Featured photo by Preston Todd
Story by Conner Smith
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MURFREESBORO, Tenn- Middle Tennessee baseball played thrilling game Tuesday evening against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles. Both teams went back-and-forth offensively. However, MTSU’s mental errors plagued the Blue Raiders once again, leading to a 12-9 loss.
“We have to play cleaner and more consistent baseball,” MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers said. “We’ve shown some really good flashes of what we’re capable of, but nobody cares about that. It’s about can you be consistent.”
As the game started, it was much different than what the final score indicated. It was very much a pitchers dual in the first four innings as USI led by just one run. Then, USI erupted in the fifth inning for five runs to take a 7-1 lead as the game began to slip out of the Blue Raiders’ hands.
MTSU responded quickly when it scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of an Eston Snider single, Nathan Brewer sacrifice fly and Cale Vinson single. After that, it looked like MTSU was back in the game but the Screaming Eagles refused to quit and scored two runs of their own the next inning.
From that point on, both teams continued to obliterate each other’s pitching. Trace Phillips got the run parade started for MTSU the next half- inning when he launched a two-run bomb to counter the two USI runs.
Just like the previous inning, MTSU pitching couldn’t corral the USI bats and it burnt the Blue Raiders. The Screaming Eagles posted three runs to put the game out of reach again. MTSU didn’t quit as it responded with the exact same amount of runs in the bottom of the frame. Highlighted by Phillips’ second two-run home run of the game, this one went over the “Lee Victory Wall” in left field and into the MTSU football stadium’s concourse.
Phillips has been outstanding this year. He’s batting .273 with 15 RBIs and four home runs and has been a starter since day one.
“I think it comes with experience,” Phillips said of getting acclimated to college baseball. “My coaches and teammates have helped me, and I love coming out here every day to play ball and I thank God for the opportunity.”
MTSU didn’t allow a run in the top of the ninth inning, then proceeded to get two on with one out in the bottom of the inning but left both runners stranded and lost 12-9.
“We didn’t play the way we were capable of; we probably shouldn’t have been in certain situations that we put ourselves in. We gave them too many opportunities like getting behind in the count and not executing like we should have,” Meyers said.
Conner Smith is a sportswriter for MTSU Sidelines. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com. Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @mtsusidelines, or on X @MTSUSidelines.
