Strong bullpen outing not enough as Blue Raiders fall to Murray State

Tuesday, March 17

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

4 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

12-9

Murray State

13-8

Murray St.

Middle Tenn.

3/17/2026 7:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Willie Phaler, MTSU Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- Middle Tennessee baseball (12-9, 2-1 CUSA) dropped its midweek bout against Murray State (13-8, 0-0 MVC) 5-3 on a chilly Tuesday night at Reese Smith Jr. Field.

The second matchup of the year between the Blue Raiders and Racers was also the second between the two played in Murfreesboro due to ongoing field renovations at Murray State's home field.

The first three innings of the night were slow, as Blue Raiders right-hander Bryant Beranek (L, 0-1) mowed down the Racers' lineup to the tune of two strikeouts through 3.0 innings of work.

While the 6-foot-3 righty was moving quickly in his first trip through the order, Murray State's bats woke up in the fourth inning, pushing across four runs. Beranek let up only one while on the mound, while the other three were charged to his line after Abel Albarran entered with the bases loaded and two outs.

Middle Tennessee was able to limit Murray State's damage to just the five runs in the fourth inning, on the back of a strong performance out of the bullpen by John Michael Pickens.

The junior college transfer hurled 4.2 innings of relief, limiting the Racers offense to just two hits. Pickens struck out one hitter, and induced seven fly balls.

Middle Tennessee's bats applied pressure in the middle innings, starting with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the fifth. Brett Rogers scored on a ground ball to third hit by Owen Nowak, but Murray State was able to limit the scoring to that.

Cooper Clapp added a run in the sixth with a home run to right, good for his fifth on the year. This puts Clapp in a tie for second on the team in roundtrippers, pacing Owen Nowak while trailing Dean O'Neill's club-leading sixth.

The Blue Raider offense added in the seventh, with Owen Nowak lacing a single to right field to score Clay Badylak.

Middle Tennessee mounted a comeback effort in the ninth with runners on first and second with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate. Murray State's Ben Rosin was able to contain the Blue Raider bats in the final frame, cementing a series split as the eighth pitcher to grace the mound for the visiting squad.

By the Numbers:

56: Bryant Beranek and John Michael Pickens both threw 56 pitches in their outings today.
3x2: Three Blue Raiders had two-hit outings: Owen Nowak, Cooper Clapp and Clay Badylak

The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)

They had several guys that they want to use, and they go to them today, Meyers said. Not let anybody get comfortable, not let anybody see anybody two times through the order. That makes it tougher to see what that pitcher's doing, and then all of a sudden the new one comes in.

Player Perspective (John Michael Pickens)

The change up really came into play today, Pickens said. With it being colder outside, arm tends to tighten up a little bit so the fastball may not be playing as well, but I really had a good feel for the change up today so that was the go to.

Next up

The Blue Raiders will hit the road this weekend for the second Conference USA series of the season, taking on league newcomer Missouri State (12-7, 2-1 CUSA). First pitch for game one on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, along with a radio broadcast airing on WGNS and streamed online.