Murfreesboro, Tenn. – MTSU baseball was beginning to heat up coming into a four-team weekend event, riding a four-game win streak. The first opponent of the event would be the UT Martin Skyhawks, which beat the Blue Raiders in a series a year ago. The contest was back and forth, with MTSU returning from five-run deficits twice. However, a home run to dead center field in the 10th would end things as Middle Tennessee extended its win streak to five games, the longest since 2023.

“It was one of those deals where we could have easily stopped fighting, but we didn’t. We didn’t do a very good job on the mound staying ahead in counts; we constantly had to try and get back ahead,” says MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers. “We overcame that, which is a positive, but we want to clean things up. At the same time, doing whatever we must to get a win. I’m proud of our guys. The fight was going to be there with this group.”

Trace Phillips retired the first two batters on the first two pitches, resulting in a flyout and groundout. Then, Hayden Miller recorded a fielding error that would have ended the inning but extended it, leading to a two-run home run in the next at-bat. Phillips would strike Cameron Greene out to end the frame, but he gave up his first two runs in 2025 as the Skyhawks picked up the early lead.

Matt Wolfe would smack a one-out double in the bottom of the first, then advance on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Brett Vondohlen drove him in on a fielding error in the middle infield. Nathan Brewer would fly out to the warning track to end the inning, but the Blue Raiders got a run back.

UT Martin would tack on another in the next half-inning with an Arderrius Townsend solo homer off Phillips. The Skyhawks would put up three more in the frame to extend its lead over MTSU, 6-1.

Kenny McKinley and Brett Rogers ripped back-to-back singles to begin the second inning, and after a Clay Badylak walk, the bases were loaded for Eston Snider. He collected a single to center field, scoring two after a throwing error to home plate. Wolfe flew out the next at-bat but drove in a run to cut the deficit to two runs. MTSU couldn’t put up anything more as Tyler Minnick popped out to end the frame.

Middle built on that success the next inning when Brewer launched a ball over the left-field scoreboard to cut the lead to just one. Rogers followed that with his first collegiate home run, which tied the game at six apiece. The homer would be Rogers’ sixth hit in his last six at-bats.

Phillips locked in from the third inning until he was pulled for Ollie Akens in the sixth. He would finish his day going five frames, allowing four earned runs, and striking out five. Akens took care of business and posted a shutout inning.

Will Jenkins came in after him and allowed a disastrous inning for the Blue Raiders that resulted in five runs for UT Martin, highlighted by a grand slam from Garner Anderson.

MTSU would get a run back the next frame with a McKinley one-out double. He would advance to third on a groundout, then score after Miller ripped a ball through the middle infield to chip away at the lead, making it 11-7.

The Blue Raiders began to threaten in the eighth inning when Snider collected a hit, and Wolfe walked to put two on with no outs and the heart of the lineup due up. Minnick walked and on the third pitch of his at-bat, Vondohlen went yard with a grand salami to tie things up.

“I’ve been struggling a bit, but I knew their guy threw a lot of fastballs, and that’s probably my favorite pitch to hit,” Vondohlen said. “I tried to stay calm and smooth on my swing and was able to tie it up.”

McKinley followed that with his first collegiate homer, which gave Middle Tennessee the late-inning lead. Bryant Beranek took the bump in the ninth inning with a chance to finish the comeback. He gave up a leadoff walk but followed it with two groundouts.

He was on the brink of ending the game, but an Anderson single up the middle scored the runner and tied things for a third time. Beranek got out of the inning with no other damage, but the MTSU bats would have to deliver again. They would not, and the game was sent to extras.

MTSU held the Skyhawks scoreless, sending the game to the bottom of the 10th with a chance to walk it off. Vondohlen came up to the plate, and on the third pitch, he sent it deep into center field. It looked like a simple flyout, but the ball kept carrying and wouldn’t come down until it went over the wall, sending the Blue Raider bench crazy as they just walked it off, 13-12.

“I had no clue it was going out. I couldn’t see it, but I knew I got it enough that he wouldn’t be able to catch it,” says Vondohlen. “I didn’t know [it was a home run] until everyone started screaming it was.”

The Blue Raiders will be back in action tomorrow at 4 p.m. against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. Chandler Alderman will be on the mound for MTSU.