MTSU baseball (5-2) took home a 2-1 series win against St. Bonaventure University (3-4) in a weekend series at Reese Smith Jr. Field.

Cooper Clapp’s walk-off double and David Horn Jr.’s nine-strikeout performance on the mound secured the Blue Raiders’ second series win.

“We played some good baseball this weekend,” head coach Jerry Meyers said. “We’ve got a lot to work on, but we did some things in a well-rounded way.”

Game One

The Blue Raiders started the series on the right foot thanks to the bat of Clapp in the ninth inning on Friday night. The redshirt junior blasted a double into right field, allowing designated hitter Matt Wolfe to score from third base to pull off a 2-1 win.

“I was just keeping it simple, being on time, trying to barrel the ball,” Clapp said. “We’d had a long day offensively, but I stayed with my approach and it ended up working.”

The walk-off double wasn’t the only highlight of the opening game for MTSU. Drew Horn got the start on the mound for the Blue Raiders in game one. The right-handed pitcher pitched five innings, striking out eight batters while allowing one earned run. 

Right-handed pitcher Landon Burch relieved Drew Horn in the sixth inning, striking out two batters in his first appearance on the mound. Burch finished the rest of the game, striking out seven batters and allowing no runs.

So far this season, Drew Horn and Burch have combined for 23 strikeouts and a .58 ERA in two appearances.

Game two

In the second game of the series, the Blue Raiders staged a late comeback but fell to the Bonnies 6-5. MTSU had two chances with the bases loaded to cut into the Bonnies’ lead but failed to push a run across.

“You try not to do too much [in loaded base situations],” Meyers said. “That’s easy to say and hard to do, sometimes. But if you keep your heart rate where it needs to be, stick to your disciplined approach, you’ll have success.”

Chandler Alderman got the start on the bump for Middle Tennessee, pitching 4 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs, one of those being earned.

In the final 4 ⅔ innings, Meyers turned to Gavin King to relieve Alderman. King pitched 1 ⅓ innings on the mound for MTSU, struggling, allowing three earned runs and walking four batters while being assigned the loss. Collin Kerrigan stepped in for the remainder of the game, striking out four batters. 

In the loss, Matt Wolfe returned to the starting lineup for MTSU after dealing with a lingering shoulder injury before the series, recording one run and two hits on four trips to the batter’s box.

“Obviously, trying to get in a groove every time I get up there,” Wolfe said. “It’s just unfortunate I couldn’t string enough together to get the win.”

Game three

After the close loss on Saturday night, the Blue Raiders flipped the script, pushing seven runs across the plate in a 7-0 rubber match victory.

David Horn Jr. and Mason Dobbs combined for nine scoreless innings in a strong showing for the MTSU pitching staff.

David Horn Jr. bounced back from a rough season opener against Bellarmine, where the senior pitcher allowed four earned runs and five hits, and 3 ⅓ innings.

“The thing that meant the most to me was, Skip came up to me and
he was like, ‘hey, you got the ball again this weekend, you’re a guy, we got you,’” David Horn Jr. said. “And that alone kind of fired me up.”

Fired up, he was. 

The Mission Viejo, California, native struck out nine batters over five innings, only allowing St. Bonaventure two hits. After walking two batters and loading the bases, Meyers turned to junior Mason Dobbs in a high-pressure situation.

Dobbs proceeded to strike out two of three batters to close the inning. The right-handed pitcher only allowed two hits through four frames, leading to a save.

The junior pitcher adjusted quickly, filling up the strike zone, Meyers said.

On top of the stellar pitching performance, the Blue Raiders’ bats got hot in the third inning as a Clay Badylak flyout into the infield allowed Dean O’ Neill to score from third base.

MTSU proceeded to plate six unanswered runs in a decisive victory, with outfielder Brett Rogers leading the pack with two hits and two runs.

On deck for Middle Tennessee is a midweek matchup with in-state rival Tennessee Tech University (5-3). First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. CDT on Tuesday at Reese Smith Jr. Field. 

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