Jaggers Homer Sparks 11-3 Victory

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nate Jaggers homered and drove in four runs, as Middle Tennessee scored seven times in the first two innings en route to an 11-3 victory over Belmont Wednesday at Greer Stadium.

Jaggers had three hits in the game and scored three times while delivering the big blow of the contest with a three-run homer in the second inning. The round-tripper capped seven runs in the first two innings for the Blue Raiders (3-2), six against Belmont starter Josh Moffitt.

"We knocked [Belmont's] starter out early and got out to a quick start," head coach Steve Peterson said. "Jaggers had a good day and our defense supported our pitching staff because Belmont hit the ball well. We were able to turn a doubleplay and made some nice plays in the outfield."

The Blue Raiders scored three runs in the first inning on four hits, starting with a run-scoring double from Todd Martin. A Jaggers blooper plated Martin and Adam Warren Drove in Jaggers with a two-out single to left.

Martin drove in his second run of the game with a groundout in the second, but the big blow came off the bat of Jaggers. The senior battled through a 10-pitch at-bat after falling behind early in the count before depositing a three-run homer over the leftfield wall for a 7-0 Middle Tennessee advantage.

Belmont (6-3) cut into the lead with two runs in the third, one on a very unusual sacrifice fly caught in foul territory down the rightfield line, and the other on a two-out RBI single to leftcenter from Dennis Gomez.

Middle Tennessee got the runs back in the fourth after a walk to Marcus Taylor and a single from Jaggers. Adam Darby's bouncer up the middle plated Taylor before Warren drove in Jaggers with a line out to center for a 9-2 Blue Raider advantage.

Middle Tennessee added two more runs in the seventh after Warren doubled to leadoff and a pair of walks. Consecutive sacrifice flies from Eric McNamee and Jeff Beachum gave the Blue Raiders an 11-2 lead.

Blue Raider starter Tyler Copeland (1-0) tossed five innings to get his first collegiate victory, allowing two runs on six hits. Copeland walked three and struck out one.

"I've been waiting for three weeks, so it's good to get the start out of the way. I can relax a little bit now," Copeland said. "In the first inning I had it going good, then I lost my command and it took a while to get it back. But [Belmont] was a free-swinging team and that helped out."

Beachum and Warren added two hits in the 11-hit attack for Middle Tennessee, while Taylor walked three times and scored twice.

The Blue Raiders begin a three-game homestand Friday against Southeastern Louisiana beginning at 3 p.m.

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.