Featured photo by Ryan Loftis
Story by Conner Smith
Murfreesboro, TN- Middle Tennessee State baseball had the tying run on second base but was unable to score, ultimately dropping the series finale 3-1 to Louisiana Tech at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
Louisiana Tech created chaos in the first when it scored two runs on just one hit due to an error and three walks by MTSU starting pitcher Kota Sato. The Bulldogs would tack on another run in the third to take a 3-0 lead.
The Blue Raiders were able to load the bases with no outs in the sixth with Eston Snider coming to the plate. Snider did score an RBI on a double play, but Louisiana Tech escaped what could have been a monster inning for the Blue Raiders when it struck out the next batter.
The next two frames were dominated by lights-out pitching as both team’s pitchers combined for four strikeouts and just two hits allowed. LA Tech held the 3-1 lead going into the ninth.
James Sells shut down the top of the ninth for the Blue Raiders to give his team a shot at walking it off. MTSU loaded the bases with one out but couldn’t muster anything on offense as it dropped the series finale 3-1.
“It was a competitive series,” MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers said. “Two very different games in the first and second game. And today, we knew it was going to be a fight. Whether it was going to be low-scoring or high-scoring, the wind was blowing in and was going to be a factor. We put ourselves in a position by getting the leadoff guy on several times today. There was a slim margin for error today. [James] Sells gave us a good effort out of the bullpen to give us a chance to cash in. Some of the balls we hit turned into double plays. If two of those find a hole, the game is a different story.”
MTSU will be back on the diamond when it takes on Dallas Baptist on Friday for a weekend series. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. C.T.
Conner Smith is a sports reporter for MTSU Sidelines. If you have information for a story, you can contact him at cws4t@mtmail.mtsu.edu.
