Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, February 28
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
11 AM
Middle Tennessee
vs
Ball State
Blue Raiders hosting MTSU Invitational this weekend
2/27/2025 2:07:00 PM | Softball
Illinois State and Ball State making the trip to Murfreesboro
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Softball will be playing at home for the first time this season for the MTSU Invitational. The tournament will take place on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 28 and Mar. 1) and will feature four games that MTSU is taking part in. The teams attending the tournament will be Ball State and Illinois State. Live stats for the tournament can be found at Stat Broadcast.
The Blue Raiders are coming off an extra inning loss to Austin Peay. The game saw freshman Leila Ammon pitch 4.2 innings while giving up zero earned runs to bring her season ERA to a team-best 3.82. The bats were led by Ava Brooks who hit a bases-clearing double to give the Blue Raiders the temporary lead. It was the 150th career game for both Ava Brooks and Ava Tepe.
In the opening weekend of the season at The Spring Games, the Blue Raiders posted a 3-2 record that featured a blowout win vs. Rutgers by a score of 8-1. Jana Want was the star of the weekend where she recorded a .563 batting average, .632 on-base percentage, and a 1.445 OPS. Her performance led to a Conference USA Freshman of the Week award in her first week as a collegiate student-athlete.
This past weekend at the Mercer Tournament, the final game saw a three-run, walk off home run hit by Lexi Medlock to take down Alabama State, 8-7. Ava Brooks and Addy Edgmon both had great weekends hitting over .350 with slugging percentages over .600.
Scouting the opponents
Ball State – Ball State is off to a great start in the 2025 season posting a 7-2 record. The Blue Raiders hold a 6-2 record vs. the Cardinals with MTSU taking the last matchup on March 27, 2013. Ball State is led by head coach Helen Peña who was the associate head coach for the Blue Raiders during the 2023 season where MTSU took home the CUSA Championship. The Cardinal offense is led by Hayley Urban who has a .471 batting average and a 1.059 slugging percentage with three home runs. The Ball State pitching staff is led by Ella Whitney who has thrown 26.2 innings while giving up just nine earned runs and holds a 4-0 record.
Illinois State – Illinois State has started out their 2025 campaign with a 4-9 record that featured one matchup with a CUSA opponent in FIU that the Redbirds lost. Middle Tennessee holds a 1-2 all time record vs. Illinois State but took the last matchup on March 11, 2022. Illinois State is led by head coach Tina Kramos who is in her third season as head coach but her 25th with the program. The Redbirds are led by Hannah Meshnick who won MVC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 18.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Softball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
The Blue Raiders are coming off an extra inning loss to Austin Peay. The game saw freshman Leila Ammon pitch 4.2 innings while giving up zero earned runs to bring her season ERA to a team-best 3.82. The bats were led by Ava Brooks who hit a bases-clearing double to give the Blue Raiders the temporary lead. It was the 150th career game for both Ava Brooks and Ava Tepe.
In the opening weekend of the season at The Spring Games, the Blue Raiders posted a 3-2 record that featured a blowout win vs. Rutgers by a score of 8-1. Jana Want was the star of the weekend where she recorded a .563 batting average, .632 on-base percentage, and a 1.445 OPS. Her performance led to a Conference USA Freshman of the Week award in her first week as a collegiate student-athlete.
This past weekend at the Mercer Tournament, the final game saw a three-run, walk off home run hit by Lexi Medlock to take down Alabama State, 8-7. Ava Brooks and Addy Edgmon both had great weekends hitting over .350 with slugging percentages over .600.
Scouting the opponents
Ball State – Ball State is off to a great start in the 2025 season posting a 7-2 record. The Blue Raiders hold a 6-2 record vs. the Cardinals with MTSU taking the last matchup on March 27, 2013. Ball State is led by head coach Helen Peña who was the associate head coach for the Blue Raiders during the 2023 season where MTSU took home the CUSA Championship. The Cardinal offense is led by Hayley Urban who has a .471 batting average and a 1.059 slugging percentage with three home runs. The Ball State pitching staff is led by Ella Whitney who has thrown 26.2 innings while giving up just nine earned runs and holds a 4-0 record.
Illinois State – Illinois State has started out their 2025 campaign with a 4-9 record that featured one matchup with a CUSA opponent in FIU that the Redbirds lost. Middle Tennessee holds a 1-2 all time record vs. Illinois State but took the last matchup on March 11, 2022. Illinois State is led by head coach Tina Kramos who is in her third season as head coach but her 25th with the program. The Redbirds are led by Hannah Meshnick who won MVC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 18.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Softball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
Players Mentioned
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/ Softball
2B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
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