Blue Raiders drop tight game one to Jax State

Thursday, April 2

Jacksonville, AL

6 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

16-14, 5-5

Jacksonville State

25-6, 10-0

Middle Tenn.

Jacksonville St.

4/2/2026 9:52:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Willie Phaler, MTSU Athletic Communications

JACKSONVILLE, Ala.- Middle Tennessee (16-14, 5-5 CUSA) baseball dropped game one of its three-game set to Jacksonville State (25-6, 10-0 CUSA) on Thursday night, 6-5.

The Blue Raider offense got things moving early, putting up a run in the second inning. Layne Akers, who made his first start of his career at first base, picked up his first of two RBIs on the day with a single to left.

Middle Tennessee pushed this to a 3-0 lead two innings later in the fourth, with Dean O'Neill driving in Brett Rogers after the two hit back-to-back doubles off starter Maddox McDougall.

On the flip side of McDougall, Middle Tennessee's Chandler Alderman dealt a strong 4+ innings for Middle Tennessee. The junior left-hander struck out four batters, while limiting Jax State's offense to just two runs.

Both of these runs came in the fourth against Alderman. The first crossed the plate on a bunt single that led to an errant throw into right field, while the other was charged to Alderman's line on a ground out to reliever Gavin King.

The Blue Raiders added two more runs in the sixth with RBI doubles coming from Brett Vondohlen and Owen Nowak, giving Middle Tennessee a 5-2 lead. Jax State responded in the bottom half with two runs of its own, with two RBI ground outs coming against John Michael Pickens (L, 1-1).

Within striking distance in the bottom of the seventh, the Gamecocks took the penultimate 6-5 lead with a two-run home run to left by designated hitter Sam Richardson.

By the Numbers

6: Middle Tennessee's offense combined to hit six doubles on Thursday night.

2: Layne Akers picked up two RBI in the loss. This marks the third out of the last four games in which Akers has driven in multiple RBI.

25: Left-handed reliever Colin Kerrigan picked up his 25th strikeout of the season tonight, as part of a scoreless eighth inning from the Nashville native.

Up next:

Middle Tennessee and Jax State will be back at it for game two of the series tomorrow, with a 6 p.m. first pitch. Drew Horn is scheduled to make his eighth start of the season on the mound. The game will be televised on ESPN+, while a radio broadcast (WGNS) and audio stream (Blue Raider Network) will be available with Dick Palmer and John Callow in Jacksonville, Alabama.