Blue Raiders fall late in series opener to Missouri State

Friday, March 20

Springfield, MO

6:30 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

Missouri State

3/20/2026 9:52:00 PM | Baseball

By: Willie Phaler, MTSU Athletic Communications

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- Middle Tennessee baseball (12-10, 2-2 CUSA) dropped the first game of its weekend series to the Missouri State Bears (13-8, 3-1 CUSA), 6-4.

The Blue Raiders led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, but a three-run frame by the Bears flipped the night on its head.

Middle Tennessee picked up three runs in the second inning to get the scoring going. Nathan Brewer dropped a double into the right-center field gap, scoring both Brett Vondohlen and Brett Rogers. Owen Nowak added on to the productive inning with a line drive single to center field, allowing Brewer to score.

Missouri State struck back in the bottom half of the frame, scoring two on a bloop double by Bryce Cermenelli, just outside of a diving effort by Nowak in center field.

This was the extent of the damage the Bears were able to make against Blue Raider starter Chandler Alderman. The junior left-hander tossed 5.0 innings of three-strikeout ball, holding the Bears to just two hits on those two runs.

Fellow junior left-hander Collin Kerrigan (L, 1-1) followed Alderman with a 2.2 inning effort out of the bullpen for Middle Tennessee. Kerrigan's first frame was spotless in the sixth, before letting up a solo home run in the seventh by Taeg Gollert.

The Bears' bats got some magic going in the bottom of the eighth with two, two-out singles to force head coach Jerry Meyers' hand to the bullpen.

The Blue Raiders handed the ball to right-hander Mason Dobbs, who faced just one batter. Brant Kragel pinch-hit in place of Jackson Beaman to face Dobbs, and lined a double down the right-field line to give Mo State a 5-4 lead.

Middle Tennessee turned to the 'pen once again, bringing in left-hander John Michael Pickens. Kragel came around to score the Bears' sixth run of the night on a single by Cerminelli.

Tyler Minnick slugged his fifth home run of the season for the Blue Raiders, knocking a solo home run over the wall in left field in the top of the fifth.

By the Numbers:

14: Tyler Minnick's fifth home run of the season was the 14th of his career at Middle Tennessee.
140: Chandler Alderman's second strikeout of the night put the left-hander at a 140 punchouts in his collegiate career.

Up next

Middle Tennessee and Missouri State will line up for game two of the three-game set tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN+, and an audio broadcast is available on both WGNS and the Blue Raider Network.