Murfreesboro, Tenn. – After a long wait, college baseball returns to Reese Smith Jr Field. MTSU played a familiar foe in the Bowling Green Falcons, which they opened against last year. The Blue Raiders were forced to play a doubleheader due to weather, which they split—dominantly winning game 1 18-0 but dropping the night game by a score of 7-6.

“We had everything go right in the first game, and even in the second one, we didn’t play poorly, but a couple plays here and there was the difference,” said MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers. “They [Bowling Green] are a good team. You get behind 5-2, and maybe those at-bats aren’t as relaxed as they were, but I don’t think we pressed or panicked; I like our guy's mindset, but you have to prove that every day, and we came up short in the second game.”

Trace Phillips trotted out to the mound for the Opening Day start after an offseason of work and a lot of hype, being named a consensus top 100 prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft. He allowed a base runner to start the game due to an error by Brett Vondohlen but retired the side, two by the strikeout, to end the frame.

The Blue Raiders came out hot offensively with a plethora of hits, including transfer catcher Tyler Minnick’s RBI single to start the season. That would be a five-run frame, highlighted by a two-run shot by College of Charleston transfer Hayden Miller, his first collegiate home run.

The bats would quiet the next few innings but would not last. Matt Wolfe and Eston Snider got on base via a walk and single, then advanced on a groundout. Wolfe would come around to score on a wild pitch before Snider scored on an RBI groundout by Cooper Clapp.

Two innings later, Phillips would get in a jam on the mound with two runners on and a pair of outs. The hard-throwing righty would get into a battle with the batter but forced an infield pop-out to end the threat.

He would go six innings of shutout ball, allowing only two hits and striking out eight en route to a win on the mound.

The Blue Raiders would tack on two more in the sixth and seventh, along with a shutdown inning from Landen Burch in the seventh, and they would head into the late innings up 10-0.

Redshirt sophomore Nathan Brewer came out hacking in the eighth, crushing a two-run bomb over the right-field scoreboard. Middle would take advantage of poor Bowling Green pitching and drew several bases-loaded walks to tack on six more to punctuate the win.

Burch finished the job in the ninth inning, retiring the side on two punchouts and a groundout to notch Middle Tennessee’s first win of the season, 18-0 over the Falcons.

Chandler Alderman started the game as usual, with a shutout inning despite allowing a two-out single. He would follow that with another good inning in the second as he shut down the Bowling Green lineup again, including a strikeout looking.

In the bottom of the second, a pitch hit Keaton Ray, and Tyler Minnick instantly made them pay, crushing a two-run homer right over the left field wall to give MTSU a 2-0 lead.

“It feels incredible. I was very excited to come here [MTSU], and I’m just grateful to be able to contribute. However, I wasn’t the only one,” Minnick said. “Today was just a good sign of what’s to come. I think we’ll be able to keep it going and have a great season.”

The southpaw got into a bit of trouble in the third after he walked someone, then allowed a base runner due to an error, then an RBI bloop single to center field. That was followed by an RBI infield single, but Alderman would get it figured out and end the inning with only two runs given up.

Things didn't go as well the next inning when he gave up three runs on three hits before he was pulled for reliever Jonny Stevens.

In the bottom of the fourth, MTSU threatened after a walk loaded the bases with Matt Wolfe coming to the plate. The shortstop fought hard but was struck out looking to end the inning with the Blue Raiders still trailing by three runs.

In the next inning, Stevens allowed a one-out single but bounced back with a strikeout and an out on batter interference. The Blue Raider offense went on a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, starting with back-to-back singles from Clapp and Nathan Brewer. Both would advance to second and third after a groundout, but Keaton Ray would deliver and send them home on an RBI single.

Minnick popped out to the catcher, but the damage had already been done, and MTSU was within a run. Bowling Green returned the favor in the next half-inning with a pair of runs off Stevens to extend the Falcon lead to three.

Time was running out, so if MTSU wanted to sweep this doubleheader, they would need to get something going quickly. Three Blue Raiders singled to load the bases; then Miller would score on a fielder’s choice. Middle would then try some trickery with a double steal that paid off as Wolfe scored. Nothing more would come, but the Blue Raiders had cut the lead to one again.

Miller would come in clutch with one out, mashing a long double that bounced off the center field wall to bring Brett Rogers and Eston Snider to the plate. But both would chase after first-pitch balls and pop them up, ending a potential tying situation.

MTSU would have two more opportunities to tie it but couldn’t get it done as the late offensive heroics weren’t enough to dig out of the 5-2 hole, and the Blue Raiders would be downed 7-6.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed about not being able to come out on top in the second game, but you can’t let negative results creep into what our mindset is,” Meyers said. “I’m confident our guys will be able to put that away, but we’ve got to come out ready to play tomorrow.”

Middle Tennessee looks to finish the series on Saturday at 1 p.m., but if the weather says otherwise, they will play on Sunday at 1 p.m. Drew Horn is the probable starter on the mound.