NASHVILLE, Tennessee — In the top of the 13th inning, with the score knotted at 8-8, Middle Tennessee catcher Dean O’Neill stepped to the plate.
With a tying run in the ninth already in the rearview mirror O’Neill delivered once again, launching a 428-foot home run to put the Blue Raiders ahead for good.
“I kind of blacked out after I hit it,” O’Neill said, smiling.
Middle Tennessee baseball (18-19, 5-10 CUSA) defeated Belmont University (14-16, 5-7 MVC) 10-8 in a 13-inning midweek thriller at E.S Rose Park.
The Blue Raiders erased an early 7-1 deficit, powered by a program-record nine doubles, including three each from second baseman Cooper Clapp and designated hitter Layne Akers, which ties a program single-game record. MTSU clawed back through a back-and-forth game, tying in the ninth and eventually outlasting the Bruins in a 13-inning marathon.
“We’ve been in that situation too many times this year, but I was proud of the way they stuck with it,” MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers said.
After a disappointing weekend series in Ruston, Louisiana, the Blue Raiders again found themselves chasing early after Belmont jumped on Middle Tennessee with a pair of solo-shot home runs in the second inning.
The Bruins continued to string along hits, stretching the lead to five runs by the fifth inning before MTSU broke through in the sixth. Back-to-back doubles from Clapp and Akers drove in the first run for MTSU.
Belmont responded immediately in the bottom of the sixth, pushing the lead to 7-1 and leaving Middle Tennessee in a do-or-die spot.
Matt Wolfe stepped in as a pinch hitter and delivered the first offensive spark, launching a long ball over the left-field wall, driving in a run to cut the deficit to 7-3. With the momentum provided by Wolfe’s homer, Middle Tennessee began stringing together quality at-bats as another Akers double drove in a run.
But Belmont answered again in the bottom of the seventh, as a solo-shot home run by freshman Nate Webb pushed the lead to 8-4. With another MTSU score in the top of the eighth, Middle Tennessee refused to go away quietly.
In the ninth, the Blue Raiders began to chip away at the Bruins’ lead, as O’Neill laced a RBI double into right field, driving in Clapp. On the next at-bat, outfielder Konner Bowden added another score on a sacrifice groundout, driving in Akers from third and moving O’Neill into scoring position.
Then came the equalizer.
A wild pitch from Bruin pitcher Jonathon Van Ness allowed O’Neill to sprint down the third-base line, tying the game at 8-8 and eventually sending the game into extra innings.
“I was kind of anticipating a fastball,” O’Neill said. “If I would’ve seen it get away to the left or right or behind him, I was scoring all the way.”
On the mound, right-handed pitcher Gavin King delivered key innings, including three straight strikeouts in the 11th to keep the Bruins off the scoreboard, adding to his eventual total of eight punchouts.
“I just wanted to go out there and compete one last time for the guys,” King said.
After three scoreless frames, O’Neill stepped up to the plate once more and delivered the final blow. King followed with two strikeouts and a groundout to clinch the comeback win.
“Hopefully it [the win over Belmont] turns things around and we can get back home this weekend and get back in the win column,” Clapp said
On deck for Middle Tennessee is a Conference USA matchup with the University of Delaware (11-26, 1-14 CUSA) in a weekend series at Reese Smith Jr. Field, on April 17-19, with first pitch on Friday scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT.
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