According to dictionary.com, the word chemistry has five different meanings. Three of them can be used to describe the 2009 Baseball Sun Belt Conference co-champions, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Those meanings include “The interaction of one personality with another, sympathetic understanding, rapport; and all of the elements that make up something.”
Players have said all season long that chemistry was the main reason the squad had its best record (38-15, 21-8) since 2004, when MTSU last won the SBC regular season crown with a finishing mark of 40-22, 16-8. That was also the last time they went to the NCAA tournament.
“Our chemistry has been great this year,” sophomore shortstop Tyler Burnett said. “Every time one player made a mistake there was somebody right behind them to pick them up.”
Head coach Steve Peterson, who just crossed the 700-win mark during the recent Western Kentucky series, added that the seniors played a key role in turning a team that was picked to finish eighth in the preseason into champions.
“I think the difference was my seniors,” he said. “I think my seniors stepped up and took control of the ball club . . . They all in their own way got in the locker room, got in the clubhouse, got in the dugout and said ?boys we can play.’”
On May 16, MTSU completed the 2009 regular season with a two-game sweep over its heated conference rival Western Kentucky. The Blue Raiders won the first game May 14, 10-4; that included starting pitcher Kenneth Roberts keeping the Hilltopper bats in check with eight scoreless innings. The following night MTSU won 11-5 thanks in part to three home runs by senior Rawley Bishop. The players were named SBC Player and Pitcher of the Week for their performances.
“We came in Thursday, and Coach (Peterson) was like ?we got to win one game at a time,’ and we just talked about how the pressure was more on them since they had to win one, and we had to win three,” senior second baseman Taylor Dennis said.
The final game of the season on May 16 lasted until the fourth inning, but heavy rain and lighting hit the area. After a delay that lasted over two hours, the game was cancelled because of unplayable field conditions. Both teams were declared SBC champs, and since MTSU won the season series, they earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament in Troy, Ala.
“We knew we had a good team coming in, and we had one goal and that was to win the conference championship,” Burnett said. “That’s what we set our minds to, and that’s what we did.”
Before the tournament started, several Blue Raiders won SBC postseason awards. Sophomore pitcher and outfielder Bryce Brentz took home Player of the Year and All Sun Belt first team honors, while junior pitchers Roberts and Coty Woods were also selected to the All-SBC first team. Junior catcher Drew Robertson, senior third baseman Bishop and senior outfielder Nathan Hines were named to the All-SBC second team.
On May 19, MTSU opened the SBC tournament with a 12-2 win in seven innings over Florida Atlantic. There is an old saying that pitching and defense wins champions; the players and coaches agree that’s what it will take for MTSU to win their first SBC tournament title since 2003.
“Ken (Roberts) and our starting pitchers have done a great job of being able to go pretty deep in a game for the most part of the season,” senior pitcher Brett Smalley said. “I think it definitely starts with the starting pitching. Our bullpen’s got to keep it up like we did this past week. Depth is really the most important thing in the tournament. From top to bottom, we just got to perform at a high level.”
Another factor in this tournament will be the playing surface. Troy is one of the few teams in the nation with a field turf playing surface in all parts except the pitching mound and warning track. The Blue Raiders already had some experience this season on the field when they lost two of three in early May against the Trojans.
“We already played there for three games,” Smalley said. “I think we will be pretty comfortable there. You get a lot of true hops in terms of infielders. You take your time in practice and make sure you read different types of situations.”
The Blue Raiders went on to claim the tournament championship with a 3-1 victory over ULM. MTSU will face Vanderbilt in Louisville in the NCAA tournament on May 23.
