MTSU faces elimination at C-USA baseball tournament

HATTIESBURG, Miss. –

Middle Tennessee State couldn’t slow down Rice’s offense in the middle innings, and the Blue Raiders fell 8-2 to the top-seeded Owls on Thursday in the Conference USA tournament.

Rice (39-17) advances to Saturday’s semifinal, while fourth-seeded MTSU (31-26) plays No. 5 Old Dominion in an elimination game at 3 p.m. today.

Blake Fox (12-0) held MTSU to one run on three hits over seven innings while striking out seven.

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"We matched up early with Fox,” MTSU coach Jim McGuire said in a press release. “He dominated us at home as well, so we knew what we were getting into. He’s a very, very good pitcher, one of the best pitchers in the league, if not the best, and he showed it again today.”

MTSU’s Paul Mittura (4-4) allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits over 4¹/₃ innings. Mittura did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when Rice took a 2-0 lead on a home run by Michael Aquino.

The Owls loaded the bases in the fifth, knocking Mittura out of the game. A fielder’s choice, groundout and a throwing error allowed Rice to plate three more runs and the Owls would add three more in the sixth.

MTSU got its first run in the seventh on a two-out single by Michael Adkins that scored Austin Bryant. The Blue Raiders added a run in the ninth when Hank LaRue doubled and scored on Bryant’s groundout.

TODAY’S GAME

MTSU vs. OLD DOMINION

• When: 3 p.m.

• TV/radio:

None/89.5-FM