Photo by Meagan White // Staff Photographer
Middle Tennessee baseball (12-12, C-USA 1-5) weathered a rough winless weekend against conference rival Western Kentucky (14-9, C-USA 3-3). The Blue Raiders lacked the offensive firepower to defeat the Hilltoppers in the three game series.
Friday, March 25 (WKU 3-1 MTSU)
The Hilltoppers jumped out to an early lead in the first inning, taking a 2-0 lead.
Zach Janes was the leadoff for Western Kentucky and hit a double out to left field. Steven Kraft followed Janes and hit a single to right field, bringing in Janes. Kraft was later brought in from a Paul Murray single.
The Blue Raiders narrowed the gap in the top of the second, but it wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth when WKU scored their final run off of a Harrison Scanlon fly ball which brought Danny Hudzina home, sealing the victory for the Hilltoppers.
Saturday, March 26 (WKU 10-4 MTSU)
The Hilltoppers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead to begin the game. Harrison Scanlon and Paul Murray brought the two runs in for WKU.
The Blue Raiders responded to begin the second inning with a Kaleb King fly ball, plating Kevin Dupree, and the Blue Raiders obtained the lead in the fifth inning, before WKU quickly grabbed back in the bottom of the fifth.
The Hilltoppers had a monstrous bottom of the seventh, tallying four runs to capture their second victory.
Sunday, March 27 (WKU 2-1 MTSU)
In this slow-paced, defensive battle, neither team could get on the board early. The Blue Raiders managed three hits compared to the Hilltoppers nine, but it wasn’t until the top of the sixth when the Blue Raiders struck first.
Brad Jarreau connected on a single to right center and Riley Delgado scored to give MTSU a slim lead.
WKU’s Scanlon hit a single to bring in Hudzina and Duckworth came home off an unearned run, giving the Hilltoppers the lead and the victory.
The Blue Raiders will hope to bounce back from a disastrous weekend when they travel to Knoxville to take on Tennessee this Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT.
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To contact Sports Editor Connor Grott, email sports@mtsusidelines.com or follow him on Twitter at @Connor_Grott.
