Baseball Drops 11-4 Decision in Finale

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Ross Detwiler allowed just three hits in seven innings and Missouri State pounded out 14 hits in an 11-4 series-clinching victory over Middle Tennessee Sunday afternoon at Reese Smith Field.

Detwiler (1-0) gave up two runs on three hits, striking out six and walking only two in seven-plus innings before exiting with the visiting Bears ahead 11-1 in the eighth inning. The lefthander worked out of a bases-loaded and no one out jam in the fifth, his only real trouble in the contest.

D.J. Roshone got the final six outs for Missouri State, although he allowed two home runs and five hits.

The Bears (4-3) got four runs in the second inning on three hits and two Middle Tennessee errors, and added two runs in the fourth and seventh innings and three more in the eighth to win the series for the fifth time in six tries against the Blue Raiders.

Tanner Mattson was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored for the winners, while Adam Pummill added two hits and an RBI, Tim Rafferty and Chris Taylor both had two hits and two RBIs, and Nolan Keane and Matt Weglarz each scored twice.

The Blue Raiders (4-3) managed just two hits in the first seven innings of the game against Detwiler before scoring three times in the eighth on four hits and collecting two more hits in the ninth.

Todd Martin had three hits for the Blue Raiders in the loss, including a solo homer, a double and a triple. Jeff Beachum added a pair of hits.

Middle Tennessee starter Jeff Kasser (1-1) gave up six runs on six hits in three-plus innings of work. The righthander was the first of six Blue Raider hurlers in the game.

Langson Stanley worked three shutout innings before running into trouble in the seventh, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out three. Josh Anderson allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning.

The Bears scored four times in the second inning with three hits and the aid of two Blue Raider errors, and everything happened with two outs.

Taylor singled to right with two outs before Keane walked. Mattson's single to left scored Taylor and Jacob Hilgendorf followed with a double to leftcenter, with Keane scoring on the play.

Beachum cut the throw off from the outfield and tried to get Hilgendorf at second, but his throw was wide and rolled all the way into the dugout, allowing both Taylor and Hilgendorf to score for a 4-0 lead.

Martin's solo homer to leftfield in the bottom of the inning cut the deficit to 4-1.

In the fourth Keane doubled just inside the first base bag to leadoff and Mattson followed with a single off the glove of Beachum. Both runners moved up via a stolen base, chasing Kasser from the contest. Pummill's groundout against Stanley plated Keane.

A bunt single with two outs from Matt Lawson put runners on the corners, and Stanley's wild pickoff throw allowed Mattson to score for a 6-1 MSU lead.

In the bottom of the fifth the Blue Raiders loaded the bases with a Martin triple off the centerfield wall and a pair of hit batsmen. But Josh Horn struck out looking, Beachum fouled out and Nathan Hines grounded sharply into a fielder's choice, ending the threat without a score.

The Bears had a chance to break the game open in the next half inning, loading the bases with one out on two hit batsmen and a single. But Stanley induced a 4-6-3 doubleplay from Tony Lewis, ending the threat.

Weglarz led off the MSU seventh with a double down the leftfield line and Rafferty followed with an RBI single through the middle for a 7-1 advantage, chasing Stanley from the contest. Rafferty scored later in the inning on an RBI single from Mattson.

The Bears added three more runs in the eighth, starting with a hit batter to Lawson. Brayden Drake singled and Weglarz was intentionally walked to load the bases. Rafferty grounded out, scoring a run, and Taylor plated two more runs with a single to left for an 11-1 lead.

In the eighth Beachum led off with a single, with Detwiler exiting after 103 pitches. With two outs Michael McKenry belted his first home run of the season to leftcenter. Pinch-hitter Marcus Taylor followed with a solo shot, his second of the season, making it an 11-4 contest.

Beachum and Hines both singled in the ninth before a fielder's choice and line out ended the contest.

Middle Tennessee heads to Memphis this week for games Tuesday and Wednesday at 4 p.m. and Thursday at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES
Redshirt freshman Chad Coley made his first career appearance on the mound in the seventh ... With the win Missouri State wins the series, 2-1. The Bears have won five of the last six series between the two teams dating to 1999. The two teams did not play in 2001 and only played twice in 2002 because of a Sunday rainout. Middle Tennessee won the series, 2-1, in 2004.

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