Middle Tennessee baseball (17-19; 5-10 CUSA) traveled to the Pelican State over the weekend as MTSU took on Louisiana Tech University (21-16; 9-8 CUSA) in a key Conference USA series.
In a battle of two teams with similar rankings in hitting and pitching, few positives emerged for the Blue Raiders, as the Bulldogs swept the Blue Raiders in dominant fashion in the weekend series in Ruston, Louisiana.
Despite the weather warming up, the bats went cold on Friday, as the Blue Raiders scored only one run on six hits. LA Tech starter Declan Dahl was dealing; the junior right-hander pitched seven innings of one-run ball, the run being unearned, while striking out eight Blue Raiders in the process.
The lone score for MTSU came off a Dean O’Neill RBI groundout in the second inning. The Bulldogs put up eight on the MTSU pitching staff, led by third baseman Colby Lunsford, who went 3-of-5 with three RBIs.
It was more of the same on Saturday, as the Blue Raiders fell 2-8.
David Horn Jr. took the mound for the Blue Raiders. Horn Jr. looked shaky, giving up four runs on five hits over 51/3 innings. LA Tech starter Hudson Rowan threw five innings and only gave up a run despite walking five.
Catcher Tyler Minnick led the Blue Raiders’ offense, who launched a long ball into the left field seats for his sixth home run of the year. O’Neill collected another RBI, this time off a single. However, it wasn’t nearly enough as the Bulldogs plated eight runs off MTSU pitchers.
On Sunday, the Blue Raiders failed to salvage the series, losing again, 3-5.
On the bump for MTSU was Cole Torbett, making his second start of the season. The Blue Raider swingman pitched just two innings, giving up three runs on four hits.
O’Neill was once again the brunt of the offense for the Blue Raiders, being responsible for two of the three runs scored. He first scored Minnick on an RBI double and scored on an error by the catcher after stealing third.
Despite being tied for most of the game, runs in the seventh and eighth innings by the Bulldogs ended up being the difference, as the Bulldogs completed the sweep.
Road series in particular have been a problem for the Blue Raiders all season, as they are now 1-12 away from Reese Smith Jr. Field. The sweep also drops MTSU below .500.
The Blue Raiders will look to bounce back on Tuesday when they travel to Nashville, Tennessee, in a midweek contest against Belmont University. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. CDT at E.S. Rose Park.
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