Blue Raider baseball falls to Jax State on ninth inning walk off

Friday, April 3

Jacksonville, AL

6 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

16-15, 5-6

Jacksonville State

26-6, 11-0

Middle Tenn.

Jacksonville St.

4/3/2026 9:44:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Willie Phaler, MTSU Athletic Communications

JACKSONVILLE, Ala.- Middle Tennessee baseball (16-15, 5-6 CUSA) dropped its' third in a row, falling to Jacksonville State (26-6, 11-0) 7-6 on a walk-off wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning.

After getting out of the bottom of the eighth with the score tied at six, left-hander Colin Kerrigan (L, 2-2) bounced a breaking ball, allowing pinch-runner Trey Majette to score from third base.

The Blue Raider offense started off with a three-run first inning, coming off a bases-loaded triple by Layne Akers. Jax State responded with a two-run frame against Blue Raider starter Cole Torbett.

This was the extent of Jax State's damage against Torbett, who provided 3.0+ innings of strong work on a spot-start in place of right-hander Drew Horn. The Johnson City, Tennessee native picked up five strikeouts against the Gamecocks in his first start of the season.

Middle Tennessee's offense provided another dosage of run support in the fourth inning. Nathan Brewer brought Cooper Clapp around to score in the fourth inning, while Brett Vondohlen singled Akers home to make it 5-2.

Brewer picked up his second RBI of the night in the sixth, doubling to the opposite field to score Akers.

Right-hander Bryant Beranek followed Torbett out of the bullpen, and dazzled for the Blue Raiders for majority of his outing. The senior carried 4.0 innings of no-hit relief into the eighth inning before the Gamecock bats caught fire.

Beranek exited with the bases loaded and two outs, with Colin Kerrigan taking his place on the mound. Pinch hitter Greg Lachance hit a two-strike grand slam to left field, tying things up at six and setting the stage for Majette's walk-off

By the Numbers:

3x3: Layne Akers' three-hit performance marks his third three hit day in the last week, after accomplishing the feat twice against NM State.

7: Centerfielder Owen Nowak is now 7-for-7 on stolen bases this season. This is tied for second on the team with Cooper Clapp.

20: Brett Vondohlen's RBI single in the fourth inning marked his 20th RBI of 2026.

Up next:

Middle Tennessee and Jax State will meet up for the series finale tomorrow, at 1:00 p.m. A TV broadcast will be available on ESPN+, and a radio broadcast (WGNS) or audio stream (Blue Raider Network) with Dick Palmer and John Callow coming to you live from Jacksonville, Ala.