Middle Tennessee falls 8-7 to Liberty in season finale

Saturday, May 16

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

1 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

26-29, 12-18

Liberty

38-18, 21-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Liberty	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	2	1	8	11	0
Middle Tenn.	0	2	0	1	0	3	1	0	0	7	9	1

5/16/2026 4:55:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Anthony Fiorella, MTSU Athletic Communications

Murfreesboro, Tenn.—Middle Tennessee State (26-29, 12-18 CUSA) was unable to comeback after Liberty (38-18, 21-9 CUSA) catcher Kyle Hvidtsen drove in the winning run in the ninth in an 8-7 loss.

Middle Tennessee third baseman Brett Vondohlen hit his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the second inning to make it 2-0. The Stewarts Creek High product has had a good month of May, hitting safely in all but three games.

In the fourth inning, Dean O'Neill hit the second Blue Raider home run of the day to make it 3-0. O'Neill's home run tied him with Nathan Brewer for the team lead in home runs through the end of the regular season.

Liberty hit two home runs in the fifth inning and added another run in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Blue Raiders struck for a three-spot to retake the lead at 6-5. Nathan Brewer singled to start the inning prior to O'Neill being hit by a pitch. Brett Rogers then laced an RBI double to right field to plate Brewer before Brett Vondohlen picked up another pair of RBIs on a single up the middle to bring his total on the day to four.

Owen Nowak lead off the seventh with a line-drive home run that got out in a hurry, pushing the Blue Raider lead to 7-5. Liberty tied the game 7-7 with one out in the eighth inning on first baseman Riley DeCandido's fifth RBI of the game.

Dean O'Neill finished the day 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI while Brett Vondohlen 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a run. Brett Rogers went 2-for-4 with and RBI and a run scored. Starter Cole Torbett went four innings and allowed just one earned run with three strikeouts.

By the Numbers

10: Seniors recognized today for MTSU; Dean O'Neill, Tyler Minnick, David Horn Jr., Clay Badylak, Bryant Beranek, Landen Burch, Cale Vinson, Landon Sexton, Ollie Akens and manager Drew Hillian.

12: Home runs on the year for Nathan Brewer and Dean O'Neill, the team-high.

1: Right hander Drew Horn made his first career appearance in relief. Horn went three innings and struck out two.

The Skipper Speaks (Jerry Meyers)

"These last 30 (CUSA) games were a gauntlet," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jerry Meyers. "We battled our tails off, I felt like, as often as anyone if not more than anyone in the league and competed until number 30 today. We have to take that and have it work for us in the (postseason). We're battled tested, have been through a lot and have competed against the top teams in the league. The entire group (of seniors) that were honored today were such a great group. I can go all the way down the line. These guys had great character and were about making the program better. Some of these older guys have really helped some of the younger guys play and compete and be able to work at this level."

Player Perspective (R. Jr. IF Brett Vondohlen)

"I've been messing around with some stuff in the box," Vondohlen said. "I closed off my stance a bit and stay on balls more and it's helped a lot. It's good to be able to see somebody for a second time (going into the tournament). You know what they have and can prepare a bit better. That experience we have against some of those guys in the box will help out."

(SR C/1B Dean O'Neill)

"As of late, I've been trying to do way too much at the plate," O'Neill said. "Today I just kind of said 'screw it,' and lowered the intensity level and get back to the simple things that I know how to do. (This year) has meant everything to me. Going into a new place can be scary. This probably has been the closest I've ever been to a group of guys in my four years of college baseball. It's been really special and I'm happy I've been able to share it with these guys."

Up next

Next week's CUSA Tournament starts on Wednesday. Stay tuned to our social media channels on Instagram (@mt_baseball), X (@mt_baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) as well as goblueraiders.com for updates on game dates and times.