Featured photo by Conner Smith
Story by Conner Smith
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MURFREESBORO, Tenn – Middle Tennessee baseball is now past most of its non-conference opponents, and now has to gear up for the big boy baseball in Conference USA. CUSA is among the best baseball conferences in the country. It features teams like Dallas Baptist, Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston State.
MTSU has a rough road ahead as it will have to deal with the grind of playing these quality teams week in and week out. However, this Blue Raider team has been playing much better baseball as of late. Since the 14-2 run- rule loss against UT Martin on Mar. 1, MTSU is 6-3 and has a top-30 scoring offense during that stretch, averaging nearly nine runs a game.
Even with how good the offense has been, the pitching is still a question. The last nine games the Blue Raiders have given up 68 runs on 107 hits. The pitching staff has showed some flashes of being really good but has not been consistent.
“We’ve shown flashes of being good but at the end of the day nobody cares about that, it’s all about can you be consistent,” MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers said.
That type of play has continued into the first two CUSA games as MTSU is 1-1 with a 12-8 win and 11-6 loss versus FIU. The offense has not been the problem, the pitching has just been too inconsistent for Meyers’ liking. In the 11-6 loss, the Blue Raiders led 6-3 late but an eight-run seventh completely derailed MTSU’s chances.
MTSU has still looked like one of the better teams in CUSA at times, it just needs to continue that play consistently. There are five big things the Blue Raiders must do in order to achieve its goals of a conference title.
- Don’t make mistakes defensively
The big thing that has plagued the Blue Raiders are errors. An error extended the seventh inning and allowed FIU’s game-clinching win to happen. If MTSU can play fundamental defense, it will eliminate a lot of runs and base runners.
- Don’t give free outs on the bases
Getting into trouble on the base paths is big and can hurt run production a lot more than one would think. With the amount of quality teams in CUSA, if MTSU makes mistakes like that, opponents will make them pay.
- Get length out of your starters
Something that the Blue Raiders have done lately is get quality innings out of the starting pitchers, which helps the bullpen mightily. If Meyers can rely on his starters to go five or more innings, that makes his job much easier and also makes it easier on the rest of the pitching staff. If MTSU constantly has to dig into the bullpen and throw guys longer than they need to go due to lack of starter play, that hurts the Blue Raiders. MTSU has done well with this, which is part of the reason they’ve won recently.
- Don’t leave runners stranded
As good as the offense has been the last week and a half, MTSU has left 71 runners stranded and left eight or more on eight times. Meaning that even though the offense is borderline elite, it has potential to be even better. If the Blue Raiders can do that, their offense will be up there with Dallas Baptist, who has the best offense in the conference.
- Win your counts as a pitcher
So many times this year, the MTSU pitchers have been ahead in the count and have the batter right where they want them and lose the at- bat. By doing something as simple as just getting the extra strike, it can give MTSU a big advantage in an at-bat and overall in an outing. The Blue Raiders have shown signs of doing well at this but need to make it a normal thing.
Conference Schedule
Looking at the schedule, MTSU has to play four teams with 13 or more wins and multiple other good teams. MTSU does get the luxury of getting two of those big four teams at home in DBU and Western Kentucky. However, it still has to go on the road to play Sam Houston State and Louisiana Tech, who will probably be MTSU’s hardest series’ in conference play.
Looking ahead, it’s a hard road for the Blue Raiders but if they are able to do those five things, they will be able to do very well in CUSA and be put in a good spot to potentially win the conference.
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.
