Thursday, May 14
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:00 PM ET/6:00 PM CT
Liberty University
36-18, 19-9
1
at
8
Middle Tennessee
26-27, 12-16
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Middle Tenn. | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 11 | 0 |
Middle Tennessee Drops Liberty in Series Opener
5/14/2026 11:14:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, TENN. – The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders lead from start to finish in downing the Liberty Flames in the opener of the final CUSA series of the regular season on Friday night at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
The host Blue Raiders scored eight unanswered runs, striking for four in the second, three in the third and one in the fourth to take a commanding lead.
Right fielder Landon Scilly had two hits and an RBI for the Flames, while third baseman Jordan Jaffe added two hits and scored Liberty's lone run.
Liberty falls to 19-9 in CUSA and 36-18 overall. The Flames have lost five of their last six games. Middle Tennessee ups its record to 12-16 in conference play and 25-27 overall.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Liberty (36-18, 19-9 CUSA); Middle Tennessee (25-27, 12-16 CUSA)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Reese Smith Jr. Field)
WP: David Horn (4-5) | LP: Ben Blair (6-5)
Scoring Summary
2nd – MTSU – Rogers singles, Brewer scores, 1-0
2nd – MTSU – Badylak grounds into a fielder's choice, Rogers scores, 2-0
2nd – MTSU – Nowak singles, Badylak and O'Neill score, 4-0
3rd – MTSU – Clapp homers, 5-0
3rd – MTSU – Rogers doubles, Brewer scores, 6-0
3rd – MTSU – O'Neill singles, Rogers scores, 7-0
4th – MTSU – Clapp singles, Minnick scores, 8-0
6th – LIBERTY – Scilley singles, Jaffe scores, 8-1
Notable Numbers
- Middle Tennessee outhit Liberty 11-8. Each team committed an error.
- The Flames left 11 men on base. The Blue Raiders left eight men on base.
- Liberty center fielder Josh Campos joined Jaffe and Scilley with two hits in the game.
- Flames starting pitcher Ben Blair takes the loss. The right-hander gave up eight runs, five earned, on eight hits over four innings. He struck out two and walked one.
- Liberty reliever Aydan Decker-Perry finished the game, pitching four scoreless innings. He scattered three hits, striking out four and walking one batter.
- Middle Tennessee starter David Horn records the win. He allowed one run on six hits. The right-hander struck out nine and walked two.
- Second baseman Cooper Clapp had three hits, including his 10th home run of the season, and two RBI.
Beyond the Box Score
- The Flames, who came into the contest with the fifth-best road record in the nation, drop to 17-6 on the road this season.
- Tonight's contest was the first time since Feb. 21 in a 2-0 loss to West Virginia that Liberty failed to score three or more runs in a game.
- Jaffe collects his 19th multi-hit contest of the year.
- Scilley records his eighth multi-hit game of the season.
Up Next
Liberty and Middle Tennessee will meet again tomorrow at Reese Smith Jr. Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST/3 p.m. CST.
The host Blue Raiders scored eight unanswered runs, striking for four in the second, three in the third and one in the fourth to take a commanding lead.
Right fielder Landon Scilly had two hits and an RBI for the Flames, while third baseman Jordan Jaffe added two hits and scored Liberty's lone run.
Liberty falls to 19-9 in CUSA and 36-18 overall. The Flames have lost five of their last six games. Middle Tennessee ups its record to 12-16 in conference play and 25-27 overall.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Liberty (36-18, 19-9 CUSA); Middle Tennessee (25-27, 12-16 CUSA)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Reese Smith Jr. Field)
WP: David Horn (4-5) | LP: Ben Blair (6-5)
Scoring Summary
2nd – MTSU – Rogers singles, Brewer scores, 1-0
2nd – MTSU – Badylak grounds into a fielder's choice, Rogers scores, 2-0
2nd – MTSU – Nowak singles, Badylak and O'Neill score, 4-0
3rd – MTSU – Clapp homers, 5-0
3rd – MTSU – Rogers doubles, Brewer scores, 6-0
3rd – MTSU – O'Neill singles, Rogers scores, 7-0
4th – MTSU – Clapp singles, Minnick scores, 8-0
6th – LIBERTY – Scilley singles, Jaffe scores, 8-1
Notable Numbers
- Middle Tennessee outhit Liberty 11-8. Each team committed an error.
- The Flames left 11 men on base. The Blue Raiders left eight men on base.
- Liberty center fielder Josh Campos joined Jaffe and Scilley with two hits in the game.
- Flames starting pitcher Ben Blair takes the loss. The right-hander gave up eight runs, five earned, on eight hits over four innings. He struck out two and walked one.
- Liberty reliever Aydan Decker-Perry finished the game, pitching four scoreless innings. He scattered three hits, striking out four and walking one batter.
- Middle Tennessee starter David Horn records the win. He allowed one run on six hits. The right-hander struck out nine and walked two.
- Second baseman Cooper Clapp had three hits, including his 10th home run of the season, and two RBI.
Beyond the Box Score
- The Flames, who came into the contest with the fifth-best road record in the nation, drop to 17-6 on the road this season.
- Tonight's contest was the first time since Feb. 21 in a 2-0 loss to West Virginia that Liberty failed to score three or more runs in a game.
- Jaffe collects his 19th multi-hit contest of the year.
- Scilley records his eighth multi-hit game of the season.
Up Next
Liberty and Middle Tennessee will meet again tomorrow at Reese Smith Jr. Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST/3 p.m. CST.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: David Horn Jr. (4-5)
L: Blair, Ben (6-5)
Batting:
RBI: Scilley, Landon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jaffe, Jordan 1
HBP: Fulk, Anderson 1
Batting:
2B: Tyler Minnick 1 ; Nathan Brewer 1 ; Brett Rogers 1
HR: Cooper Clapp 1
RBI: Owen Nowak 2 ; Cooper Clapp 2 ; Brett Rogers 2 ; Dean O'Neill 1 ; Clay Badylak 1
SH: Layne Akers 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Tyler Minnick 1 ; Cooper Clapp 1 ; Nathan Brewer 2 ; Brett Rogers 2 ; Dean O'Neill 1 ; Clay Badylak 1
SB: Clay Badylak 1
CS: Owen Nowak 1
HBP: Nathan Brewer 1 ; Brett Vondohlen 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
Nick Barone: A Unique Journey to Liberty
Wednesday, May 13
Tanner Marsh: Short Chat with the Shortstop
Tuesday, May 05
Anderson Fulk: Finding Faith In a Locker Room
Monday, May 04
Jordan Jaffe: Why Liberty?
Wednesday, April 29