Middle Tennessee softball (8-10) kicked off its first home series over the weekend, winning three of four games against Akron University (7-13) and the University of Tennessee at Martin (12-7). 

The home opening weekend featured two doubleheaders, with the Blue Raiders securing both wins on Friday and losing a nail-biter to Akron on Saturday in the last game of the series. 

“We took control of it from the start,” MTSU head coach Jeff Breeden said. “Anytime we can win here at home, we want to, and I think we did a good job with that.” 

Day 1 

The Middle Tennessee offense exploded on Friday, scoring eight runs in the first inning against UT Martin in a 9-3 victory.  

Left fielder Macie Harter set off the offensive firepower as she hit a triple on the first pitch of her at-bat. 

The first hit of the game was all the Blue Raiders needed as they made it through the entire batting order before the end of the inning. 

“Just having the mindset of passing the bat is our biggest thing, just pass the bat,” Harter said. “We all feed off each other, the second we get one hit, it all just starts stringing together.” 

MTSU rode the momentum of its 4-3 victory against Akron just an hour prior. 

Pitching and the three RBI effort of shortstop Jana Want fueled the first victory of the day as a two-run homer highlighted Want’s performance. 

Middle Tennessee pitcher Braelyn Hall allowed a single run in the first inning before pitching four scoreless innings with four strikeouts. 

Day 2 

The second day of the doubleheader brought more offense for the Blue Raiders as they scored seven runs in each game, while they showed resilience in their 8-7 loss to Akron. 

Middle Tennessee fell behind early against UT Martin, giving up a run in each of the first two innings, but the infield bats heated up as the day went on. 

Freshman second baseman Lucie McDonald began the scoring for the Blue Raiders with a solo homerun in the third inning, setting off a flurry of runs to take a 4-2 lead. 

Middle Tennessee picked up three more runs in the fifth and sixth innings as Want and third baseman Adaeze Nwogbo put up the last runs of the game, securing the 7-4 victory. 

“It honestly feels like a breath of fresh air, coming into the season you have high expectations for yourself, high expectations from other people,” Harter said. “So just coming out and seeing all the hard work that we’ve put in and set free, and actually taking the course is really nice.” 

The last game of the series ended in an 8-7 loss to Akron, as the Middle Tennessee pitchers faced their biggest challenge of the weekend. 

The Blue Raiders struck first once again with Harter and right fielder Mady Pint setting up a double steal as Harter slid into home plate for the first run of the day. 

“She’s got a lot of speed, she’s got some power too,” Breeden said. “Anytime she can get on, we think we’ve got a pretty good top of our order.” 

After Middle Tennessee’s first score of the day, Akron took a big lead in the third inning, scoring four runs off pitcher Mary Martinez. 

The Blue Raiders charged back in the next inning to tie it up 4-4 as the infield continued to show out, with McDonald and first baseman Kennedy Chatman each adding a run. 

In the top of the sixth inning, Akron put up a single run to take the lead before a one-run shot to center field from catcher Ansley Blevins evened the score for Middle Tennessee. 

Akron University scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning as a missed throw to first base by pitcher Elle Hildreth set up an 8-5 lead for the Zips. 

Heading into the last three outs of the day, Pint got on base for MTSU as designated player Onnika Spencer hit a two-run home run. 

The last at bat for the Blue Raiders resulted in a swinging strikeout, leaving two runners on base in the 8-7 loss. 

Middle Tennessee travels to Kennesaw, Georgia, to face the Kennesaw State Owls for their first conference series of the season on Friday at 4 p.m. CDT.