Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Bellarmine
Blue Raiders open up season in big way behind stout offense and strong pitching
2/13/2026 8:37:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- Middle Tennessee baseball (1-0) began its season in style Friday afternoon, taking down the Bellarmine Knights 8-2 behind timely offense and standout performances out of the bullpen.
After Bellarmine worked across an unearned run against Blue Raider starter Drew Horn, MTSU's offense took off for four runs in the bottom of the third frame.
First year Blue Raiders Owen Nowak and Dean O'Neill both left The Reese against Bellarmine's Kaleb Ralamb (L, 0-1), while Tyler Minnick added to the fun on offense with an RBI to pair with Nowak and O'Neill's home runs.
The Knights worked across an additional run in the fourth against MTSU's Collin Kerrigan (W, 1-0), but that was the final time Bellarmine's bats made any noise.
Horn, Kerrigan and Landen Burch threw 3.0 innings each in Middle Tennessee's season-opening win. Horn sat down four hitters in his first start of 2026, while Kerrigan punched three tickets and allowing two hits. Burch finished things out with three hitless innings to secure the Blue Raiders win.
MTSU's offense continued to support the strong outing from its trio of arms, with Minnick and Brett Vondohlen picking up consecutive RBI doubles to extend the lead to 6-2. The Blue Raiders' barrage continued into the sixth inning, with O'Neill singling home Clay Badylak and Nowak scoring on an RBI double by Brett Rogers.
Two redshirt freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the bottom of the eighth and the top of the ninth. Layne Akers pinch hit for Nowak, with Konner Bowden manning center field in the final frame.
By the Numbers
3: Three Blue Raiders had two or more RBI in the win.
11: There were 11 total strikeouts between the Blue Raiders trio of pitchers.
0.00: Horn and Burch begin the season with a 0.00 ERA after each throwing 3.0 innings of work.
The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)
"You know it's going to feel different because of a lot of different reasons, but that's just the way opening day is," Meyers said. "It's just a little bit more of whatever it is, you can call it excitement or you just the heart rate going a little bit. Settling in and playing in like you want to is a big key, and I think we were okay at doing that. The two home runs took the lid off [of the offense]."
Player Perspective (SR 1B Dean O'Neill)
"I think I saw a fastball, and when I'm in the state I kind of just black out and have fun," O'Neill said of his first home run as a Blue Raider. "I think everything has been going well and I'm just really comfortable out there. After that first at-bat I had some jitters, but I went back out there and obviously I'm right back at home."
Up Next
Games two and three of the opening series against Bellarmine will be played tomorrow as part of a doubleheader. The first game will begin at 12:00 P.M., and both games are scheduled to be nine innings.
