Home run record not enough as Middle Tennessee drops to Jax State

Thursday, May 21

Kennesaw, GA

12:30 P.M.

Middle Tennessee

26-30

Jacksonville State

43-13

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Jacksonville St.	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	5	9	13	0
Middle Tenn.	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	6	1

5/21/2026 7:27:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Willie Phaler, MTSU Athletic Communications

KENNESAW, Ga.- Middle Tennessee baseball (26-31, 12-18 CUSA) fell in the second game of Pool A play in the Conference USA Baseball Championship to Jacksonville State (43-13, 23-7 CUSA), 9-3.

The loss, which marks the end of Blue Raider baseball's 2026 campaign, was plagued by delays before first pitch because of a lightning delay. This pushed the game to a 3:10 p.m. CT start, compared to the originally scheduled 12:30 p.m. CT first pitch

Once the lightning passed over Mickey Dunn Stadium on the campus of Kennesaw State, the Blue Raiders found record-breaking power in the batter's box.

Brett Vondohlen and Cooper Clapp came together to power two home runs, to tie and break the Middle Tennessee program record for home runs in the BBCOR era.

Vondohlen's opposite field long ball, which was the seventh of his redshirt junior campaign, tied the record set in 2024 at 72.

Likewise, Clapp's blast towards the Waffle House across the street in right field broke the record with homer number 73. It also gave the Blue Raiders a 3-2 lead with Layne Akers scoring while marking Clapp's 12th tank of the year.

Chandler Alderman (L, 2-5) made the start against the Gamecocks, tossing 5.1 innings of four run (three earned) ball for the Blue Raiders to finish his junior season.

The trio of Cole Torbett, Drew Horn and John Michael Pickens tossed the final three innings of the Blue Raiders' pool play finale. Jax State's bats got hot in the ninth against Horn and Pickens, putting up a five run frame.

Layne Akers continued his strong postseason, reaching twice on a double and a walk. The All-CUSA second teamer and All-Freshman selection is now 5-for-8 on the week, with an RBI and a run scored in his first taste of the playoffs.

By the Numbers:

2:40: The total time of the delay for today's game from inclement weather and game one of the day running long.

29: Brett Vondohlen's home run was the 29th of his college career.

73: Cooper Clapp's home run marked the 73rd Blue Raider home run of the season, setting a program record for home runs in the BBCOR era.

Skipper Speaks (Head coach Jerry Meyers)

The long ball's been a big part of our scoring opportunities and cutting down on strikeouts as well, Meyers said. I'm happy for those two guys to come up with a big hit there as well, but we needed to have some guys on base with those and to do some damage along the way.

Player Perspective (Cooper Clapp)

I think I've gotten more mature with it and my approach is for sure, Clapp said. And then just trusting myself and not overswinging. Taking short, 75% swings like [Associate head coach Kevin Nichols] has taught me.

Up Next:

The loss marks the end of the road for Blue Raider baseball in 2026, and the end of the road for nine Blue Raider seniors along with two members of the Blue Raider support staff: Ollie Akens, Landen Burch, Clay Badylak, Bryant Beranek, Tyler Minnick, Dean O'Neill, David Horn Jr., Cale Vinson, Landon Sexton, Drew Hillian and Grayson Munyon.