John Rollins / Sidelines Archive
Story by Stephen Smith / Staff Writer
Just a day after pulling off an extra inning win, MTSU now feels the other end of the stick, dropping their Saturday night matchup against Georgia Southern 7-6 in 10 innings of play.
The night started off great for pitcher Tyler Hasper and the platoon of hitters for the Blue Raiders.
Hasper came out of the gate hot, slinging 96 mph fastballs early and often. Lasting six innings, Hasper had the most strikeouts (11) since Zac Curtis’ (12) in 2014.
The junior left the game in the 6th inning with 11 strikeouts, 2 hits, 0 runs allowed and 3 walks.
The first six innings were promising for the Raiders on the offensive side as well as they gave their pitcher a comfortable lead.
After scoring two runs in the first thanks to Austin Dennis and company, the Raiders were found themselves ahead and looking to get more on the board.
Scoring one run in the fourth and two in the sixth, the Blue Raiders had a commanding 6-0 lead.
Suddenly, the roles reversed. A couple miscues with the defense and a wild pitch were all the Eagles needed to find some life.
Going into the ninth inning, the Eagles trailed 6-2. A solo shot would put the Eagles down 6-3.
Minutes later, with two outs and bases juiced, Georgia Southern Preseason All-Sun Belt selection Ryan Cleveland stepped to the plate. The lefty pulled a base clearing double down the right field line knotting the game up 6-6.
In the bottom of the 1oth, a leadoff walk and two wild pitches put runners in scoring position for the Eagles. Freshman Mason McWhorter would go on to lift a single to right field, a shot that would give his team the victory.
Middle looks to take the weekend series tomorrow as sophomore Carson Lester toes the rubber at 1 p.m.
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