Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, March 7
Birmingham, AL
1 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
9-7
14
at
16
UAB
10-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Middle Tennessee
3
0
5
0
0
1
0
0
5
14
13
1
UAB
2
4
0
0
1
4
1
0
4
16
17
1
MTSU baseball drops both in doubleheader at UAB
3/7/2026 6:43:00 PM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- Middle Tennessee baseball (9-7) was swept by the UAB Blazers (10-6) in a Saturday doubleheader to finish off the Blue Raiders final weekend series before the start of Conference USA play.
The Blue Raider bats were on fire in both games of the doubleheader, scoring a combined 20 runs across the two games.
Redshirt junior third baseman Brett Vondohlen was a standout performer in the box, with three home runs and seven RBI between the two games.
Game one
The Blue Raider offense got off to a blazing hot start against the Blazers, putting up seven runs in the first three frames against starter Braxton Shelton.
Owen Nowak got the offense started in the first at-bat of the game, striking a double to right-center. Tyler Minnick picked Nowak up from third base, knocking him in with an RBI single to center field.
The bats continued to burn the Blazers in the second, with redshirt freshman Layne Akers picking up his second home run of the season to add two more to the Blue Raider lead.
Middle Tennessee's offense continued the upward trend in game one with a four run frame in the third.
Minnick tallied his second RBI with a double to left-center, and later came around to score on a Cooper Clapp sacrifice fly. Brett Vondohlen added the cherry on top of the fourth inning, blasting his first home run of the season to left field. The Blue Raiders' top power threat a year ago, Vondohlen's home run made it 7-0.
With a strong lead in hand, the Middle Tennessee southpaw Chandler Alderman dealt in his best outing of 2026. The junior from Poplar Grove, Illinois hurled 7.0-plus innings while holding the UAB offense to just two runs on six hits. The big lefty struck out five Blazers on the day.
The Blue Raiders added a run in the sixth, with Akers singling home Nathan Brewer to make it 8-1 in favor of Middle Tennessee.
Alderman returned to the mound for the bottom of the eighth, but was pulled after surrendering a solo home run to Alex Dupuy. Right-hander Mason Dobbs entered for the Blue Raiders, and was tagged for three earned runs without recording an out.
Dobbs passed the baton to left-hander Collin Kerrigan, who gave up two runs on three hits in 0.2 innings. Head coach Jerry Meyers turned to the Blue Raiders' closer, Landen Burch (L, 3-1) to get the final out of the eighth.
After inducing a fly out to center against JP Head to get out of the eighth, Burch returned to the bump in the bottom of the ninth with an 8-7 lead.
UAB's offense strung together a hit by pitch, walk and bunt single to load the bases with no outs for Wesley Helms. The Blazers first baseman pulled a pitch through the right side, bringing in two runs to walk it off for UAB, 9-8
Game two
Middle Tennessee once again got off to a fast start offensively, with Vondohlen picking up his second of the three home runs with a three-run homer to left field.
UAB's bats had a quick answer for Vondohlen, with five runs of their own including two more home runs from Head and a solo home run from Landon Beaver across the first two innings.
The heavyweight battle of two offenses firing on all cylinders continued in the third, as the Blue Raiders plated five more runs. Dean O'Neill picked up his team leading sixth home run of the season with a two-run homer. Nathan Brewer knocked in two on an RBI double and Akers drove in one with a single.
After each side added one run, the Blue Raiders led 8-7 going into the bottom of the sixth. UAB fought back with a four run frame, including another home run from Head. He totaled six on the series.
UAB's Alex Dupuy hit a solo home run in the seventh to push the Blazers lead to 12-9.
Down four heading into the ninth, MTSU cooked up a five run inning to take a 14-12 lead, with a two-run home run by Vondohlen, RBI double by Clay Badylak, and RBI's from Brewer and Minnick.
MTSU's closer, Burch (L, 3-2), entered once again in the ninth for the Blue Raiders. UAB found success against the senior righty, with a walk-off grand slam coming off the bat of Brady Waugh.
By the Numbers:
6: Dean O'Neill hit his sixth home run of the season, which leads the Blue Raiders.
3: Staying on the topic of home runs, Brett Vondohlen launched himself into the team's home run leaderboard with his three home runs.
2x2: Redshirt freshman Layne Akers had two hits in both games of the double header.
Player Perspective (Brett Vondohlen)
"That's always our mentality, no matter the score we're just trying to win our at-bat, catch a barrel," Vondohlen said. "We just try to keep pushing no matter what score it is, try and change the ball game."
Player Perspective (Chandler Alderman)
"I was just attacking hitters, going right at them," Alderman said. "I was really just trying to get ahead of these batters and just let my stuff play."
Next up
The Blue Raiders will return to The Reese for a four game homestand next week. Middle Tennessee will host Eastern Kentucky (4-11) for a midweek contest on Tuesday, and welcome Kennesaw State (7-6) to town to open up CUSA play.
The Blue Raider bats were on fire in both games of the doubleheader, scoring a combined 20 runs across the two games.
Redshirt junior third baseman Brett Vondohlen was a standout performer in the box, with three home runs and seven RBI between the two games.
Game one
The Blue Raider offense got off to a blazing hot start against the Blazers, putting up seven runs in the first three frames against starter Braxton Shelton.
Owen Nowak got the offense started in the first at-bat of the game, striking a double to right-center. Tyler Minnick picked Nowak up from third base, knocking him in with an RBI single to center field.
