Middle Tennessee baseball opens series against Western Kentucky with a 7-1 win

Friday, May 1

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

6 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

22-23, 9-12

Western Kentucky

24-21, 9-12

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Western Ky.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	1
Middle Tenn.	3	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	X	7	12	1

5/1/2026 10:01:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Anthony Fiorella, MTSU Athletic Communications

Murfreesboro, Tenn.—Blue Raider (23-23, 10-12 CUSA) starter David Horn Jr.'s been a steady presence in his last three CUSA starts. Tonight, against rival Western Kentucky (24-22, 9-13 CUSA), however, was arguably his best as he hurled six shutout innings and allowed just two hits with seven strikeouts in a 7-1 win in the series opener.

Middle Tennessee's first seven hitters in a row reached base, leading to a three-spot in the first inning. Owen Nowak extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a leadoff single and Tyler Minnick's on-base streak reached 36 games when he was hit by a pitch. Cooper Clapp and Nathan Brewer both had RBI singles while Nowak, Layne Akers and Clapp all scored in the frame to make it a 3-0 game.

Brewer picked up another pair of RBI's on a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield after Clay Badylak scored on a wild pitch to double the lead to 6-0 after the fourth.

Longevity in games this late in the year for a starter can be paramount, and Horn has provided just that for Middle Tennessee. After going 8.1 innings two Friday's ago and six innings against Sam Houston last week. Horn Jr threw 113 pitches in today's outing and did a good job of scattering baserunners, as he allowed six over his six innings of work.

At the dish, the hometown kid, Nathan Brewer, performed well in a rivalry game he spent a lot of time watching and hearing about as a kid. The left fielder finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs. In his career against the Hilltoppers, the redshirt junior's 4-for-7 with three RBIs and two runs scored in three games played.

Akers also had a three-hit game, stole a base and scored a run and Nowak finished with a pair of hits and a run. Minnick doubled in the sixth and eventually came in to score on a fielders choice for the Blue Raiders seventh run of the game. Cooper Clapp also had a pair of hits and an RBI, scoring two runs. On the mound, John Michael Pickens and Bryant Beranek combined to allow just one run on two hits with four strikeouts over the final three innings.

By the Numbers

36: Tyler Minnick's on-base streak is now pushed to 36 games. Minnick became the first Blue Raider with an on-base streak of 30 or more since Dustin Delgado (30) in 2015. Minnick's streak started on March 1.

10: game hitting streak for Owen Nowak

5: Three-plus RBI games for Nathan Brewer.

11: strikeouts for Blue Raider pitching.

The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)

"I liked the heartbeat today," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jerry Meyers. "It was intense, but we didn't speed it up too much. We handled the moment of a Friday night adrenaline game well. We got off to a great start that helped us. (David) Horn Jr. got off to a bit of a rocky start in the first before we got a double play. He wasn't super-efficient, but he was outstanding. He battled and won some of those extended at-bats. It's big to get the first one, but I told the (team) you got about 30 minutes to feel good about this one because we still have a lot of work to do."

Player Perspective (OF Nathan Brewer)

"I think (playing well tonight) means a ton," Brewer said. "Especially for me since I didn't get to play against (WKU) last year in the series at their place. It's just huge getting a win at home against a rival like them. We knew (WKU starter Aaron Robertson) was going to fill it up and throw a lot of strikes, so we needed to attack him because we knew he wasn't going to beat himself, we'd have to beat him. I didn't hit the ball hard today, but I got lucky putting it in play and things worked out for me."

(RHP David Horn Jr.)

"(Being the Friday starter) has been a lot of fun," Horn Jr. said. "This is my fourth year in college baseball and I'd be lying if I said I haven't been waiting for an opportunity to pitch on Friday nights. To be able to do it here in front of the fans, and even on the road, I'm super thankful for the opportunity to do it. The preparation started in the winter after not throwing this fall. I started a throwing program and ramped up from there. Got myself into a good throwing routine and bullpen routine, and I think that's why I have felt so comfortable getting later into games."

Up next

Game two of the series with WKU is scheduled for tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. CDT from Reese Smith Jr. Field. The game can be watched on ESPN+ and heard on the Blue Raider Network or WGNS.