Games 49-51 | Reese Smith Jr. Field (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Sam Houston (12-36, 6-15 CUSA) at Middle Tennessee (20-28, 5-16 CUSA)
Projected Starters
Friday, May 9 – 6:00 p.m.
SHSU: RHP Noah Kendrick (0-7, 6.65 ERA, 47.1 IP, 23 K, 18 BB)
MTSU: LHP Chandler Alderman (3-7, 5.77 ERA, 57.2 IP, 41 K, 27 BB)
Saturday, May 10 – 3:00 p.m.
SHSU: RHP Ryan Peterson (2-8, 6.02 ERA, 64.1 IP, 66 K, 27 BB)
MTSU: LHP Colin Kerrigan (0-3, 6.53 ERA, 30.1 IP, 23 K, 19 BB)
Sunday, May 11 – 1:00 p.m.
SHSU: RHP Cam Diaz (1-4, 37.0 IP, 42 K, 21 BB)
MTSU: TBA
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Sam Houston Bearkats will look to keep its momentum moving forward this weekend as they go in search of their first road series win of the season at Middle Tennessee, beginning Friday night at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
Each game of the weekend can watched on ESPN+. They can all also be followed via Statbroadcast or by following @BearkatsBSB on Instagram and X.
Sam Houston surged its way back into the thick of the hunt for a spot in the Conference USA Tournament last week by sweeping Liberty, the first series of 2025 for the Bearkats. The sweep put the Kats just one game back of the Flames for the final spot in the postseason event with six games to play in the regular season.
The Kats will embark on their first-ever trip to Murfreesboro holding a 4-0 all-time record vs the Blue Raiders with all four meetings coming a year ago. Sam Houston was the only CUSA team to sweep MTSU in 2024, doing so late in the year before eventually eliminating the Blue Raiders from the Conference USA Tournament in Ruston, La.
Sam Houston will stick with the same weekend rotation of righties Noah Kendrick, Ryan Peterson and Cam Diaz after each logged at least 6.0 innings last week vs Liberty to mark the first weekend of the year in which all three Bearkat starters went at least 5.0 innings.
In addition to strong pitching last week, the Bearkats have seen the offense picking up of late as well. Senior Hunter Autrey has seen his numbers soar during his current streak of 13 consecutive games of reaching base, hitting .489 with seven multi-hit games in the streak. He is now three RBI short of 100 for his career after adding 17 RBI during that 13-game run which has seen him raise his average up to .315 from just .252 on April 12.
Sam Lee is also riding a team-best, 9-game hit streak while the Kats are now 4-0 in league games since Ryan Franden's return to the field from injury in the finale vs Jax State. He's reached base in 9 of 15 plate appearances in those games, recording five hits and drawing four walks.
