Middle Tennessee softball (19-26, 5-16 CUSA) defeated the University of Memphis (17-33, 5-16 AAC) twice in its doubleheader on Wednesday.
After falling behind early in both games, the Blue Raiders fought back with serious offensive firepower, completing the comeback against the Tigers.
“I saw that we’ve got some character about us because we came from behind in both games to win,” head coach Jeff Breeden said. “We’ve not had a whole lot of success at the plate this season, but today we had a whole lot of it, so I’m pleased with what we did today.”
The Middle Tennessee offense exploded for five home runs on the day, pulling out one-run victories, winning 5-4 in game one, and 7-6 in game two.
Catcher Onnika Spencer’s two home runs in the second game were huge for the Blue Raiders as her second homer cut the Tigers’ 6-3 lead down to one in the third inning. This moment turned out to be pivotal for Middle Tennessee as they added one run in the fourth and sixth innings, holding off the Tigers’ last-minute efforts and securing the second victory of the day.
In game one, the Blue Raider offense struggled to get anything going early, trailing 3-0 heading into the sixth inning. After the slow start, third baseman Elle Hildreth began the scoring with a solo homerun, followed by three runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead.
“It took us a minute in the first four innings, but whenever Elle popped it off, we started gaining momentum,” assistant coach Bryce Brentz said.
Following the Blue Raiders’ big sixth inning, the Tigers made a last-minute offensive effort, putting up one run on the board, tying it up at four in the seventh inning.
With the game coming down to the last three batters for Middle Tennessee, catcher Ansley Blevins walked it off with a solo home run to center field to close out the first game of the day with a 5-4 victory.
“I told myself to just get a hit because I knew the next hit would score me,” Blevins said. “I was just calm in the box, and when I saw the pitch, I just went for it.”
After hitting five home runs in the doubleheader against the Tigers, the Blue Raiders have now put up 53 home runs this season.
Sitting just 11 homeruns short, Middle Tennessee has the chance to tie, or break the program and previous season record of 64 homeruns, with six games remaining in the season.
The Blue Raiders will head to Jacksonville, Alabama, to play the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (37-12, 19-2 CUSA) beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. CDT.
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