• Photo by Brent Beerends / MT Athletic Communications

The hot start for the Blue Raiders softball squad this past weekend was a total team effort, but the outstanding play of junior transfer Cori Jennings, and true freshman Lexi Cushing, played a massive part in the team’s success.

“I was definitely excited. I think at my last school the last two years I kind of lost my love for the game so I was excited to get that back.” Junior transfer Cori Jennings had this to say when asked about her first appearance in the circle for the Blue Raiders that came this past weekend.

Jennings finished the weekend with a 2-1 record on the rubber, her only loss of the weekend coming to the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, who she shut out through the first five innings of the game. Jennings credits her success this past weekend to her defense for backing her up.

The story is the same for true freshman Lexi Cushing who finished the weekend with a .429 average, going 6-of-14 from the plate with three home runs and 10 RBI’s. However, none of those home runs came at a more clutch time than her walk-off shot versus Tennessee Tech on Saturday night, an experience that was a first for her.

Overall, she was in her zone all weekend long at the plate saying, “The pitches seemed like they were in slow motion.”

Cushing said she’s excited for another chance to play in a big tournament this upcoming weekend. She also knows some of her competition, but she’s confident that her hot bat and the team’s hot start will continue.

The Blue Raiders will challenge Missouri State and Morehead State in a double-header brawl in Hammond, LA on Friday. The first of the day starts at 6 pm.

Follow MTSU Softball beat writers Cody Strickler (@CodyStricklerSL) and Nick Hardin (@nlhardin2) on Twitter for more coverage.