Blue Raiders Drop Decision at ETSU

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - East Tennessee's Kirk Keithley had three hits and three RBIs, as the host Buccaneers defeated Middle Tennessee, 16-3, Tuesday evening at Howard Johnson Field.

The loss was the seventh in nine contests for the Blue Raiders and the third straight midweek defeat.

Keathley gave the Buccaneers a 1-0 lead in the second with a blast over the left-centerfield wall off Blue Raider starter Chris Mobley. Mobley gave up just the one run on one hit in three innings, his first work since March 31 at New Orleans.

Middle Tennessee took the lead a half inning later when Chuck Akers doubled just inside the leftfield line. Nate Jaggers drove in his 28th run of the season with a single to rightcenter, plating Akers. Josh Archer then gave the Blue Raiders the lead with a double of his own down the leftfield line, with Jaggers motoring around from first to score with two outs.

East Tennessee regained the lead in the fourth with three unearned runs. Brandon Cross reached on a throwing error by MT third baseman Brett Carroll, and Keathley drove him in with a double to rightcenter. After a strikeout, Michael Giroud was hit by a pitch and Justin Clear blooped a single into short leftfield. Justin Sims overran the ball, allowing both runners to score for a 4-2 Bucs advantage.

ETSU added another run on an RBI groundout by Caleb Moore in the fifth and scored on an error in the sixth for a 6-2 lead. The Bucs added to the lead with a two-run double to deep centerfield by David Burklin, a double off the rightfield wall from Keithley and a wild pitch to take a 10-2 lead after seven innings.

The Blue Raiders scored in the eighth on an error by East Tennessee after Justin Sims singled and Archer singled. East Tennessee plated six more runs in the eighth with just two hits.

Jeremy Armstrong (1-2), the second of six Blue Raider hurlers, suffered the loss, allowing five runs, one earned, on six hits with four strikeouts in three innings.

ETSU starter Jackson Simerly (1-2) picked up the victory with 7-2/3 innings of work, allowing three runs, two earned, with five strikeouts and two walks. Jarrod Hyder got the final four outs for the Buccaneers.

Jaggers went 3-for-4 and Akers added two hits in the eight-hit Blue Raider attack.

The two teams conclude the two-game series at 2 p.m. CT Wednesday. The Blue Raiders open home conference action this weekend with a three-game series against Western Kentucky starting Friday at 7 p.m. at Reese Smith Field.

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