Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, October 2
Madison, Ala.
5:30 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
6
vs
6
North Alabama
Middle Tennessee opens fall play in tight contest with North Alabama
10/2/2026 11:13:00 PM | Baseball
Madison, Ala—Middle Tennessee baseball opened its' fall exhibition schedule with a 14-inning contest against the North Alabama Lions on Friday evening at Toyota Field, home of the 2026 Southern League Champion Rocket City Trash Pandas. After falling behind 6-3 early, the Blue Raiders battled back over the latter half of the game to tie the score at six on a two-out, game-tying double by freshman Owen Fogle in the 14th inning.
Veteran left-hander Chandler Alderman started the game for the Blue Raiders and fielded a sharply hit grounder right back up the box to initiate a 1-4-3 inning-ending double play after the leadoff batter reached to start the night. Alderman tossed three shutout innings. The Blue Raiders used seven pitchers after Alderman, going mostly from righty to lefty following Alderman until right-handers Ethan Robinson and Mason Dobbs finished out the night.
Newcomer Josh Cone saw the most success out of the bullpen, throwing a scoreless three innings with a team-high five strikeouts in his first competitive outing against another team in two seasons.
At the plate, outfielder Konnor Bowden strung together a 3-for-5 performance with two runs, a walk, a stolen base and an RBI double on a ball that nearly left the yard, scoring Chris Brown all the way from first base in the fourth inning. Bowden scored the game-tying run on Fogle's double in the 14th inning.
Catcher Daniel Bastidas, who caught the final seven innings, had a hit in his first plate appearance and freshman Tommy Baker, who played both first and second base, reached twice by getting hit by a pitch and a single in the 10th inning.
Other notables included Sam Winsett and Brooks Craigue. Winsett drew a team-high three walks and doubled to leadoff the 11th inning, also scoring a run in the 13th inning. Craigue collected an RBI in the 12th inning and Keaton Ray did the same in the 13th inning.
The number that jumped off the page, most, for Middle Tennessee was the 16 walks they drew. Aside from Winsett's team-leading three, Craigue, Matt Wolfe, Jaxon Junnila and Brett Vondohlen also drew a pair of walks, a piece.
The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)
"As much as we're making moves and pitching certain guys in certain situations and moving guys around, we're also trying to win, today," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jerry Meyers. "We want to see guys compete in a setting to try and win the game, and we had a big at-bat late to tie it. We are going to use all of today to learn something from a long 14 innings in all three phases. There's a lot to unpack and getting the opportunity to do it against someone else in a really nice pro park is a great experience for our guys."
Player Perspective (JR OF #13 Konnor Bowden)
"I'm grateful for the opportunity and I'm really excited to keep working," Bowden said. "Trusting myself and trusting guys behind me is something I worked on a lot over the summer that has helped me with my approach (this fall). I'm trying to just go and have fun out there." (SR LHP #27 Josh Cone)
"I was just trying to pound the zone," Cone said. "Slider was working really well and the fastball was working up in the zone and I was able to get ahead of guys. When I came back from injury, the thing I wanted to do was just really focus on (throwing strikes) and it's been my M.O. since day one."
Up next: The Blue Raiders will play host to in-state foe Tennessee Tech to continue their fall ball slate on Sunday. First pitch inside the friendly confines of Reese Smith Jr. Field will be at 1:00 p.m.
Follow the Blue Raiders: Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on X (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Veteran left-hander Chandler Alderman started the game for the Blue Raiders and fielded a sharply hit grounder right back up the box to initiate a 1-4-3 inning-ending double play after the leadoff batter reached to start the night. Alderman tossed three shutout innings. The Blue Raiders used seven pitchers after Alderman, going mostly from righty to lefty following Alderman until right-handers Ethan Robinson and Mason Dobbs finished out the night.
Newcomer Josh Cone saw the most success out of the bullpen, throwing a scoreless three innings with a team-high five strikeouts in his first competitive outing against another team in two seasons.
At the plate, outfielder Konnor Bowden strung together a 3-for-5 performance with two runs, a walk, a stolen base and an RBI double on a ball that nearly left the yard, scoring Chris Brown all the way from first base in the fourth inning. Bowden scored the game-tying run on Fogle's double in the 14th inning.
Catcher Daniel Bastidas, who caught the final seven innings, had a hit in his first plate appearance and freshman Tommy Baker, who played both first and second base, reached twice by getting hit by a pitch and a single in the 10th inning.
Other notables included Sam Winsett and Brooks Craigue. Winsett drew a team-high three walks and doubled to leadoff the 11th inning, also scoring a run in the 13th inning. Craigue collected an RBI in the 12th inning and Keaton Ray did the same in the 13th inning.
The number that jumped off the page, most, for Middle Tennessee was the 16 walks they drew. Aside from Winsett's team-leading three, Craigue, Matt Wolfe, Jaxon Junnila and Brett Vondohlen also drew a pair of walks, a piece.
The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)
"As much as we're making moves and pitching certain guys in certain situations and moving guys around, we're also trying to win, today," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jerry Meyers. "We want to see guys compete in a setting to try and win the game, and we had a big at-bat late to tie it. We are going to use all of today to learn something from a long 14 innings in all three phases. There's a lot to unpack and getting the opportunity to do it against someone else in a really nice pro park is a great experience for our guys."
Player Perspective (JR OF #13 Konnor Bowden)
"I'm grateful for the opportunity and I'm really excited to keep working," Bowden said. "Trusting myself and trusting guys behind me is something I worked on a lot over the summer that has helped me with my approach (this fall). I'm trying to just go and have fun out there." (SR LHP #27 Josh Cone)
"I was just trying to pound the zone," Cone said. "Slider was working really well and the fastball was working up in the zone and I was able to get ahead of guys. When I came back from injury, the thing I wanted to do was just really focus on (throwing strikes) and it's been my M.O. since day one."
Up next: The Blue Raiders will play host to in-state foe Tennessee Tech to continue their fall ball slate on Sunday. First pitch inside the friendly confines of Reese Smith Jr. Field will be at 1:00 p.m.
Follow the Blue Raiders: Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on X (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Players Mentioned
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