Baseball rolls to 12-3 victory over South Alabama

MOBILE, Ala. - Seven Blue Raiders recorded multiple hits and Johnathan Frebis pitched a complete game on Saturday evening as the Middle Tennessee baseball team routed South Alabama 12-3 at Stanky Field in Mobile, Ala.

The complete game was Frebis' longest career outing, and after giving up a run in the early goings, the freshman left-hander got rolling and entered the ninth inning having retired 14 consecutive hitters. The Murfreesboro native ended the day with nine innings pitched, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out seven to improve to 3-2 this season.

The outing was bolstered by one of the biggest offensive days for MT in two seasons as eight Blue Raiders registered a hit and eight knocked in at least one run on the way to out-hitting the Jaguars 20-4.

The 20 hits are the most by an MT team since May 15, 2010, when the Blue Raiders collected 22 hits in a 20-8 rout of former Sun Belt school New Orleans.

The offense was led by the duo of Johnny Thomas and Justin Guidry, who combined for eight hits. Guidry was 4-for-5 with four runs scored and a triple, and Thomas went 4-for-6. Ryan Ford had a three-hit day, and four other Blue Raiders had two-hit showings.

MT (16-12, 4-4 Sun Belt) jumped out to a lead in the first. Guidry laced a one-out single to to center, and advanced to third on a Thomas double before scoring on a Trent Miller sacrifice fly to deep right.

USA (11-16, 6-2 Sun Belt) pulled even an inning later after a pair of leadoff walks came back to haunt Frebis. A Hunt Griffith sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out, and a wild pitch allowed the equalizing run to cross.

However, that was the last time the Jaguars would challenge MT for a while as Frebis faced the minimum until the ninth, retiring 19 of the next 20 batters he faced.

Miller played a role in getting things going again for the Blue Raiders in the fourth. After leading off with a single to left, Hank LaRue belted a double down the right field line, and Jordan Rorex grounded out to put MT back on top. Stephens followed up with a single to score LaRue and take a 3-1 lead.

Guidry and Thomas singled to start off the fifth frame, and a one-out LaRue two-run double put the Blue Raiders in control.

LaRue went on to finish 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two batted in.

In the sixth inning, eight Blue Raiders went to the plate and MT scored four more times to take a commanding 9-1 lead. Robert Lawrence and Guidry both tripled in the frame, repeating a feat that was accomplished earlier in the week against Memphis. Prior to that, the Blue and White had not recorded two triples in the same inning since the 2008 season.

MT posted a run apiece in each the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

A lead-off single and a double broke Frebis' rhythm in the ninth, but he retired the final three hitters in order to secure a rubber game meeting in Mobile on Sunday.

First pitch at Stanky Field is set for 1 p.m. Jonathan Sisco will get the start, and with a win, the Blue Raiders would secure their first conference road series win since the 2010 season.

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