Middle Tennessee lost to Western Kentucky 11-0 on May 2 in the second game of their baseball series. The Hilltoppers scored six runs in the first inning, setting the tone for the rest of the contest.
The outcome affects both teams’ positions in Conference USA, leaving Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, and the winner of Sam Houston versus Kennesaw State tied for sixth place. Both Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky hold a tiebreaker over Kennesaw State but not against Sam Houston.
Tyler Minnick extended his on-base streak to 37 games with a single in the sixth inning. Nathan Brewer and Clay Badylak each hit doubles, with Brewer now at 15 doubles for the season—one behind Minnick’s team-leading total. Badylak recorded two hits during the game, while Brett Vondohlen singled to load the bases in the fifth inning. Junior reliever Cole Cates pitched a scoreless seventh inning, marking his fifth straight appearance without allowing an earned run.
Minnick is now the first Blue Raider since Dustin Delgado in 2015 to have an on-base streak of at least 30 games; his current streak began March 1. Cates continues his run of effective relief appearances as well.
“We dug a big hole there in the top of the first against what we knew was going to be one of the better arms that we’ve faced,” Jerry Meyers said. “Giving him some cushion and us not playing damage control in the first was pretty much the story of the game.”
The final game between Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky is scheduled for tomorrow at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
