Middle Tennessee baseball (21-22, 8-12 CUSA) lost its Conference USA weekend road series against Sam Houston University (20-23, 9-11 CUSA) as the Bearkats took two-of-three games over the weekend. 

Game 1 

The Blue Raiders dropped the series opener 6-3. Despite scoring three runs in the final frame, an early six-run deficit proved too steep for MTSU to overcome.  

“I don’t think we played very poorly last night, just a couple things didn’t go our way,” MTSU catcher Tyler Minnick said on the WGNS radio pregame show. “We had a couple really close calls that went the way of Sam Houston, but I thought we were in the game the whole time.” 

Bearkats’ third basemen Ryan Frendan kicked off the scoring with a third-inning home run. SHSU tacked on two more runs in the fourth frame to extend its lead to three.  

MTSU starting pitcher David Horn Jr. rebounded in the next two innings and ended the contest allowing seven hits with six strikeouts in six innings. 

The Bearkats doubled their lead in the eighth frame, now with MTSU pitchers Collin Kerrigan and Cole Cates on the mound. Cates walked Frendan with the bases loaded, scoring Bearkat catcher Wes Baker. An error compounded the Blue Raiders’ problems, as Kirby Orth and Jace Martinez scored for SHSU.   

On defense, Sam Houston pitcher Ryan Petersen continued his hot streak and kept the MTSU bats at bay through eight innings, finishing with nine strikeouts and no runs. Outside of an early bases-loaded scenario in the third inning, the Blue Raiders’ offense struggled to gain momentum.  

The Bearkats’ lead almost came undone in the final frame, as the MTSU offense rallied. Blue Raider second basemen Cooper Clapp scored from second base to put Middle Tennessee on the board. The Blue Raiders continued to stay alive with two outs, as a Brett Vondohlen RBI double down the left field line drove in two runs.  

SHSU fought off the late surge and secured the final out of the contest to capture the first win of the series.  

Game 2 

MTSU responded with a victory in game two, 12-8, in a game defined by blistering offense. The two squads combined for eight home runs, with five for Middle Tennessee. 

Chandler Alderman earned the nod for the Blue Raiders, but the Bearkat bats quickly got the best of the Blue Raider pitcher.  

Bearkats designated hitter Nathan Fink kicked off the scoring in the first inning with a two-run home run. MTSU responded with its own two-run shot off the bat of Nathan Brewer in the fourth frame. Sam Houston stifled MTSU’s momentum in the fifth inning, as Wes Baker drove in three runs with a home run to left field.  

SHSU pitcher Tyler Ryden fell apart in the fifth inning as Middle Tennessee strung together four runs in the inning to take the lead.  

Owen Nowak scored on an RBI single by Cooper Clapp. The Blue Raiders tacked on three more runs off of home runs by Tyler Minnick and Dean O’Neill. 

Bryant Beranek took the mound in the fifth inning and surrendered one run before being relieved in the same inning by Gavin King. King earned the win, finishing the contest with eight strikeouts, three hits allowed and two runs earned.   

The Blue Raiders commandeered the lead for the rest of the game, tacking on one run in the sixth inning and five in the ninth. Minnick capped off the scoring with an RBI single, ending the day with an impressive showing of two hits, four RBIs and one home run. The Middle Tennessee bats were hot all day as each player recorded a hit. 

SHSU added two runs to their total in the final frame as Frendan hit a home run to right field to cut the deficit. King secured the final out via a strikeout to secure MTSU’s first conference road victory of the season.  

“Anytime I go in the game, I’m there to go the distance and finish it out,” King said. “There’s never a doubt in that.” 

Game 3 

The Bearkats overpowered MTSU in the series finale, winning 9-3.  

A leadoff solo home run from Nowak and an RBI double by Brewer in the first inning gave MTSU the early 2-0 lead. SHSU responded with two runs of its own in the second inning as Franden would record a two-RBI double to even the game. 

The Bearkats’ bats were hot on Sunday, as all but one registered a hit, headlined by two-hit outings from Orth and Jeric Curtis. SHSU starting pitcher Tate Hickman earned the win, as he recorded two strikeouts, five hits allowed and three runs earned in six innings pitched. 

The Bearkats got the best of MTSU’s pitching rotation, as starting pitcher Cole Torbett, relievers Landen Burch and John Michael Pickens all surrendered runs.  

Sam Houston’s lead exploded in the fifth frame as its offense rattled off six runs in the inning, causing two separate changes at the mound. Four different Bearkats recorded RBIs in succession to give their team an 8-3 edge.  

Curtis capped off the offensive flurry in the eighth inning with a solo home run to strengthen SHSU’s lead.  

MTSU fought back in the ninth inning with a solo home run of its own, via Layne Akers, to shrink the lead. Sam Houston closer Colin Alosio retired the final batter to record the save and claim the series win. 

MTSU baseball stays on the road for a midweek matchup against Vanderbilt University (25-18, 9-10 SEC) on Tuesday, at 6:00 p.m. CDT. 

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