take part in the Mercer Tournament at Mercer University this weekend (Feb. 21-22). The teams playing in the tournament are UConn, Jacksonville, Mercer and Alabama State.
The first set of games are scheduled for 3:00 pm CT vs. Mercer and at 5:30 pm CT vs. UConn on Friday, Feb. 21. On day two of the tournament, the Blue Raiders are taking on Jacksonville at 9:00 am CT and Alabama State at 2:00 pm CT for the last games of the tournament. Live stats for the games can be found at Stat Broadcast.
In the opening weekend of the season at The Spring Games, the Blue Raiders posted a 3-2 record that featured a dominate win vs. Rutgers by a score of 8-1. The game saw the MTSU offense firing on all cylinders, where in the fourth inning they batted through the lineup en route to a six-run inning. Jana Want was the star of the weekend, which was highlighted by winning Conference USA Freshman of the Week. On the season, Want is hitting for a .500 batting average with an outstanding 1.283 slugging percentage.
This past weekend, the Blue Raiders did not find the same success they did opening weekend as they recorded an 0-5 weekend. Middle Tennessee recorded nine runs across the five games, compared to their opponents' 29 runs. The Blue Raiders lost two one-run games to the UConn Huskies, but will have their chance for revenge this weekend.
Scouting the opponents
UConn – The upcoming matchup vs. the Huskies will be the third in program history with the first two taking place last weekend. UConn has opened the season to a 4-4 record as they went 3-1 at the Jacksonville/North Florida Tournament last weekend. The Huskie offense is led by Grace Jennings who is hitting for a .440 batting average with four home runs. UConn is led by head coach Laura Valentino, who is entering her sixth season as head coach. Valentino has led the Huskies to three-straight 30-win seasons, the first time since 1995-97 that has happened in their program's history.
Jacksonville – This will mark the second matchup vs. Jacksonville in program history as the first one took place last weekend. The Dolphins are off to a 6-4 start to the season that featured them going 4-0 at their own tournament last weekend. The Dolphins are led by Haley Fox who has recorded a .500 batting average across 26 at bats to open the 2025 campaign. Jacksonville is led by head coach Erica Ayers who has held the position since the 2018 season. The 2021 season was the best of the Ayers Era where the Dolphins recorded a record of 29-20.
Alabama State – The Blue Raiders have faced off vs. Alabama State 12 times in program history and have won 11 of those matchups with the last one coming in 2017. The Hornets are off to an 0-10 start to the 2025 season and the offense has been led by Jaibriel Terrell who has a .292 average with six runs scored. Alabama State is led by head coach Camise Patterson who is in her first season at the helm. Patterson was previously at FAMU and was named the 2024 SWAC Coach of the Year before being named the head coach of the Hornets program.
Mercer – This will mark the 12th matchup between Mercer and Middle Tennessee with the Bears leading the series 7-4. Mercer has begun their 2025 season with a 5-4 record. The Bears offense has been led by Tori Hedgecock who has a .429 batting average with six extra-base hits, good for a 1.538 OPS. Mercer is led by head coach Lindsay Fico who was named to the role in June, 2021. The Bears have gotten better each season in Fico's first three years with the program that saw a 11-10 conference record last season.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Softball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
The first set of games are scheduled for 3:00 pm CT vs. Mercer and at 5:30 pm CT vs. UConn on Friday, Feb. 21. On day two of the tournament, the Blue Raiders are taking on Jacksonville at 9:00 am CT and Alabama State at 2:00 pm CT for the last games of the tournament. Live stats for the games can be found at Stat Broadcast.
In the opening weekend of the season at The Spring Games, the Blue Raiders posted a 3-2 record that featured a dominate win vs. Rutgers by a score of 8-1. The game saw the MTSU offense firing on all cylinders, where in the fourth inning they batted through the lineup en route to a six-run inning. Jana Want was the star of the weekend, which was highlighted by winning Conference USA Freshman of the Week. On the season, Want is hitting for a .500 batting average with an outstanding 1.283 slugging percentage.
This past weekend, the Blue Raiders did not find the same success they did opening weekend as they recorded an 0-5 weekend. Middle Tennessee recorded nine runs across the five games, compared to their opponents' 29 runs. The Blue Raiders lost two one-run games to the UConn Huskies, but will have their chance for revenge this weekend.
Scouting the opponents
UConn – The upcoming matchup vs. the Huskies will be the third in program history with the first two taking place last weekend. UConn has opened the season to a 4-4 record as they went 3-1 at the Jacksonville/North Florida Tournament last weekend. The Huskie offense is led by Grace Jennings who is hitting for a .440 batting average with four home runs. UConn is led by head coach Laura Valentino, who is entering her sixth season as head coach. Valentino has led the Huskies to three-straight 30-win seasons, the first time since 1995-97 that has happened in their program's history.
Jacksonville – This will mark the second matchup vs. Jacksonville in program history as the first one took place last weekend. The Dolphins are off to a 6-4 start to the season that featured them going 4-0 at their own tournament last weekend. The Dolphins are led by Haley Fox who has recorded a .500 batting average across 26 at bats to open the 2025 campaign. Jacksonville is led by head coach Erica Ayers who has held the position since the 2018 season. The 2021 season was the best of the Ayers Era where the Dolphins recorded a record of 29-20.
Alabama State – The Blue Raiders have faced off vs. Alabama State 12 times in program history and have won 11 of those matchups with the last one coming in 2017. The Hornets are off to an 0-10 start to the 2025 season and the offense has been led by Jaibriel Terrell who has a .292 average with six runs scored. Alabama State is led by head coach Camise Patterson who is in her first season at the helm. Patterson was previously at FAMU and was named the 2024 SWAC Coach of the Year before being named the head coach of the Hornets program.
Mercer – This will mark the 12th matchup between Mercer and Middle Tennessee with the Bears leading the series 7-4. Mercer has begun their 2025 season with a 5-4 record. The Bears offense has been led by Tori Hedgecock who has a .429 batting average with six extra-base hits, good for a 1.538 OPS. Mercer is led by head coach Lindsay Fico who was named to the role in June, 2021. The Bears have gotten better each season in Fico's first three years with the program that saw a 11-10 conference record last season.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Softball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
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