Featured photo by Preston Todd
Story by Jacob Burgess
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Littleton. Co, McDonough, Ga and Murfreesboro, Tn. Three cities that have no connection except giving Middle Tennessee softball three starting outfielders. Savannah Behabetz, Amaya Harris and Shelby Sargent have been holding down the outfield grass together for two years.
The trio helped lead the team in the field and at the plate over the years, with Harris and Sargent being four-year members and Behabetz in her second year as a Blue Raider. Ask anyone about the impact they bring to the team and there is not a bad thing said, starting with head coach Jeff Breeden.
“The outfielders can do it all. Run, catch, throw and hit at the plate well,” Breeden said. “Any of the three outfielders we put out there are as good as anybody’s in the country.”
Behabetz, in her second season as Blue Raider, is bringing experience and skill to left field. She is like a magnet for the ball, having a perfect fielding percentage as a Blue Raider. Behabetz does not just have an eye for the ball in the outfield, but also at the plate as walked the second most out of anyone on the team in the 2023 season.
“Savannah coming in she just mingled in really well with us, and she fits right in, feels like home out there,” Sargent said.
On the opposite side of the field Harris has been a staple in right field since her sophomore season. Since then, she has hit above .300 each year and hit .384 in her junior season and was named to the Conference USA All-Tournament team.
“I think we are all really close knit, that we have good relationships, and have trust in each other and believe in each other,” Harris said.
In-between both is Murfreesboro’s own Sargent who is coming off a CUSA Championship MVP award and preseason All-Conference team nod. She roams center field waiting to turn on the jets with the most putouts amongst the trio.
The decision to attend MTSU was an easy one for Sargent who comes from a long line of MTSU alums.
“Other schools recruited me, but I always had my heart set on MTSU,” Sargent said. “I committed when I was 14 years old, so I was really young, but I always knew this is where I wanted to be.”
Even though Harris did not grow up a Blue Raider, all it took was one visit to realize the program is where she wanted to be.
Regardless of how the three got to MTSU, they are big contributors to the success the team has achieved and success yet to come.
Jacob Burgess is a sportswriter for MTSU Sidelines. If you have information for a story, you can contact him at jkb7z@mtmail.mtsu.edu. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com. Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @mtsusidelines, or on X @MTSUSidelines.
