Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 4
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
4 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
9-4
7
vs
8
Belmont
5-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Belmont
0
5
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
8
9
0
Middle Tenn.
5
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
9
1
Three lead off home runs not enough as Blue Raider Baseball falls to Belmont
3/4/2026 9:08:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- Middle Tennessee baseball (9-4) fell to the Belmont Bruins (5-8) 8-7 to finish a 13-game homestand to begin the 2026 season.
The Blue Raiders started the night off blazing hot on offense, with back-to-back-to-back solo home runs to begin the game from Owen Nowak, Dean O'Neill and Brett Rogers.
Middle Tennessee followed this up by plating two more runs in the frame, with an RBI single by Nathan Brewer to score Tyler Minnick. Brewer later came around to score on a steal of home, after Bruins reliever Krish Gandhi attempted to pick off Keaton Ray at first base.
With a 5-0 lead in hand, Blue Raiders' starter Ethan Robinson returned to the mound after a 1-2-3 first inning, including two strikeouts. While Robinson shut Belmont down in the first frame, the visitor bats were able to produce five unearned runs in the second and force the six-foot-five redshirt freshman to an early exit.
Tied at 5 in the bottom of the second, MTSU propelled itself right back into the lead with another home run from Dean O'Neill. The senior catcher picked up his fifth home run of the year on a two-run home run to put the Blue Raiders up 7-5.
After tons of loud contact early, the Middle Tennessee bats fell into a lull against the Belmont bullpen. Zane Brown (W, 1-1) was a catalyst, striking out five Blue Raiders over 4.0 hit less innings before handing it off to a combination of four pitchers to close it out for the Bruins.
On the flip side, MTSU's bullpen hit some speed bumps early. John Michael Pickens was charged an unearned run in the second after relieving Robinson, while Landon Sexton (L, 0-1) was saddled with the loss after allowing three earned runs in the fifth inning.
The Blue Raiders tried to make some noise late, with a runner on second and two outs in the seventh and runners on the corners with two outs in the eighth.
By the Numbers
3: The Blue Raiders began the night with three straight home runs.
3.0: Senior right-hander Bryant Beranek hurled 3.0 scoreless out of the 'pen for MTSU.
5: Dean O'Neill hit his fifth home run of the season tonight.
The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)
"We kind of beat ourselves in a lot of different ways," Meyers said after the loss. "We had a really good opportunity in the bottom of the first, and we weren't able to put it away. A lot of zeroes they put up after that and they had two innings where we couldn't play damage control."
Player Perspective (Dean O'Neill)
"[I'm] just trying to stay clear-minded and not think too much," O'Neill said. "You just really have to put bat on ball there and make things simple because when you see a guy hit a home run, your first thought is, 'Oh, I have to hit another."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will hit the road for the first time for this season, taking a trip to Birmingham, Alabama to square off with the UAB Blazers (7-6) for a weekend set. First pitch on Friday is set for 2 p.m. CT at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field, with an audio broadcast on the Blue Raider Network
The Blue Raiders started the night off blazing hot on offense, with back-to-back-to-back solo home runs to begin the game from Owen Nowak, Dean O'Neill and Brett Rogers.
Middle Tennessee followed this up by plating two more runs in the frame, with an RBI single by Nathan Brewer to score Tyler Minnick. Brewer later came around to score on a steal of home, after Bruins reliever Krish Gandhi attempted to pick off Keaton Ray at first base.
With a 5-0 lead in hand, Blue Raiders' starter Ethan Robinson returned to the mound after a 1-2-3 first inning, including two strikeouts. While Robinson shut Belmont down in the first frame, the visitor bats were able to produce five unearned runs in the second and force the six-foot-five redshirt freshman to an early exit.
Tied at 5 in the bottom of the second, MTSU propelled itself right back into the lead with another home run from Dean O'Neill. The senior catcher picked up his fifth home run of the year on a two-run home run to put the Blue Raiders up 7-5.
After tons of loud contact early, the Middle Tennessee bats fell into a lull against the Belmont bullpen. Zane Brown (W, 1-1) was a catalyst, striking out five Blue Raiders over 4.0 hit less innings before handing it off to a combination of four pitchers to close it out for the Bruins.
On the flip side, MTSU's bullpen hit some speed bumps early. John Michael Pickens was charged an unearned run in the second after relieving Robinson, while Landon Sexton (L, 0-1) was saddled with the loss after allowing three earned runs in the fifth inning.
The Blue Raiders tried to make some noise late, with a runner on second and two outs in the seventh and runners on the corners with two outs in the eighth.
By the Numbers
3: The Blue Raiders began the night with three straight home runs.
3.0: Senior right-hander Bryant Beranek hurled 3.0 scoreless out of the 'pen for MTSU.
5: Dean O'Neill hit his fifth home run of the season tonight.
The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)
"We kind of beat ourselves in a lot of different ways," Meyers said after the loss. "We had a really good opportunity in the bottom of the first, and we weren't able to put it away. A lot of zeroes they put up after that and they had two innings where we couldn't play damage control."
Player Perspective (Dean O'Neill)
"[I'm] just trying to stay clear-minded and not think too much," O'Neill said. "You just really have to put bat on ball there and make things simple because when you see a guy hit a home run, your first thought is, 'Oh, I have to hit another."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will hit the road for the first time for this season, taking a trip to Birmingham, Alabama to square off with the UAB Blazers (7-6) for a weekend set. First pitch on Friday is set for 2 p.m. CT at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field, with an audio broadcast on the Blue Raider Network
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zane Brown (1-1)
L: Sexton, Landon (0-1)
S: Ridge Harvey (3)
Batting:
RBI: Charlie Davis 1 ; Landon Godsey 1 ; Cavan McMeans 2 ; Jake Maddox 1 ; Nicholas Stinson 1 ; Brady Holbrook 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Charlie Davis 1 ; Landon Godsey 1 ; Mike Sprockett 2 ; JD Whitworth 2 ; Jake Maddox 2
SB: Landon Godsey 1
HBP: Charlie Davis 1 ; JD Whitworth 1
Batting:
2B: Nowak, Owen 1 ; Clapp, Cooper 1
HR: Nowak, Owen 1 ; O'Neill, Dean 2 ; Rogers, Brett 1
RBI: Nowak, Owen 1 ; O'Neill, Dean 3 ; Rogers, Brett 1 ; Brewer, Nathan 1
SH: Cook, Calvin 1 ; Badylak, Clay 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nowak, Owen 2 ; O'Neill, Dean 2 ; Rogers, Brett 1 ; Minnick, Tyler 1 ; Brewer, Nathan 1
SB: Rogers, Brett 1 ; Vondohlen, Brett 1 ; Brewer, Nathan 2
HBP: Nowak, Owen 1 ; Rogers, Brett 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
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OF
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C
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LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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