Game Preview: Eastern Kentucky
Game Preview: Eastern Kentucky
Middle Tennessee baseball started the 2026 season red hot, but it had a road bump this past week, going 1-4, including a three-game sweep from UAB. The Blue Raiders are back at home this week for a midweek game and three-game set against Kennesaw State to open CUSA play.
To start things off, they’ll face Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday in a get-right game, following a disappointing four-game stretch. The Colonels are 5-11, but come into this contest on a two-game winning streak after taking two of three from Illinois State.
Scouting Report
This is not a very good team, although they do have a couple of quality bats. Dylan Littlefield leads the way, slashing .345/.414/.690 with six home runs and 22 RBI. Pedro Moreno is another good hitter who also plays shortstop and has been their leadoff man.
Eastern Kentucky has been underwhelming offensively, batting just .260 with 92 runs scored across 16 games. It’s not a scary unit, but the two bats listed above are good players who could do damage if Middle Tennessee’s pitchers aren’t locked in.
On the flip side, EKU’s pitching hasn’t been great either. They own a 7.30 team ERA and a .298 batting average allowed, but have a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio. Over 130 2/3 innings, the Colonels fanned 107 and walked 77, but have been hit around a lot.
The batting average allowed speaks for itself, but that unit also gives up too many extra-base hits. Teams have collected 56 multi-bag hits against EKU, including 22 home runs.
It’s not necessarily a terrible staff, but they give up a ton of big base knocks.
What to Look For
I’m looking forward to seeing how Middle Tennessee bounces back following a disappointing four-game stretch. The offense was not the problem at all, scoring 31 runs, including 14 in the series finale. But the Blue Raider bullpen was not good at all.
They were fantastic up until the last four games, so maybe it was just a fluke.
Regardless, it was very uncharacteristic play from a team whose calling card has been terrific pitching. However, they’ll have an opportunity this week to pick it back up and come out with some wins.
Three Keys to Victory
· Flush The UAB Series
Everyone knows that this was an embarrassing weekend for the Blue Raiders. While they lost to a quality team, it doesn’t matter. MTSU knows it should have won that series, but allowed it to slip through their fingers with two blown leads in Saturday’s doubleheader.
It can sometimes be tough to get over things like that and get your mind right for the next game, but that’s what they must do. Middle Tennessee has to flush that series sweep and come ready to play ball on Tuesday.
· Deliver quality Innings on The Mound
The Blue Raider pitchers did not perform well over the weekend and against Belmont.
Whether or not that was a fluke, we’ll see this week. But if they want to win and get back to their brand of baseball, they’ll need the pitching to step up.
I do not know who the starting pitcher will be, but he needs to deliver a good outing, followed by lights-out relief.
· Keep The Bats Hot
Middle Tennessee’s offense has been excellent to start the season, posting a team batting average of .298 while averaging over eight runs per game. For the most part, it’s been a consistent group that can do everything.
With conference play coming up, you want to ride that momentum the rest of the way. This point is more about the future rather than this game, but it’s vital for sustained success. Conference USA is a tough league, so they will need the offense to show up.
First pitch from Reese Smith Jr. Field on Tuesday is at 4:00 p.m. The starting pitcher has not been announced yet.