February 22, 2026 — Middle Tennessee (5-2) pitched a combined shutout against St. Bonaventure (3-4), cruising to a 7-0 victory at Reese Smith Jr Field in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Blue Raiders used strong pitching and timely hitting to keep the Bonnies off the board all afternoon in cold, cloudy conditions.
Game recap
Starter Horn Jr. set the tone early, striking out nine batters over five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and two walks to earn the win and improve to 1-1. Reliever M. Dobbs locked things down from there, tossing four innings of two-hit ball to pick up the save. St. Bonaventure’s lineup managed only four hits and struck out 11 times against the Blue Raider pitching staff.
Middle Tennessee scratched across a run in the second on a sacrifice fly by C. Badylak, then added two more in the third on an RBI groundout by D. O’Neill and an error that allowed B. Rogers to score. The Blue Raiders tacked on two in the seventh when Rogers drove in T. Minnick with an RBI single and M. Wolfe added a run with a sacrifice bunt. Two more runs came home in the eighth on an RBI groundout by N. Brewer and an RBI single from Minnick.
Top performers
| Player | Team | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Horn Jr. (W) | Middle Tenn. | 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 9 K, 2 BB |
| M. Dobbs (S) | Middle Tenn. | 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K, 0 BB |
| B. Rogers | Middle Tenn. | 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB |
| T. Minnick | Middle Tenn. | 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2B |
| E. Paulino (L) | St. Bonaventure | 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 BB |
Looking ahead
St. Bonaventure committed four errors in the loss and was unable to generate any offense, leaving five runners on base. The Bonnies fall to 3-4 on the season. Middle Tennessee improves to 5-2, riding a strong pitching staff that combined for 11 strikeouts and held St. Bonaventure hitless with runners in scoring position.
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