Blue Raider baseball on wrong side of 10-9 slugfest

Sunday, March 22

Springfield, MO

1:00 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

12-12, 2-4

Missouri State

15-7, 5-1

Middle Tennessee

Missouri State

3/22/2026 5:03:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Willie Phaler, MTSU Athletic Communications

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- Middle Tennessee baseball (12-12, 2-4 CUSA) was on the wrong end of an offensive shootout Sunday afternoon, dropping to the Missouri State Bears (15-7, 5-1 CUSA) 10-9.

With runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the ninth, the Blue Raiders trailed by two as senior catcher Tyler Minnick came to the plate. Missouri State made a move to the bullpen for right-hander Curry Sutherland (S, 1) to take the mound after playing third base for the first eight innings.

Sutherland's second pitch of his 0.1 inning outing found the backstop at Hammons Field, allowing Clay Badylak to score from third base, bringing the Blue Raiders within one while Owen Nowak scampered to second base. Minnick worked to a 3-2 count, and lined a ball to left field with a glimpse of an opportunity for Nowak to score the tying run.

Mo State left fielder Max Knight dove for the sinking live drive, trapping the ball into the leather of his glove to seal the 10-9 victory for the Bears. Middle Tennessee challenged the play, citing the ball possibly being bobbled, but the review was inconclusive.

With the game coming down to its' final at-bat, it took plenty of action to set the drama of the game's final play.

Both sides got off to a hot start in the first few frames. Middle Tennessee scored three runs in the first inning, with a sacrifice fly from Dean O'Neill and a two RBI double off the bat of Brett Vondohlen. The Bears countered with a four-run first against David Horn Jr.

Horn settled in after the Blue Raiders re-captured the lead on a second inning three-run home run from O'Neill. The senior right-hander tossed four innings of four earned run baseball, striking out seven Bears.

Middle Tennessee had lightning strike twice in the top of the fifth inning as left fielder Nathan Brewer and designated hitter Layne Akers hit back-to-back solo home runs on consecutive pitches, putting the Blue Raiders in front 8-5.

Head coach Jerry Meyers signaled to the bullpen in the bottom of the fifth, bringing on swingman Landen Burch (L, 4-3) with runners on the corners to take over for Horn. Missouri State welcomed Burch to the mound with a two out, two-run double by Brant Kragel, bringing the Bears within one run.

Mo State's offense took its penultimate lead in the seventh inning after pushing across three runs on two separate RBI singles and a bunt squeeze play.

By the Numbers:

7: Dean O'Neill's second-inning home run was his seventh of the season, putting him tied for fourth in Conference USA.
5: Brewer and Akers' fifth inning home runs mark the fifth time this season the Blue Raiders have hit back-to-back home runs.

Next up:

The Blue Raiders will wrap up a four-game road trip with a stay in Huntsville, Alabama to take on the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (7-19, 2-4 SWAC). This will be the two program's second matchup all-time, after Middle Tennessee won 19-2 in the first matchup on Feb. 17. The game will have an audio broadcast available on the Blue Raider Network.