By Rickey Fuquay, Jr.//Contributing Writer
NASHVILLE – Middle Tennessee (24-20, 15-6 C-USA) could not muster any offense in the late inning against Lipscomb Tuesday night, as the Blue Raiders lost 11-3 at Dugan Field.
Austin Bryant led the way on offense with a 3-for-4 performance on the night. Ronnie Jebavy also tallied a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5.
Brad Jarreau went 1-for-3 with two RBI, while Dustin Delgado went 1-for-3 with a RBI. Jake Ingold and Kevin Dupree both went 1-for-3 on the night.
The Blue Raiders (24-20) would break through early thanks to RBI singles by Delgado and Jarreau to take an early 3-0 lead through four innings.
The Bison (27-15) scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the MTSU lead to one, 3-2.
Lipscomb broke the game open in the sixth and seventh innings. Aided by two Blue Raider errors, the Bison plated five runs in the sixth to take a 7-3 lead.
The seventh inning saw MTSU pitcher Caleb Smith, making just his ninth appearance of the season, walk four batters and throw a wild pitch. These mistakes led to four more runs for the Bison, providing them with the final score, 11-3.
Blake Stansberry (3-1) picked up his first loss of the year. He allowed two runs on two hits in one-third of an inning. Garrett Ring got the start on the mound for the Blue Raiders and pitched well. He went five innings, allowing just two runs on two hits, but he received a no decision.
Dalton Curtis (1-0) picked up his first win of the year for the Bison in relief. He pitched two and two-thirds innings of perfect baseball, striking out seven of the batters that he faced.
While MTSU outhit Lipscomb 9-7, defensive and pitching mistakes cost the Blue Raiders. They committed three errors, and their pitching staff threw three wild pitches.
MTSU now falls to 1-10 in midweek games this season. With the win, Lipscomb swept both games from the Blue Raiders this season. Lipscomb picked up an 8-1 win over MTSU back on Mar. 25 in Murfreesboro.
The Blue Raiders will look to gain some momentum heading into the weekend series when they travel to Cookeville to take on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in another in-state non-conference matchup on Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. CST.
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