TROY, Ala.?Given an extra day to rest due to
the rain at that marred the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Middle Tennessee's
Kenneth Roberts pitched a gem for the top-seeded Blue Raiders as they ended
seventh-seeded ULM's Cinderella run through the tournament 3-1.
“I'm really proud of them,” ULM head coach
Jeff Schexnaider said. “What they did this week was really unbelievable and a
tribute to our team and the senior leadership we had. We played well, but just
left a couple of runners on base. We had some opportunities early and against a
good team like Middle Tennessee you have to take advantage of the chances you
get.”
The Warhawks had won four straight games
heading into the championship game at Troy's Riddle-Pace Field. ULM dropped the
opener to Western Kentucky on Wednesday and then defeated sixth-seeded South
Alabama, third-seeded Troy and second-seeded WKU twice to advance to the title
game.
Roberts, who threw 95 pitches in a
seven-inning complete game against Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, held the
Warhawks to just one hit through the first five innings of the game and four in
his six innings of work. The first-team all-conference selection and Tournament
MVP struck out five ULM batters and issued no free passes.
The one early hit was a double off the right-field
wall by Ben Soignier tying him with Willie Core for the all-time ULM hits lead
with 296. The senior All-American finishes his career as the school's all-time
leader in hits, total bases and doubles.
He will finish ranked second in runs scored, third in home runs, RBIs and
walks and fourth in stolen bases and batting average.
Soignier, Corey Brown and Perry Smith were
named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team.
ULM finishes its season 31-27 overall marking
the 14th season in school history with 30 or more wins and second in
three years under Schexnaider. Middle Tennessee moves to 43-16 and receives the
Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Against All-Sun Belt closer Coty Woods, the
Warhawks were able to load the bases with two outs in the eighth inning. Smith
drew a walk, Boomer Blanchard singled and Soignier was hit by a pitch. Woods
got behind Matt Collins 2-0, but battled back to get a grounder to second to
end the threat.
Woods picked up his 14th save of
the season scattering two hits over three innings. He struck out six batters
and walked one.
The Blue Raiders were able to scratch three
runs across the plate in the third inning off Jordy Poche. Following an out,
the next two Blue Raiders drew walks and then Nathan Hines singled through the
right side of the infield for the first run of the game. Sun Belt Player of the
Year Bryce Brentz singled through the left side for the second run and Zach
Dean singled to right for the final run of the inning and game for MTSU.
ULM had a prime opportunity to take hold of
the game in the opening frame with runners in scoring position and nobody out. Blanchard
led off the game reaching on an error and Soignier doubled, but Roberts struck
out two consecutive batters to end the inning.
The Warhawks got on the board in the bottom
of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Jon Prevost. Smith scored on the play
after setting the Sun Belt Conference Tournament record with his sixth double
of the week. Following the second out of the inning, Collins lined a ball to
right field, but was thrown out at second base by right fielder Zach Hudson trying
to stretch it into a double.
Poche (2-7) took the loss for the Warhawks
allowing three runs on six hits in 3.2 innings of work. The sophomore walked four
batters and struck out two. Josh Miller held the Blue Raiders in check over 4.1
innings allowing just two hits and no runs.
