Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee baseball to finish road trip against Belmont
4/13/2026 3:30:00 PM | Baseball
April 14, 2026 | E.S. Rose Park | Nashville |
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Belmont Bruins 13-23, 4-5 MVC |
vs | Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 17-19, 5-10 CUSA |
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NASHVILLE - Following a Conference USA road trip against Louisiana Tech, Blue Raider baseball is hitting the road once again for a midweek match up against Belmont. Middle Tennessee will be making the short drive up I-24 for the back half of its' midweek series against the Bruins in Nashville.
In the first match up back on March 4, the Blue Raider offense exploded in the first inning with back-to-back-to-back home runs to lead off the game. Since the first matchup in early March, the Bruins have gone 9-15, including a series win over Murray State, who the Blue Raiders split a series with.
Tuesday, April 14
» Time/ Site 4 p.m. at E.S. Rose Park
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Last Five Games (Blue Raiders Lead 3-2)
Date Results Location
3.4.26 L, 7-8 Murfreesboro, Tenn.
4.15.25 W, 11-2 Nashville, Tenn.
3.12.25 W, 7-3 Murfreesboro, Tenn.
4.25.23 W, 8-4 Nashville, Tenn.
2.28.23 L, 7-10 Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Last Time Out: Middle Tennessee fell in game three of its weekend series to Louisiana Tech, 5-3. Dean O'Neill was a bright spot with an RBI double and run scored, while Nathan Brewer notched his 11th double of the season in the loss.
Round Two: Tuesday's game will be the second matchup this year between the Blue Raiders and Bruins, after Belmont picked up a road W the first time around at The Reese, 8-7. Owen Nowak, Dean O'Neill and Brett Rogers led off the game with back-to-back-to-back home runs as part of a five run first inning.
We're Only Halfway There!: This past weekend's series against LA Tech marked the halfway point of the Blue Raiders' 30-game CUSA schedule. Middle Tennessee holds a favorable back half of the schedule, taking on Delaware, Sam Houston, Western Kentucky, FIU and Liberty to finish off conference play.
Burch Battles: Right-hander Landen Burch had a standout relief outing on Sunday, tossing 3.1 hitless innings for Middle Tennessee. This was the senior swingman's third appearance of the week and 15th on the season. 15 appearances is second on the team (Colin Kerrigan, 16 app.), and the seventh highest total nationally.
O'Neill's Impact: Blue Raider 1B/C Dean O'Neill has scattered his name all over the team and CUSA leaderboards. The West Chester, Pennslyvania native leads Middle Tennessee in home runs, RBI, hits and total bases.
Swing and a Miss: Right-hander David Horn Jr. continued to keep pace with the CUSA strikeout leaderboard this past weekend, picking up five strikeouts. This moved the senior's season total to 43, which is good for eighth in CUSA.
'Pen's Perfect: In the win over Lipscomb on Tuesday, the Blue Raider bullpen shined. Across 6.0 innings, John Micheal Pickens, Landen Burch, Colin Kerrigan (W, 3-2) and Gavin King (S, 2) combined to allow to just one run and three hits.
Mr. Double: After the weekend series against Jax State, catcher Tyler Minnick is up to fourth in CUSA in doubles with 13. Minnick picked up two doubles last week, including one during game one of the series on Thursday.
Grant's Gone: Infielder Grant Snider picked up his first stolen base and run scored of the season in the midweek win over Lipscomb.
Snider pinch ran for Dean O'Neill in the eighth, swiped second and scored the tying run on Brett Vondohlen's RBI single.
Alderman's Limits: In eight of 10 starts this season, left-hander Chandler Alderman has allowed two earned runs or less.
Layne Train Takes Three: While earning the nod at first base for the first time this season, redshirt freshman Layne Akers picked up his first career triple in game two against Jax State. Akers cleared the bases, adding three RBI to his total of 25 on the season.
Never Fear, For Torbett is Here: Redshirt junior left-hander Cole Torbett made his first two appearances of the season last week, including a start on Friday against Jax State.
In his first start of the season, the Johnson City, Tennessee native hurled 3.0 innings, striking out five Gamecocks while not allowing an earned run. Torbett added a scoreless frame last Tuesday in his first appearane of the season against Southern Indiana.
Layne Leading the Way: UTL Layne Akers was on fire last week for the Blue Raiders. The Murfreesboro native collected eight hits and 11 RBI on the way to a .471/.500/.765 slash line, and capped off the strong week with a grand slam on the first pitch he saw Sunday. Akers was awarded with CUSA Hitter of the Week honors, earning Middle Tennessee's first weekly award of the season, along with the TSWA Player of the Week award
Watch the Blue Raiders: Select MTSU home games will be on ESPN+ in 2026. Road game broadcasts are subject to the home team's broadcast protocals. WGNS will carry the team's radio broadcasts.
Follow the Blue Raiders: Stay up to date with the Blue Raiders on X (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
