Blue Raiders pick up first shutout of the season to clinch series win

Sunday, February 22

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

1 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

5-2

St. Bonaventure

3-4

St. Bonaventure

Middle Tenn.

2/22/2026 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Willie Phaler, MTSU Athletic Communications

Middle Tennessee baseball (5-2) rode two dominant pitching performances to a 7-0 win to secure its second series win of the year, taking down the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (2-3) on Sunday afternoon.

In their second appearances of the season, right-handed pitchers David Horn Jr. (W, 1-1) and Mason Dobbs (S, 1) silenced the Bonnies offense to just four hits across nine frames. The Blue Raiders' pitching duo combined for 11 strikeouts.

Horn Jr. picked up nine strikeouts in his 5.0 innings of work. The 6-foot-5 right-hander sat down nine Bonnies' hitters while holding them to just two hits. Horn kept it to just two walks, with both of them coming in the sixth inning.

With Horn's two walks on first and second and no outs Dobbs entered and worked out of the jam with two strikeouts and a fielder's choice to keep St. Bonaventure off the board. The junior college transfer kept his line clean the next three innings, leading MTSU to its first shutout of the season.

The Blue Raiders had a productive outing on offense, pushing across a crooked number in four different innings. Dean O'Neill was the first to cross home plate, after Clay Badylak drove him in with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the second inning.

MTSU followed that up with a two-spot in the third inning. O'Neill picked up an RBI on a sacrifice bunt, while Cooper Clapp knocked a run in after SBU's Anthony Fernandez dropped a fly ball that would have ended the inning. This gave MTSU a 3-0 lead.

The offense added four insurance runs in the back third of the afternoon, pushing two runs across in the bottom of the seventh and eighth. Brett Rogers picked up an RBI single to right field to score Tyler Minnick, while Matt Wolfe drove Rogers in on a suicide squeeze.

Nathan Brewer drove in a run in the eighth inning, while Minnick gave MTSU its penultimate lead with an RBI single of his own to score Brett Vondohlen.

The win finished off the Blue Raiders' series with the Bonnies, and gives MTSU its second series win in as many tries.

By the numbers

7: The Blue Raiders drew seven walks against the Bonnies, with five of them coming against starter Eddinson Paulino.
38: Mason Dobbs picked up the 4.0 inning save while throwing 38 pitches. 25 of them were strikes.
2: The Blue Raiders now have two series wins on the season.

The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)

"We knew [runs] were going to be at a premium because of the conditions," Meyers said. "It was imperative that he [Horn] didn't give them much to work with. He was really efficient early on. He made some pitches and we made plays behind him and Dobbs."

Player Perspective (David Horn Jr.)

"It was just one of those days where it was a little cold out, so I just wanted to keep things simple and attack," Horn said. "Last couple days, I got to see the approach of pound the zone, get outs quick and pretty much everything was working for me."

Next up

The Blue Raiders will stay home to continue their season-opening 13 game homestand, by hosting Tennessee Tech (5-3) on Tuesday, Feb. 24. First pitch at The Reese is set for 3:00 p.m.