Photo by Darwin Moore / MTSU Sidelines
Middle Tennessee completed a two-game sweep in their mid-week series against Memphis tonight, winning by a final score of 11-7. Following a one-run victory the night before, MTSU left no doubt on the field tonight by getting a solid performance from all three phases of the game.
Middle innings give Raiders spark they need
Early on, Memphis looked like they were going to pull away big, as the score was 4-2 in favor of the Tigers by the end of the third inning.
The fourth and fifth inning saw an offensive explosion by Middle Tennessee as they scored seven runs to take control of the game. The Blue Raiders season has seen them score a majority of their runs in the middle innings, and they added to that, by scoring two runs in the fourth inning and five in the fifth to put them in the lead 9-4. This put the Blue Raiders in a great position to win the game.
The highlight of the fifth inning was a three-run home run to left-centerfield by Kaleb King.
Clements and Holcombe prove vital in late innings
When Reid Clements was brought into the game in the seventh inning, he came in a difficult situation with runners on second and third.
Both of these runners scored to make the score 11-6, but Clements rebounded from the rough beginning and played a big role in MTSU maintaining their lead.
The eighth inning saw Clements give up one run, giving him his only earned run on the day. The situation could have been a lot worse though, as the Tigers had the bases loaded with one out, but Clements got out of the inning with a score of 11-7.
Tyler Holcombe was able to have a short and stress-free outing when he was called on in the ninth. After allowing a lead-off hit, Holcombe used a fielder’s choice and a double play to escape the possible jam and close out the win for the Blue Raiders.
Box Score
Box score for MT’s game against Memphis pic.twitter.com/qSTYqW3eMs
— Ryan Nixon (@RNixon32) March 9, 2017
What’s next?
MTSU travels to Bloomington, Indiana to play the Indiana University Hoosiers for a three game weekend series.
Game times for the series are as follows:
Friday, March 10: 5:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 11: 1:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 12: 12:05 p.m.
Follow MTSU Baseball beat writers Anthony Fiorella (@A_Fiorella74), Ryan Nixon (@RNixon32), and Stephen Smith (@StEvo_Shield) on Twitter for more coverage.
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To contact Sports Editor Tyler Lamb (@Tlamb35), email sports@mtsusidelines.com.
