On Tuesday night, Middle Tennessee baseball (6-2) rolled to an 11-1 run-rule victory over Tennessee Tech University (5-4) in a midweek matchup at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
With the count at 3-2, bases loaded and two outs. Landen Burch was called from the bullpen in the sixth inning to relieve Landon Sexton. The junior pitcher proceeded to strike out infielder Aaron Moffitt, firing up the entire dugout.
“Whatever momentum that Tennessee Tech had, because of that strikeout, he [Burch] took it all back,” first baseman Dean O’ Neill said. “And we just rode that momentum the entire game.”
Abel Albarran got the start on the bump for Middle Tennessee. Albarran saw action during the Bellarmine series, allowing one earned run over 1 ⅓ innings pitched. The junior arm pitched for 4 ⅔ innings, throwing 55 pitches, striking out three batters.
“He doesn’t care when he throws, he just wants to throw, he doesn’t care what his role is,” head coach Jerry Meyers said. “He just wants the ball.”
Albarran’s night ended in the fifth frame after a walk extended the inning. John Michael Pickens stepped up in relief of the Arcadia, Florida native. The Blue Raiders showcased five different arms in the midweek matchup with the Golden Eagles.
The bullpen rose to the occasion again for MTSU, as four different pitchers in the pen, the pitchers allowed only one run and three hits in 3 ⅓ innings. Sexton struck out two out of three batters faced before walking a batter to load the bases.
Despite multiple walks, the pitching staff kept the Blue Raiders in control, Meyers said.
The most notable arm of the bunch was senior right-handed pitcher Burch, who struck out three batters in 1 ⅓ innings.
“I mean, this is the way I look at it, I want to win,” Burch said. “Whenever I get the ball, I’m going to go compete out there. A lot of people on this team feel the same way. We just want to win.”
After the punch out, MTSU never looked back, plating two runs in the bottom of the sixth and five in the seventh. Middle Tennessee used a home run deep into right field from O’ Neill to jump-start the flurry of runs for the Blue Raiders.
Following the long ball, center fielder Owen Nowak fired a double into right field, driving in Grant Snider to score. After the Snider score, Rogers and O’Neill belted back-to-back homers to extend the MTSU lead to 8-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Another double by Nowak allowed infielders Clay Badylak and Cooper Clapp to score, extending the lead to 10-1 at the end of the seventh inning.
The Golden Eagles failed to plate a run in the top of the eighth, setting up an O’ Neill single, which allowed Nathan Brewer to clinch a run-rule victory.
Every batter in the starting lineup notched a hit for the Blue Raiders. O’ Neill finished the game with three hits and three runs to lead the batting lineup.
“Hitting’s contagious, once one guy gets one, or someone steps up in a big situation, we ride off that energy,” O’ Neill said. “Whether it’s hitting, pitching, or a big-time hit, we just keep rolling.”
Middle Tennessee tallies its first win against Tennessee Tech since March 15, 2023, when MTSU defeated the Golden Eagles 13-9.
With the victory, MTSU marked its third run-rule win of the season. So far, the Blue Raiders have plated 70 runs over eight contests.
“One thing we need to do all season is continue to have discipline in our at-bats and take our walks,” Meyers said. “If we can do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance to be pretty productive.”
The Blue Raiders return to Reese Smith Jr. Field for a weekend series against Illinois State (5-2) on Feb. 27- March 1, with the first pitch on Friday scheduled for 3 p.m. CDT.
