Murfreesboro, Tenn. – MTSU came into Sunday already having won the weekend series against Fairleigh Dickinson but were looking to sweep. Drew Horn was sensational on the bump, delivering six shutout innings and striking out 11 batters. He was also gifted with great run support, per usual, as the Blue Raiders dominated FDU and swept the series with a 7-1 win on Sunday.

“Drew [Horn] was outstanding overall today. Whether those guys can do it like this weekend, it [starting pitching] will set the tone this year. They all pounded the zone, didn’t give up many free 90s early in their starts, and allowed us to get things going offensively,” says MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers. “The consistency of the bats was good, but it’s got to be better, just like everything else.”

MTSU put two runners on base to start the game with an Eston Snider single and an error to place Matt Wolfe at first. But Middle could not capitalize and recorded three consecutive outs to end the inning.

Hayden Miller put the Blue Raiders on the board in the second when he led off and crushed an 0-2 pitch over the left field wall, his second home run of the season. Keaton Ray followed that with a hit, and Clay Badylak walked to put runners on. They would both advance into scoring position after a double steal, and Ray would come in to score on a Snider sac fly.

Tyler Minnick delivered a few batters later, roping an RBI single into left field to score the third run of the inning, putting Middle Tennessee up 3-0.

“It’s felt good in the batter's box this weekend. I just stuck to the scouting reports Coach Nichols came up with, and it was great as always; I’ve also been feeding off the energy from my teammates,” Minnick said. “It was easy coming to the plate after what Eston [Snider], Matt Wolfe, and other guys in the lineup did.”

After recording the first two outs of the third, Drew Horn got into trouble by walking a pair of Knights. But he got out of it after Joey Dimotta hit a low-line drive to Ray, ending the potential threat. He walked two more the next frame but would get out of it again by striking out Felix Gonzalez with two outs.

Badylak led off the bottom of the frame with a sliding triple, the first Blue Raider triple of 2025. Snider would drive him in a few pitches later from a bunt single, going up 4-0. Minnick would follow that up with his second RBI hit of the day, a double, to plate Snider and extend the lead 5-0.

Horn would go another inning and strike out a pair, then was pulled for Ollie Akens. He finished his day going five scoreless with 11 strikeouts and no hits allowed.

“Finding the changeup during my warmup in the bullpen helped. My slurve and cutter were a bit off, but I got them dialed back in as the game went on,” Horn said. “Coach Meyers wanted me to come to be a starter at MTSU and has put faith in me to do so. Hopefully, it stays that way.”

Snider would extend the lead an inning later on a solo shot, his third home run in as many days. Nathan Brewer followed that up later in the frame with an RBI single to center field, scoring Minnick.

FDU would finally get on the board in the seventh after a slow ground ball and a bloop single scored its first run since the ninth inning of Friday’s game.

Ollie Akens and Jack Fortner would go the final two innings and pitch scoreless baseball en route to a 7-1 victory, the first series sweep for MTSU since April 6-8, 2023, against Western Kentucky.

The Blue Raiders will be back in action this Tuesday when Austin Peay comes to Reese Smith Jr Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.