KENNESAW, Ga. — Middle Tennessee baseball (0-1) spent most of Wednesday’s Conference USA Baseball Championship opener swinging for answers in a 8-2 loss to Western Kentucky University (1-0) at Mickey Dunn Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.
The Hilltoppers’ starting pitcher, Gavin Perry, controlled the pace throughout the pool play contest, working eight innings of two-run ball while keeping the Blue Raider bats off balance.
“We just didn’t get enough going offensively, even though we had some good swings and a few nice plays,” MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers said. “We just couldn’t put together that inning we were looking for.”
Perry settled in seemingly after the first pitch and never allowed the Blue Raiders to build momentum at the plate. The right-hander limited contact while striking out six batters, allowing two runs over eight innings of work. Perry’s efficient pitching carried over from the last meeting between MTSU and WKU, where the senior arm pitched seven scoreless innings.
“Credit to the guy on the mound [Perry],” Meyers said. “He’s had a really good year, and he showed it again tonight.”
Middle Tennessee spent most of the postseason opener trying to climb out of an early hole it never escaped. The Hilltoppers plated three runs in the second inning off MTSU starter David Horn Jr. and never looked back.
Over the next three frames, Western Kentucky kept stacking innings, scoring five runs to stretch the lead to 8-0 after five. After scoreless innings for both sides in the sixth and seventh, MTSU catcher Tyler Minnick lined a double down the left field line, scoring Owen Nowak from second.
The late momentum continued in the bottom of the eighth as designated hitter Layne Akers added an RBI single, cutting the Hilltoppers’ lead to 8-2. After the score, WKU pitcher Nathan Lawson stepped onto the mound in the top of the ninth, and the Blue Raiders’ bats went three up, three down, sealing an 8-2 final score.
While Middle Tennessee struggled to generate offense for most of the night, Akers was a bright spot. The redshirt freshman had a perfect night at the dish, hitting a perfect 4-for-4 with an RBI single.
“I was seeing the ball well,” Akers said. “We faced a really quality arm, and we knew that coming in.”
The last time Akers faced Perry, the Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native, like the rest of the Blue Raiders’ offense, struggled in an 11-0 loss, going hitless and striking out once. This time, Akers flipped the script, providing four of the eight hits MTSU totaled against WKU.
“That’s not a freshman anymore. He trusted his process, had some good at-bats, and put some good swings on it,” Meyers said. “For a young guy, that was good to see.”
With the 8-2 defeat, the Blue Raiders drop to 0-1 in pool play. On deck for Middle Tennessee is a must-win matchup against the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks (0-0) with first pitch scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CDT at Mickey Dunn Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.
“We’ve got to separate it and play the game in front of us,” Meyers said. “I’ve got no doubt our guys will be ready.”
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