"I liked the fight out of our team tonight," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Jim Toman. "We hung in there and were one hit away from tying [the game] up at the end."
Five straight hits to open up the ballgame led to three early runs for Louisiana Tech, who would add two more runs in the second and another in the third.
The Blue Raiders were able to muster some early offense themselves. Hunter Sullivan continued swinging a hot bat, roping an RBI double to left field to plate Brett Coker for Middle Tennessee's first run. Sullivan then stole third base and was driven in on a deep sacrifice fly to right center field by DJ Wright for the Blue Raiders second run of the day in the bottom of the second.
After drawing a leadoff walk in the third inning, Fausto Lopez stole second and then eventually came in to score on a defensive mishap by the Bulldogs. Middle Tennessee totaled four stolen bases in both the second and third innings, and wound up with a total of seven on the night. The Blue Raiders currently sit in the top five nationally with 92 stolen bases as a team this season.
"If we get guys on base we're going," Toman said. "That's the best way for this team to score runs. We've been looking to do something to create runs, so that's why we've been running so much."
First baseman Daniel Freeman slugged his first career, tucking a ball just inside the left field foul pole. The solo-shot was Freeman's sixth RBI of the season since taking over as the everyday first baseman.
Middle Tennessee made a late-push in the bottom of the ninth. Fausto Lopez and Bryce Symlar pulled off a double steal with one man out. After Symlar scored on a wild pitch, it set the table for third baseman Brett Coker, who knocked an RBI single to left field to plate Lopez and advance Cole Escher to third, making it a 9-7 game with two men out.
Brett Coker stole the seventh and final base of the night for the Blue Raiders, putting the tying run on second base and the winning run at the plate in the form of Daniel Freeman, who unfortunately bounced out to Louisiana Tech shortstop to end it.
"That's the #16 team in the country," Toman said. "We showed a lot of fight and toughness and I'm proud of our guys for hanging in there with them tonight."
On the mound, Drew Vaden had one of the better outings of his Blue Raider career out of the bullpen, going 3.1 innings and allowing just one earned run. The left-hander picked up two strikeouts and didn't walk a single Bulldog hitter.
Vaden was followed by fellow lefty Justin Medlin, who allowed just one earned run in 2.2 innings. Medlin picked up three strikeouts and allowed just one walk.
Louisiana Tech starter Jonathan Fincher had another impressive outing, tossing 6.0 total innings and allowing three earned runs with five strikeouts. The three earned runs allowed were tied for the most allowed all season by Fincher, The left-hander now sits at 10-4 with a 2.02 ERA this season.
Left fielder Hunter Sullivan paced the Blue Raiders offensively, finishing the evening 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run and two stolen bases.
The Blue Raiders are slated for a doubleheader with the Bulldogs tomorrow. First pitch at Reese Smith Jr. Field is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Baseball), Facebook (Blue Raider Baseball) and Instagram (@MT_Baseball).
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders
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Late Surge Falls Just Short for Middle Tennessee Against Louisiana Tech in Series Opener - GoBlueRaiders.com
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