The bats continued to burn the Blazers in the second, with redshirt freshman Layne Akers picking up his second home run of the season to add two more to the Blue Raider lead.
Middle Tennessee's offense continued the upward trend in game one with a four run frame in the third.
Minnick tallied his second RBI with a double to left-center, and later came around to score on a Cooper Clapp sacrifice fly. Brett Vondohlen added the cherry on top of the fourth inning, blasting his first home run of the season to left field. The Blue Raiders' top power threat a year ago, Vondohlen's home run made it 7-0.
With a strong lead in hand, the Middle Tennessee southpaw Chandler Alderman dealt in his best outing of 2026. The junior from Poplar Grove, Illinois hurled 7.0-plus innings while holding the UAB offense to just two runs on six hits. The big lefty struck out five Blazers on the day.
The Blue Raiders added a run in the sixth, with Akers singling home Nathan Brewer to make it 8-1 in favor of Middle Tennessee.
Alderman returned to the mound for the bottom of the eighth, but was pulled after surrendering a solo home run to Alex Dupuy. Right-hander Mason Dobbs entered for the Blue Raiders, and was tagged for three earned runs without recording an out.
Dobbs passed the baton to left-hander Collin Kerrigan, who gave up two runs on three hits in 0.2 innings. Head coach Jerry Meyers turned to the Blue Raiders' closer, Landen Burch (L, 3-1) to get the final out of the eighth.
After inducing a fly out to center against JP Head to get out of the eighth, Burch returned to the bump in the bottom of the ninth with an 8-7 lead.
UAB's offense strung together a hit by pitch, walk and bunt single to load the bases with no outs for Wesley Helms. The Blazers first baseman pulled a pitch through the right side, bringing in two runs to walk it off for UAB, 9-8
Game two
Middle Tennessee once again got off to a fast start offensively, with Vondohlen picking up his second of the three home runs with a three-run homer to left field.
UAB's bats had a quick answer for Vondohlen, with five runs of their own including two more home runs from Head and a solo home run from Landon Beaver across the first two innings.
The heavyweight battle of two offenses firing on all cylinders continued in the third, as the Blue Raiders plated five more runs. Dean O'Neill picked up his team leading sixth home run of the season with a two-run homer. Nathan Brewer knocked in two on an RBI double and Akers drove in one with a single.
After each side added one run, the Blue Raiders led 8-7 going into the bottom of the sixth. UAB fought back with a four run frame, including another home run from Head. He totaled six on the series.
UAB's Alex Dupuy hit a solo home run in the seventh to push the Blazers lead to 12-9.
Down four heading into the ninth, MTSU cooked up a five run inning to take a 14-12 lead, with a two-run home run by Vondohlen, RBI double by Clay Badylak, and RBI's from Brewer and Minnick.
MTSU's closer, Burch (L, 3-2), entered once again in the ninth for the Blue Raiders. UAB found success against the senior righty, with a walk-off grand slam coming off the bat of Brady Waugh.
By the Numbers:
6: Dean O'Neill hit his sixth home run of the season, which leads the Blue Raiders.
3: Staying on the topic of home runs, Brett Vondohlen launched himself into the team's home run leaderboard with his three home runs.
2x2: Redshirt freshman Layne Akers had two hits in both games of the double header.
Player Perspective (Brett Vondohlen)
"That's always our mentality, no matter the score we're just trying to win our at-bat, catch a barrel," Vondohlen said. "We just try to keep pushing no matter what score it is, try and change the ball game."
Player Perspective (Chandler Alderman)
"I was just attacking hitters, going right at them," Alderman said. "I was really just trying to get ahead of these batters and just let my stuff play."
Next up
The Blue Raiders will return to The Reese for a four game homestand next week. Middle Tennessee will host Eastern Kentucky (4-11) for a midweek contest on Tuesday, and welcome Kennesaw State (7-6) to town to open up CUSA play.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tyler Haines (2-0)
L: Burch, Landen (3-2)
Batting:
2B: Akers, Layne 1 ; Brewer, Nathan 1 ; Badylak, Clay 1
HR: O'Neill, Dean 1 ; Vondohlen, Brett 2
RBI: O'Neill, Dean 3 ; Minnick, Tyler 1 ; Vondohlen, Brett 5 ; Akers, Layne 1 ; Brewer, Nathan 3 ; Badylak, Clay 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nowak, Owen 1 ; O'Neill, Dean 2 ; Minnick, Tyler 1 ; Rogers, Brett 2 ; Vondohlen, Brett 2 ; Akers, Layne 1 ; Snider, Grant 1 ; Clapp, Cooper 3 ; Badylak, Clay 1
SB: Akers, Layne 1
HBP: O'Neill, Dean 1 ; Clapp, Cooper 1
Batting:
2B: Alex Dupuy 1 ; Landon Beaver 1
3B: Austin Pierzynski 1
HR: Alex Dupuy 1 ; JP Head 3 ; Landon Beaver 1 ; Brady Waugh 1
RBI: Alex Dupuy 1 ; JP Head 6 ; Landon Beaver 1 ; Brady Waugh 4 ; Wesley Helms 1 ; Baylor Roberts 1
SF: Wesley Helms 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alex Dupuy 4 ; JP Head 4 ; Landon Beaver 2 ; Andrew Hunt 2 ; Brady Waugh 2 ; Wesley Helms 1 ; Austin Pierzynski 1
SB: Mason Steele 1
CS: Mason Steele 1
HBP: Andrew Hunt 1 ; Brady Waugh 1 ; Wesley Helms 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
INF
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