The Blue Raiders (26-21, 11-8) tried to come from behind for their second win in extras in as many days after taking a 1-0 win in 13 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday. A four-run top of the ninth for the Panthers thwarted those ideas, though.
After falling behind 4-0 early, MT battled back to tie things in the fifth and send the game to extras, where both teams went scoreless through the eighth. FIU then put things to rest in the top of the ninth with four hits and four runs, one score coming off a single and three more on a home run.
"Our pitchers didn't come ready to go," MT head coach Jeff Breeden said. "We have to come out tomorrow ready to go in the first inning, and we have to get a hitter who can step up when we need it late."
Before the game, Middle Tennessee honored its 2020 seniors, the first of two senior days scheduled for the weekend.
Sydney Heath, Keely McGee, Kaylyn Slatter and Samantha Valentine were all honored Saturday, and Heath and McGee were in attendance. Sunday's seniors — Summer Burgess, Claire Smith, Amber Baldwin, Jocelynn De La Cruz, Brooke McClure, Ryan King and Lexi Cushing — will be recognized at 10:30 a.m. prior to the 11 a.m. first pitch.
"The ones from last year had their season cut short, so they didn't have a chance to have a senior day," Breeden said. "I was glad to see those kids come back and have a little bit of a moment they missed out on last year."
Starting pitcher Corrina Dodd had an uncharacteristic rough outing, getting just two outs in the first before being relieved with four runs charged against her.
The early 4-0 deficit certainly wasn't ideal, but lefty reliever Kailey Ahlstrom calmed things down for the Blue Raiders and let them start chipping away.
They scored once in the bottom of the first and twice more in the third, then tied the game in the fifth as Ahlstrom kept the Panthers off the scoreboard. The junior finished with two strikeouts against five hits and no walks over 5.2 innings.
Ahlstrom was relieved by junior Mia Marinakis with two runners on and one out in the top of the seventh. She got out of the inning unscathed and cruised through the eighth, but was saddled with the loss after giving up the first run in the ninth.
"Kailey came in and I thought pitched really well," Breeden said. "We just didn't get good pitching to start or end the game."
It was the middle of MT's lineup that did the damage in the comeback.
The third through seventh spots combined to go 7-for-18 on the day and accounted for all of the team's RBIs.
Freshman Makenzie Hutchinson finished 2-for-2 with a walk, RBI and run scored, and senior Jocelynn De La Cruz also had a two-hit day in four at-bats. Lexi Cushing, Lani Rodriguez and Nahri Tath-Slezak had an RBI apiece.
"We had chances in the sixth, seventh and eighth to win the game," Breeden said. "We just did a poor job of getting offense late after we battled back to get back in it. Hats off to FIU's pitchers today."
Sunday's game will be more than just senior day — it'll also mark the end of the regular season. The Conference USA Tournament is scheduled for May 12-15 at WKU.
"day" - Google News
May 09, 2021 at 05:27AM
https://ift.tt/3vPy4lO
Raiders fall in extras in weekend's first Senior Day - GoBlueRaiders.com
"day" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f7h3fo
https://ift.tt/2VYSiKW
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Raiders fall in extras in weekend's first Senior Day - GoBlueRaiders.com"
Post a Comment