Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
6-3
UT Martin
3-5
Vondohlen hits grand slam, walk-off homer to take down UT Martin in extra innings
2/28/2025 7:12:00 PM | Baseball
The game started as an offensive showcase for both teams, with 12 runs scored in the first three innings, resulting in a 6-6 tie. It began with Matt Wolfe ripping a line drive over the center fielder's head for a double, and he would later score the first run of the game.
In the second inning, the Raiders (6-3) scored three runs, thanks to an Eston Snider two-RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Wolfe to score Clay Badylak. The following frame featured two Blue Raider homers: Nathan Brewer and Brett Rogers, who hit his first career home run.
The game went scoreless for the next three innings with Trace Phillips and Ollie Akens holding it down on the mound for MTSU until the seventh inning. The Skyhawks (3-5) posted five runs, including a grand slam, to take an 11-6 lead going into the stretch.
Hayden Miller stepped to the plate and ripped an RBI single up the middle to score Kenny McKinley, narrowing the gap to four runs heading into the eighth.
Snider led off the inning with a single, followed by walks from Wolfe and Minnick to load the bases for Brett Vondohlen. He drew a 1-1 count before blasting a 107 MPH line drive into the Lee Victory Wall for his first grand slam of the year, tying the game at 11 with no outs.
McKinley then stepped into the box and crushed his first career home run to right field, giving the Blue Raiders their first lead of the day, 12-11, heading into the ninth.
The Skyhawks managed to scratch across a run to tie the game and send it into extras.
MTSU escaped the top of the 10th by not allowing a run. In the bottom of the frame, the Raiders recorded two quick outs before Vondohlen stepped to the plate again. He hit a hard line drive just over the right-center wall for a walk-off home run, giving the Blue Raiders a 13-12 victory over UT Martin.
By the Numbers
- 5: Brett Vondohlen tallied five RBIs in today's game, doubling his season total to 10.
- 1st: Brett Rogers and Kenny McKinley each hit their first career home runs today.
- 11: The Blue Raiders tallied 11 strikeouts in the game, adding to their impressive season total of 91 strikeouts.
"It was one of those deals where you could very easily not fight, but we did. We didn't do a very good job on the mound getting ahead in counts, and they were able to do damage with that."
Player Perspective (Brett Vondohlen)
"I knew the pitcher threw a lot of fastballs, and that is my favorite pitch to hit, so I just tried to stay calm and stay smooth on my swing. I actually didn't know the last one was gone until I heard everyone screaming. I was just trying to stay simple in the box and get on base."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will host game two of the round-robin series against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. It is scheduled for 4 p.m. or after the UT Martin and ODU game.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Burch, Landen (1-0)
L: NUNN, JP (0-1)
Batting:
2B: FITHIAN, Jalen 1
3B: FITHIAN, Jalen 1
HR: CAPPS, Brody 1 ; TOWNSEND, Arderrius 1 ; ANDERSON, Garner 1
RBI: FITHIAN, Jalen 1 ; KATSABOULAS, Jonah 2 ; CAPPS, Brody 2 ; TOWNSEND, Arderrius 1 ; BELL, Blaze 1 ; ANDERSON, Garner 5
SH: GREENE, Cameron 1 ; BELL, Blaze 1
Base Running:
RUNS: FITHIAN, Jalen 1 ; GRINES, TJ 2 ; CAPPS, Brody 1 ; TOWNSEND, Arderrius 3 ; BELL, Blaze 1 ; MICALLEF, Frank 2 ; ANDERSON, Garner 2
SB: GRINES, TJ 3 ; MICALLEF, Frank 1 ; ANDERSON, Garner 1
HBP: MICALLEF, Frank 1
Batting:
2B: Wolfe, Matt 1 ; McKinley, Kenny 1
HR: Vondohlen, Brett 2 ; Brewer, Nathan 1 ; McKinley, Kenny 1 ; Rogers, Brett 1
RBI: Snider, Eston 1 ; Wolfe, Matt 1 ; Vondohlen, Brett 5 ; Brewer, Nathan 1 ; McKinley, Kenny 1 ; Rogers, Brett 1 ; Miller, Hayden 1
SF: Wolfe, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Snider, Eston 1 ; Wolfe, Matt 2 ; Minnick, Tyler 1 ; Vondohlen, Brett 2 ; Brewer, Nathan 1 ; McKinley, Kenny 3 ; Rogers, Brett 1 ; Miller, Hayden 1 ; Badylak, Clay 1
SB: Snider, Eston 1 ; Rogers, Brett 1
CS: Minnick, Tyler 1
HBP: Snider, Eston 1 ; Badylak, Clay 1
