Softball makes midweek trip to Western Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Coming off a tough weekend trip to Troy, the Middle Tennessee softball team returns to the road this week when the squad travels to meet Western Kentucky for a single game on Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT.

The Blue Raiders (13-30, 3-15) will look to bounce back from a gut-wrenching loss on Sunday in which the squad surrendered a pair of late-inning leads to Troy, eventually falling 6-5 in 10 innings.

Following the matchup with the Hilltoppers, the squad will return home for a date with UT-Martin on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The meeting with the Skyhawks will also be of the single-game variety.

Western Kentucky (27-18-1, 9-8-1) enters Tuesday’s tilt following taking two-of-three games at ULM. The Hilltoppers swept Saturday’s doubleheader from the Warkhawks by identical 4-1 margins before falling 1-0 in the series finale.

UT-Martin meanwhile swept a pair of games at Morehead State this past Sunday. The Skyhawks currently stand at 33-15 overall, 20-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"Playing Western Kentucky is always important to us," said Middle Tennessee head coach Sue Nevar. "This week's game is especially important important for us as we try to improve our position in the conference standings. Our offense came alive this past Sunday which we will need down the stretch to go along with the solid defense and pitching we received.

"UT-Martin is always a good team, so we must come out focused and ready to play to our best abilities in order to come away with a win."

Despite dropping two of their three games last season, Middle Tennessee holds a 22-21 all-time series lead against Western Kentucky. The Blue Raiders also have the series edge with UT-Martin, currently maintaining a 24-11-1 advantage.

Nina Davenport led the Blue Raiders at the plate last week against FIU and Troy. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native hit a whopping .409 out of the lead-off spot while also swiping a pair of bases. Her batting average has risen to .281 on the season which currently puts her fourth on the squad.

Freshman Caitlin McClure has continued to pitch well in the circle for Middle Tennessee as of late. She appeared in three games last week and allowed just three earned runs in 11 total innings. The Lilburn, Ga., product leads the Blue Raider pitching staff with a 2.81 ERA this year.

Live stats will be available for both midweek games 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.