Softball hosts FIU in midweek Sun Belt series

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The Middle Tennessee softball team will continue its six-game conference homestand this week as the squad welcomes FIU to Murfreesboro for a three-game conference series beginning Tuesday.

The Blue Raiders and Panthers will meet for a doubleheader Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. CT. The teams will then face off in a single game Wednesday at noon.

Middle Tennessee (12-25, 2-10) enters this week’s series looking to rebound from dropping three games over the weekend to No. 7 UL-Lafayette. Despite falling 4-3, the Blue Raiders smashed three home runs off All-American pitcher Ashley Brignac in Sunday’s contest and will look to carry the offensive momentum into this week’s series. The squad also received a couple of solid outings in the circle from senior pitcher Caty Jutson who limited the potent Ragin’ Cajun offense to just four earned runs in 14 innings pitched over the weekend.

“We have played very close and competitive games against FIU recently and I am expecting the same this week,” said Middle Tennessee head coach Sue Nevar. “We need to come out and play aggressively and consistently in all three facets of the game. We proved this past weekend that we can play with anyone in the country, so we know what we are capable of. It simply comes down to taking care of business every time we put on the blue and black.”

The Panthers (22-19, 10-6) are fresh off taking two-of-three games this past weekend at Western Kentucky. They have won six of their last nine games overall and knocked off No. 23 Oregon State earlier this year while taking one of three games from UL-Lafayette.

Jutson will look to continue her impressive pitching in the circle against FIU. With her two complete games over the weekend, she now leads the squad with seven on the season including one complete-game shutout performance.

Nina Dever, Kaycee Popham and Kelsey Woodruff each tallied a home run in Sunday’s contest against the Ragin’ Cajuns. The trio ranks one through three on the team in long balls as Popham leads the squad with eight on the year while Dever has six and Woodruff has blasted five.

Live stats will be available for each game of the series and can be accessed here. Periodic updates will also be provided via the Middle Tennessee softball social media pages on Twitter @MT_Softball and on Facebook at the MTSU Softball page.

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