Murfreesboro, Tenn. – The Blue Raiders dropped its weekend series against the FIU Panthers but came into Tuesday looking to bounce back against an in-state opponent, the Lipscomb Bisons. The MTSU offense lit up the Lipscomb pitching staff to the tune of 14 runs and 18 hits on its way to a midweek victory by a score of 14-9.
“We did a good job offensively; it got us out front, allowed us to get some guys innings under their belt, and gave us a little leeway. It’s [Lipscomb] a quality ball club that’s played a tough schedule, and they’ll swing the bats if you don’t get in good counts,” said MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers. “We’ll take it for sure. We had a couple of guys that were locked in offensively, and tonight, we needed that because we didn’t pitch very well.”
Brett Rogers started the first inning with a one-out single after Eston Snider lined out to Lipscomb pitcher Cameron Guise to begin the frame. The Blue Raiders put together three consecutive hits after Rogers’ single, including a two-run double by Brett Vondohlen, to get MTSU on the board first.
Keaton Ray and Vondohlen would advance into scoring position with one out following a wild pitch. Matt Wolfe would continue the big inning with an RBI single up the middle of the infield to put two more runs in the scoring column. Jaxon Junnila came to the plate as Middle nearly batted around in the first but lined out to end the inning after Bisons shortstop Kai Holm made a leaping catch to rob MTSU of anything else.
Landen Burch couldn’t locate his pitches in the top of the second inning, walking two batters with just one out. The Bisons found some offensive success with back-to-back singles to score a pair of runs and cut the Blue Raider lead in half. Brady Miller tried to keep that trend going with a single into right field, but Rogers fired a bullet to home plate and was able to nab the Lipscomb runner for the third out of the frame.
Cooper Clapp walked to begin the bottom of the inning but would not stay on base long after Rogers launched a ball barely over the left-field wall for a two-run shot.
“We always work on backside hitting with two outs. That pitcher had a bit of sink to his ball, and he lived on the outer half of the zone,” says Rogers. “So, I just tried to go with it. The angle was right, and the ball flew out.”
MT couldn’t take advantage of two more hits and would end the inning on a Kenny McKinley groundout to first base.
Middle Tennessee would tack on another in the bottom of the third after Junnila drew a walk and Clapp reached base on a fielding error. Rogers came up to the plate holding a hot stick and delivered once again with an RBI single to shallow center field that Lipscomb outfielder Jake Berg lost in the lights.
Burch struggled in the fourth inning, walking two batters and hitting another to load the bases, and would be pulled for Bryant Beranek. The right-handed hurler finished his day, giving up two earned runs with four walks and three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
Beranek did his job by forcing a hard lineout to Vondohlen at third base who quickly fired to first, finishing the double play and stranding the bases loaded.
The Blue Raiders mauled the Lipscomb bullpen in the fourth inning to the tune of six runs where, at one point, MTSU strung together six hits in its final eight at-bats of the frame. Ray would fly out to send the game into the fifth inning, but after the six runs were scored, it was 13-2 MTSU, and the mercy rule was in effect.
The Bisons would storm back quickly with a two-run sixth inning. Lipscomb would come back in the top of the seventh with a one-out walk, and then a Parks Bouck single put a pair of runners on. David Coppedge promptly unloaded the bases with a three-run home run off the “Lee Victory Wall” in left field, cutting the Middle Tennessee lead to 13-7.
Beranek would be pulled heading into the eighth inning for Ethan Imbimbo. Beranek’s final line was three earned runs allowed, one walk, and one strikeout in 3 2/3 innings. Imbimbo allowed two batters to reach base with one out but bounced back with consecutive flyouts to end the frame.
Imbimbo would return in the top of the ninth to try and lock up a midweek victory over the Lipscomb Bisons. He allowed a two-run home run and walked someone, so he was pulled for Colin Kerrigan. He struck out Kc Anchors for the final out of the ballgame, clinching a 14-9 win for MTSU.
“We’ll go to Liberty this weekend. They’re a good ball club, and we’ll look at it closer to see what we’re dealing with there,” Meyers said. “We’ve followed them enough to know they’ll be a quality team. It’ll be a big challenge, and we look forward to it.”
The Blue Raiders will be in Lynchburg, Virginia, for a weekend date with the Flames. The likely starting pitchers are Trace Phillips, Chandler Alderman, and Drew Horn.
