The Golden Eagles swept Middle Tennessee to retain the number one spot in C-USA and improve to 34-12 and 16-6 in conference play.
In game one, the Golden Eagles built an early lead after scoring eight runs in the first inning. Matt Wallner hit his 13th home run of the season to drive in the first three runs. Dylan Burdeaux followed with a two-run home run. Matthew Guidry and LeeMarcus Boyd each drove in the final three runs with a pair of doubles to make the score 8-0.
However, the Blue Raiders answered back with three runs in the bottom of the first inning which brought the game to 8-3 after starting pitcher Kirk McCarty fell into pitching trouble.
Despite Colt Smith, the relief pitcher, giving up three more runs in the second inning to the Blue Raiders, Smith kept them in check after allowing three runs on eight hits and striking out four in 6.2 innings pitched.
The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 11-6 in the third inning after Burdeaux drove in a run on a double Slater and Taylor Braley each drove in RBIs on a pair of singles.
In the fifth inning, Hunter Slater tacked on another run after hitting a solo-home run.
The Golden Eagles finished their scoring in the seventh inning after Mason Irby doubled to center to score. The final Golden Eagle run came on a sac-fly from Braley to give them a 14-6 lead.
The Blue Raiders scored one more run in the ninth inning, but it was not enough as the Golden Eagles won game one 14-7.
Burdeaux finished 4-for-5 with a homerun and three RBIs and Slater finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
In game two, the Golden Eagles built an early lead of 2-0 after Braley hit a two-run home run.
In the second inning, the Blue Raiders closed the lead to 2-1. Braley, the starting pitcher, gave up two walks and two singles that resulted in the lone run.
The Golden Eagles scored two more runs in after accumulating three singles that led to the two more runs.
The Blue Raiders closed the lead to 4-3 after Braley gave up a two- run home run. Braley was relieved and allowed three runs on 10 hits and struck out 10 in seven innings pitched.
Relief pitcher Nick Sandlin recorded a save to complete the Golden Eagles 4-3 win.
In game three, after a two-hour game delay, the Golden Eagles came back from a 6-1 deficit.
In the second inning, Guidry hit an RBI-single to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Golden Eagles pitching ran into trouble as the Blue Raiders scored four runs in the second inning and tacked on two more runs in the third to build a 6-1 lead.
The Golden Eagles began to chip away at the lead in the sixth inning as Burdeaux knocked two runs in with a double.
The Blue Raiders continued to fight and hold their lead as they scored one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning bringing the game to 7-3.
The Golden Eagles scored two more runs in the eighth inning. Boyd hit a double to drive in the first run and Irby drove in Boyd to score the second run to bring the game to 7-5.
After scoring a run in the eighth inning, the Blue Raiders fell into pitching troubles in the top of the ninth inning after walking the first three Golden Eagle batters. The Golden Eagles took advantage and scored eight runs to take the win 13- 9.
Notably, Wallner hit his 14th home run of the season to break Darren Welch’s freshman home run record.
The Golden Eagles return to Pete Taylor Park to play Florida Atlantic starting May 5.
