MURFREESBORO, Tenn.-Tyler
Burnett hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give
Middle Tennessee the lead and then hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the
11th to lift the Blue Raiders past ULM 5-4 Friday night at Reese
Smith Field in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both clubs.
Burnett, who finished 3-for-5
on the night, lined a one-out offering from Wil Browing into the gap in
left-center and Justin Miller came around from first to score the winning run
after he led off the 11th with a single to left.
The Warhawks (6-6, 0-1 Sun
Belt) tied the game in the top of the ninth with a two-out rally against the
preseason favorites in the conference. Jordy Poche drew a six-pitch and then
Kelvin York delivered a pinch-hit single to put runners on first and second.
Middle Tennessee starter
Kenneth Roberts was then lifted from the game and was replaced by Nick
Montgomery. The cat-and-mouse game continued as ULM head coach Jeff Schexnaider
inserted left-handed batter Josh Gill into lineup. The move paid off as Gill
lined a single into center field to score Poche.
Judd Edwards led the Warhawks
at the plate going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and his seventh double of the
season.
The Warhawks took a 3-1 in the
third and ULM starter James Jones held the Blue Raiders scoreless over the next
four innings before they began their comeback with a run in the sixth on an
infield single by All-American Bryce Brentz - Jones struck out the reigning
NCAA batting champion three times on the night and Browning struck him out for a
fourth time with two runners on and two outs in the ninth.
Jones struck out a career-high
eight batters on the night over eight innings and allowed just seven hits
against the high-powered Middle Tennessee (9-4, 1-0) offense that entered the
game batting .342 as a team.
Browning (1-1) also tallied a
new career-high strikeout total sitting down five Middle Tennessee batters in
2.1 innings of work. He was charged with the hard-luck loss for the Warhawks.
Shane Ardoin, who was making
his first career start for the Warhawks, started the three-run third with a
single to left. Boomer Blanchard followed with an infield single and the pair
moved into scoring position on a grounder to first. Nick Wade lined a single to
right to score Ardoin and Edwards laced a double into the gap in left-center to
plate Blanchard and Wade.
Roberts did not allow another
Warhawk hit until the ninth inning when York chased him from the game.
Montgomery (4-1) earned the win after blowing the save in the ninth. He allowed
one hit over 2.1 innings.
The Warhawks will send junior
right-hander Drew Granier (1-0, 4.11) to the bump and the Blue Raiders will
counter with freshman right-hander Daniel Palo (0-0, 4.15) in game two of the
series Saturday at 4 p.m.
Saturday's game will be
broadcast live in northeast Louisiana on 540 AM and worldwide on the internet
at ulmwarhawks.com. Fans can also follow all of the action with free live stats
on ulmwarhawks.com.
