Blue Raider baseball finishes sweep behind Torbett's career day

Sunday, April 19

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

1 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

21-19, 8-10

Delaware

11-29, 1-17

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Delaware	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Middle Tenn.	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	X	4	9	2

4/19/2026 6:09:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Willie Phaler, MTSU Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- Before Sunday's game against Delaware (11-29, 1-17 CUSA), Middle Tennessee's (21-19, 8-10 CUSA) redshirt junior left-hander Cole Torbett (W, 1-0) held a career high of 5.1 innings pitched in a single outing from his sophomore season in 2024.

With the Blue Raiders on the verge of a series sweep against the Fightin' Blue Hens the veteran starter delivered, and then some for the Blue Raiders on the hill.

Backed by four runs from the offense, Torbett led the charge in a 4-0 win to secure the sweep with a 8.2 inning masterclass on the hill for Middle Tennessee. The Johnson City, Tennessee native struck out six batters, which tied a career high while walking only one batter.

With Torbett cruising on the hill, the Blue Raider bats offered the majority of the team's run support with a three-run bottom of the fifth. Layne Akers broke the scoreless tie coming across to score on a passed ball.

Brett Rogers pushed it to a 3-0 lead with a two RBI single back up the middle, bringing Nathan Brewer and Tyler Minnick across to score.

Minnick went 1-for-3 with a walk and hit by pitch, extending his on-base streak to 30 games. This is the first 30 game streak for the Blue Raiders since Dustin Delgado accomplished the feat in 2015.

With a 4-0 lead in the ninth, Torbett ran into a slight bit of traffic after two two-out singles gave Delaware runners on the corners. Head coach Jerry Meyers made a move to the bullpen at 116 pitches, bringing in the Blue Raiders' newly minted closer Gavin King (S, 5) to get the game's 27th out.

King picked up his 12th strikeout of the week, sitting Blue Hens shortstop Harry Carr down on strikes to end the series. This was King's fourth decision of the week, and his third save in three days.

By the Numbers:

2x:Cole Torbett's two outs in the ninth marked the second time a Blue Raider starter pitched into the ninth this week, after David Horn Jr. did it in his 8.1 inning performance on Friday.

14: While Tyler Minnick's on-base streak was pushed out to 30 games, the Blue Raider backstop also has a hitting streak up to 14 games.

22: Blue Raider starting pitchers totaled 22.0 innings pitched this weekend, leaving only 5.0 innings to be picked up by the bullpen.

The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)

With Cole, we started him for a reason, Meyers said. He was not available for the majority of the first part of our season… but when we were able to get him back we needed to try and get some outings under his belt. He's started games, he's been out of the bullpen, he's an experienced guy we just need him to throw strikes for all three pitches.

Player Perspective (Cole Torbett)

I just went out there and did my thing and it all turned out okay, Torbett said. If you trust your defense and just find the zone, good things will happen.

Player Perspective (Tyler Minnick)

It's not something I thought about so much, Minnick said on hitting the 30-game on-base streak. I didn't know about it until just now and I think that's the best way to do it. It's just go about every single day, trying to figure out how to win a game. And I think that's what we've done for the most part really well this season.

Next up

Following the sweep of the Blue Hens, the Blue Raiders will hit the road for a five-game road trip. This begins on Tuesday, taking a trip east for a rematch with the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (13-27, 3-12 OVC) in Cookeville, Tennessee. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, with a ESPN+ broadcast and an audio stream on the Blue Raider Network.