MTSU Beats Austin Peay in a Tight Game

Written by: Jake Blair

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.— Middle Tennessee State University’s baseball team defeated Austin Peay University’s team at Reese Smith Field by a score of 6-5 on April 4 with a home run at the beginning of the ninth inning.

            The crowd turnout for the game was not nearly as large as some of the recent games to be held at Reese Smith Field. Saying this, some will agree that even though the crowd wasn’t big, MTSU’s desire for victory was huge. With number 21 Austin Sistrunk and number 10 Vaughn Shapen making some major hits, the team managed to bump MTSU’s score up to 3 in just the second inning.

            Assistant Coach Scott Hall said- “They have a good offensive team. The final score from Austin Peay was expected to have been higher than what it was.”

Throughout most of the game, MTSU managed to stay two or three points ahead of Austin Peay. With number 23 AJ Spencer, 28 Reid Spencer, and 31 Cody Puckett pitching for MTSU, it managed to keep Austin Peay from getting many runs in. Many of the bases taken during MTSU pitching were due to balls.

            MTSU managed to score three runs by the second inning of the game. It wasn’t until the end of the third inning that Austin Peay was able to get on the scoreboard with two runs. The Blue Raiders managed to keep a constant flow of points coming in throughout most of the game with an exception of two or so innings. On the other side of the field was Austin Peay which didn’t score 3 of its 5 over-all points until the last inning of the game.

            This game was very different from the previous game against Vanderbilt University in on March 22. In that game, Vanderbilt had a 4-point lead and MTSU managed to come back and win with a score of 7-4.

            Even with some of these major wins, Austin Peay still remains higher on the list of schools throughout the nation being ranked at number 82 compared to their previous ranking of 97. MTSU is slowly making its way closer to Austin Peay’s spot on the list with a ranking of number 88 in the nation compared to a previous ranking of 90 in the nation.

         " I think they are comparable opponents and both have power. The Univeristy of Tennessee has an edge on pitching. But you never know the outcome when it comes to these games"- said coach Hall when asked about how playing  UT in an upcoming game.

           For more information on the schedule and roster of the MTSU baseball team, visit: www.goblueraiders.com

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