MTSU softball (14-21, 4-11 CUSA) broke an eight-game losing streak to avoid a series sweep against Louisiana Tech University (21-18, 7-8 CUSA) over the weekend.
The Middle Tennessee offense found its groove in the last game of the series, but not before losing the first two against the Bulldogs.
“We just didn’t capitalize when we needed to,” assistant coach Bryce Brentz said. “Hitting is contagious … and when we’re struggling, we just got to get a fresh face in there.”
Over the past several series, the Blue Raiders have mixed up their offensive lineup as conference play has posed significant challenges for MTSU. After losing three straight Conference USA series, the Blue Raiders caught a big break, avoiding the sweep against LA Tech with an 11-9 victory in the last game of the series.
Games one and two were very different stories for the Blue Raiders, with the Bulldogs coming away with a 13-3 victory in game two.
Game one featured a much closer game with LA Tech pulling off a 6-4 victory after scoring three runs in the seventh inning.
In game two, the Bulldogs held a 6-3 lead heading into the sixth inning. Over the next two frames, the Blue Raiders left three runners on base with a chance to tie.
The Bulldogs tacked on seven more runs in the sixth and seventh innings, taking away any chance for the Blue Raiders to rally.
“We have to get comfortable with new faces on the field,” assistant coach Gretchen Mead said. “We have to get our pitchers some more experience so they’re more comfortable in harder situations in conference play.”
With the mid-season departure of senior pitcher Mary Martinez, the Blue Raiders are left with an inexperienced pitching rotation featuring Tori Coffman as the only senior.
The rest of the pitching circle consists of sophomore transfer Halle Klaiber and freshmen Braelyn Hall and Elle Hildreth.
Hall leads the pitching room with 92 innings pitched over the 2025-2026 season. The next leader in innings is Coffman with 27 1/3 innings pitched, even after dealing with an injury earlier in the season.
Klaiber and Hildreth both sit just above 25 innings pitched, with Klaiber making seven starts while Hildreth has started only a single game, playing mostly as a reliever.
The Blue Raiders look to reset before their next conference series, with a midweek game against Austin Peay University (24-16) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. CDT.
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