On Wednesday night, Middle Tennessee baseball (9-4) fell short to in-state rival Belmont University (5-8) in a midweek matchup at Reese Smith Jr. Field.  

The Blue Raider bats were hot in the bottom of the first inning, with three consecutive home runs coming from outfielder Owen Nowak, catcher Dean O’Neill and outfielder Brett Rogers.  

Head coach Jerry Meyers said his team’s offense was executing efficiently in the second inning. 

Infielder Nathan Brewer singled to center field, scoring first baseman Tyler Minnick. Brewer later stole home to extend the lead to 5-0. 

Belmont got on the board in the top of the second, following Brady Holbrook’s walk that allowed catcher Mike Sprockett to score an unearned run to trail 5-2. 

MTSU’s John Michael Pickens took over the mound for Ethan Robinson following the Bruins’ run. 

Belmont matched Middle Tennessee’s batting production, tying the scoreboard 5-5 with three more unearned runs in the top of the second. 

MTSU answered with two runs in the bottom of the second, with O’Neill homering to right field, allowing Nowak to score, extending the lead 7-5. 

Pickens struck out three batters in the top of the third to sustain the Blue Raiders lead. 

Landon Sexton stepped onto the mound for Pickens to start the fifth inning for Middle Tennessee. 

Belmont took its first lead of the game at the top of the fifth inning, with runs from Sprockett and Whitworth to push the Bruins advantage to 8-7. Holbrook singled to right field, allowing for another Maddox score.

The Belmont bullpen limited MTSU to two hits after the fifth inning. 

“We had a lot of momentum built in the first inning, but I think the underlying issue was that we got too complacent with where we were at,” O’Neill said. “Going forward, we need to continue to apply pressure to a team like we did in the first inning. At the end of the day, it’s the momentum that we needed to keep up.” 

The Bruins and Blue Raiders went scoreless for the remainder of the game, giving Belmont the edge with the final score 8-7.

After a 13-game homestand, the Blue Raiders will play their first three-game road series against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (7-6) on Friday. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field.