Nine innings of momentum swings and late-game drama came down to a single swing in the top of the ninth.
With the game tied 7-7, Reese Smith Jr. Field was anticipating a chance for a Middle Tennessee walk-off on senior night. However, Liberty University catcher Kyle Hvidsten ripped a go-ahead single, plating the go-ahead run.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Raiders went three up, three down, sealing an 8-7 victory for the Flames.
Middle Tennessee baseball (26-29, 12-18 CUSA) dropped the regular season finale in a rubber match against Liberty University (38-18, 21-9 CUSA) Saturday evening in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
“We break it into three seasons,” MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers said. “ … and that conference stretch is a gauntlet. We battled our tails off and competed as often as anyone, if not more than anyone in the league.”
The Blue Raiders claimed the series opener 8-1 before the Flames answered with a 10-2 victory in game two, setting up a decisive senior night rubber match.
MTSU grabbed the early momentum behind the long ball, as third baseman Brett Vondohlen launched a home run in the second inning, driving in a run. With an early 2-0 lead after two, catcher Dean O’Neill launched a long ball into straightaway center field, pushing the Blue Raiders’ lead to 3-0 after four frames.
“As of late, I’ve been trying to do way too much at the plate,” O’Neill said. “So today I just kind of said, ‘Screw it,’ lowered the intensity level and got back to doing the simple things I know how to do.”
Left-handed pitcher Cole Torbett got the start on the mound and held the Flames scoreless through four frames. However, a leadoff double by Hvidsten in the fifth forced a pitching change, as Mason Dobbs jogged out of the bullpen.
With Dobbs on the bump, Liberty flipped the game on its head with a four-run fourth inning, led by two home runs off the right-handed pitcher. The Flames added another run in the sixth, pushing the Flames’ lead to 5-3 midway through the sixth.
The Blue Raiders responded with a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth, sparked by right fielder Brett Rogers’ double down the right field line, scoring Nathan Brewer. Vondohlen followed with a two-RBI single, giving MTSU a 6-5 lead after six. Leadoff man Owen Nowak added to the offensive surge in the seventh, sending a solo home run just inside the right-field foul pole, plating the last run of the contest for Middle Tennessee.
With momentum in favor of the Blue Raiders, Liberty answered again in the eighth, pushing two runs on MTSU right-hander Drew Horn in the first relief appearance of his Middle Tennessee career while still recovering from an ankle injury.
“The first situation was to get his [Horn’s] ankle back to where he could land on it with full pressure without having to worry about changing his arm or guarding it,” Meyers said.
With the score tied at 7-7 in the top of the ninth, Middle Tennessee turned to senior arm Bryant Bernek, who picked up traffic and allowed a run, but a double play stopped the bleeding for MTSU, setting up a chance for a senior night walk-off. However, the Blue Raiders went quiet against LU pitcher Cooper Harrington, who recorded the final three outs of an 8-7 Liberty victory.
With the series loss, Middle Tennessee (26-29, 12-18 CUSA) closes the 2026 campaign as the No. 9 seed in the Conference USA standings. The Blue Raiders will open the Conference USA Championship in pool play, with their exact path dependent on remaining conference results.
“We’ve just got to take everything we’ve done in that conference season and have it work for us in the postseason,” Meyers said.
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