Feb. 24, 2009

Team of the Week

Middle Tennessee Named CBI Team of the Week

Middle Tennessee, picked to finish eighth in the 11-team Sun Belt Conference by the head coaches, swept a three-game series from Missouri State, the unanimous favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference. The Blue Raiders are the initial 2008 CollegeBaseballInsider.com Team of the Week.

MTSU had much to celebrate this past weekend. The Blue Raiders opened newly-renovated Reese Smith Jr. Field and welcomed back head coach Steve Peterson (pictured right) after his quintuple bypass heart surgery this past November. The Blue Raiders outscored the Bears 38-16 in the three contests. MTSU won 19-4 on Friday in front of a crowd of 1,252, 12-6 on Saturday and 7-6 on Sunday.

Honorable mention goes to TCU, which won two of three at No. 9 Cal State Fullerton. No. 25 Florida swept a three-game series from No. 13 Louisville, the favorite in the Big East. Cal Poly won two of three against No. 3 Rice. Boston College headed south and swept a four-game set at Stetson. Southeast Missouri State went 2-1 at Alabama. Elon took two of three at Auburn. Appalachian State swept a three-game series from Jacksonville State, the favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference. No. 24 Clemson swept a three-game series from Charlotte, the favorite in the Atlantic 10. Michigan went 4-0, including 3-0 in the inaugural Big East/Big Ten Challenge with victories against USF, Cincinnati and St. John’s. Ohio State also went 3-0 in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge with wins over Notre Dame, Connecticut and Cincinnati. Gonzaga went 3-1 at the Phoenix Invitational, including two wins over No. 19 Missouri.

(Photo courtesy of MTSU Media Relations Office)