Box Score
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The St. Bonaventure University baseball team dropped the third game of the season-opening series at Middle Tennessee by a score of 17-1 Saturday night.
 
Similar to Friday's contests, the Bonnies were able to strike first when Jayce Tharnish and Adam Rankie led off the game with back-to-back singles. They were proceeded to be knocked in by Thomas Grilli on an RBI groundout.
 
However, after the first inning of play the Bonnies offense would be silenced by junior right-handed pitcher Eriq Swan, who held St. Bonaventure to only four hits and striking out seven batters in six innings thrown.
 
Middle Tennessee (5-2) capitalized off some hit batters and walks to score runs in six of the nine innings.
 
The big blow for the Blue Raiders came off the bat of DJ Wright, who delivered a three-run homerun in the bottom of the fifth to take a 9-1 lead.
 
Middle Tennessee tacked on two runs in the sixth and six runs in the eighth for the 17-1 victory.
 
The Bonnies (0-3) were led by Tharnish with two hits, while Pierce Hendershot and Evan Dieter each added an extra base at the plate. Left-handed freshman Andrew Ayers worked a scoreless seventh inning in his first collegiate action.
 
Wright (three hits/five RBIs) and Briggs Rutter (four hits/two doubles) led the way for the Blue Raiders.
 
The two teams finish their four-game series Sunday at noon CT/1:00 p.m. ET. 
 
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