MTSU baseball drops crucial series to Florida International

The Blue Raiders failed to win series over Panthers, despite Nathan Brewers record breaking game one performance.

Geo Finnemore, Reporter • May 10, 2026

MTSU Head Coach Jerry Myers walks out to talk to pitcher Abel Albarran during a game against Southern Indiana University at Reese Smith Jr field on March 31, 2026.

Middle Tennessee baseball (24-27, 11-16 CUSA) lost a crucial road series to Florida International University (17-34, 8-19 CUSA), dropping two of three games.

Entering the weekend series, both teams sat in the bottom half of the CUSA standings with MTSU sitting in eighth place and FIU 11th.

Only the conference’s top nine teams will receive an invitation to the CUSA tournament, which features a new format of pool play before two single-elimination rounds in 2026. The Blue Raiders failed to make the conference tournament in 2025.

Game 1

MTSU opened the weekend on a high note with a victory in the series, just its second road win in CUSA play on the year.

A barrage of runs in the second inning gave the Blue Raiders an early 8-0 lead. FIU settled into their home field, cooling down the MTSU bats and driving in runs of their own.

The Panthers gradually battled back to keep the score tight, heading into the final frames. A solo home run from FIU junior infielder Mario Trivella made the score 10-9 to begin the ninth inning.

The evening was highlighted by a historic performance from MTSU redshirt-junior outfielder Nathan Brewer. Brewer led off the top of the ninth inning, blasting his fourth home run of the night over the center field wall, setting a Conference USA single-game record to put the Blue Raiders ahead 11-9.

“I was really seeing it well up there,” Brewer said on ESPN+. “I think I saw a beach ball in every at-bat, it was just the right pitches at the right at-bats.”

The Panthers still threatened with a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, but MTSU junior pitcher John Michael Pickens closed out the inning forcing three groundouts, earning the save and sealing the victory for the Blue Raiders.

Game 2

The Blue Raiders looked to continue their offensive success early as redshirt-junior infielder Cooper Clapp lifted a solo home run in the top half of the first inning. Brett Vondohlen gave MTSU an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second with an RBI single.

FIU drove in five runs against MTSU starter Chandler Alderman ending the second inning with 5-2 lead. The Blue Raiders added two runs in the top of the fourth inning to make the score 5-4, and scoring for both teams ceased for the next three and a half innings.

In the top of the eighth inning, Vondohlen added his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, tying the game 5-5. In the bottom half of the inning, FIU junior catcher Caden Sammler hit a two-run homer to left-center field to give the Panthers a two-run advantage going into the ninth.

“Coach Witten wanted us to swing early because the pitcher was throwing a high percentage of breaking balls,” Sammler said on ESPN+. “I saw a slider, I knew it was a pitch I wanted to hit and I was able to send it to left with the wind and it left the yard.”

The Blue Raiders failed to get a hit in the top of the ninth, getting just one runner on a walk and striking out twice, ending the game with a 7-5 loss to the Panthers.

Game 3

FIU got on top early and didn’t let up, cruising to a 10-2 victory on Sunday. After Panthers’ starting pitcher Jordan Vargas retired the side in order in the top half of the first inning, FIU led off the bottom half with a single followed by a two-run homer from Mario Trivella to take a 2-0 lead.

The Panthers added another run to end the opening frame, ahead 3-0.

The first 10 batters for MTSU were sat down in order, until the top of the fourth inning when redshirt-junior infielder Cooper Clapp hit a solo home run. The Panthers followed by driving four runs in the fourth and adding another run in the fifth inning to go up 10-1.

MTSU senior catcher Tyler Minnick added a solo home run leading off the top of the ninth, but the Panthers closed out the inning and the game, leaving one runner on base and securing the series’ win.

MTSU closes out its regular season at home, hosting the University of Memphis (20-29, 11-12 AAC) on Tuesday, May 12, and Liberty University (35-16, 18-8 CUSA) for its last CUSA series of the season, May 14-16 at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

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