Blue Raiders take on UTSA to start C-USA Championship - GoBlueRaiders.com

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — It's conference tournament time for Middle Tennessee's softball team, as the five-seed Blue Raiders play eight-seed UTSA in the first game of the Conference USA Championship, and MT is looking to win five games in four days to bring home its second league title.
 
First Round: Middle Tennessee (26-21, 11-8 C-USA) vs. UTSA (14-30, 8-12 C-USA)
» Wednesday, May 12 | 12 p.m. CT
» WKU Softball Complex | Bowling Green, Kentucky
 
About the Blue Raiders
» MT wrapped up the regular season with a 2-1 series win over FIU last weekend and celebrated its 2020 and 2021 senior classes.
» The 1-2 punch of Summer Burgess (.311 avg, 11 doubles) and Kelci Hill (.375 avg, 57 hits, 21 RBIs) leads the Blue Raiders at the top of the order and received All-Conference honors on Tuesday.
» Lexi Cushing leads in homers (5) and RBIs (29), and Claire Smith (13 runs, 11 RBIs) is one of three Blue Raiders with double digit runs scored and runs batted in.
» Amber Baldwin (10-8, 2.73 ERA) and Corrina Dodd (8-4, 2.78 ERA) have been MT's top two starters this season, and Kailey Ahlstrom (6-1, 2.05 ERA) has been dominant out of the bullpen.
» MT leads C-USA as a team in sacrifice bunts (42) and fielding percentage (.972) and is second in hits (353) and stolen bases (63).
» The Blue Raiders thrive in tight games, posting a record of 12-4 in one-run affairs.
» Early innings are crucial for the Blue Raiders, who are 17-4 when scoring first and 2-12 when the opponent scores in the first inning.
» Nine different Blue Raiders have a walk-off hit in 2021, and MT is 7-2 in extra inning games this season.
 
All-time at the C-USA Championship
» When MT made the tournament for the first time in 2018, the Blue Raiders, then a six-seed, ran the table and brought a C-USA Championship trophy back to Murfreesboro.
» The Blue Raiders then went back to the league tournament in 2019, winning twice before dropping the next two in the double elimination portion of the tournament.
 
All-time vs. UTSA
» UTSA has a 6-3 lead in the all-time series, but the two programs will meet on a neutral field for the first time on Wednesday.
» MT won one of the three games played between the Blue Raiders and Roadrunners in 2019 in San Antonio.
 
Scouting the Roadrunners
» UTSA was the last team in this year's C-USA Championship after posting an 8-12 record against C-USA west division teams in the regular season.
» Senior outfielder Celeste Loughman is one of three Roadrunners to play in and start all 44 games and leads the team with a .323 batting average, 31 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.
» Freshman infielder Kat Ibarra was the only Roadrunner represented in Tuesday's All-Conference announcement. After a .322 batting average and a team-high 88 assists, Ibarra was named to the All-Freshman Team.
» Junior infielder Riley Grunberg (.281 average, 13 homers, 40 RBIs) was named C-USA's Hitter of the Week on Monday following her team's 3-1 series win over UTEP.
» Senior pitcher Clarissa Hernandez (4.55 ERA) leads her team in appearances (22), games started (11), strikeouts (62) and wins (5-5).
 
Next Time Out
» Should MT win against UTSA in the C-USA tournament opener, the Blue Raiders will play Western Kentucky Wednesday at 5 p.m. CT.
» If MT advances to Thursday's quarterfinal, it'll be at 12 p.m. CT against top-seed North Texas. Thursday marks the start of the double elimination portion of the tournament.
» Friday will be the semifinal games, and Saturday's championship on CBS Sports Network will begin at 12 p.m. CT.
 
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Softball), Facebook (Blue Raider Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
 

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