MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (Interstat) — Dean O’Neill broke out of a slump in a massive way, launching two home runs and driving in three runs to power the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders to an 11-1 rout of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in non-conference baseball action Tuesday evening at Reese Smith Jr. Field.

The first baseman, who was 1 for 10 over his previous three games, went 3 for 4 at the plate. His solo shot to right field in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Blue Raiders a lead they would not relinquish. He added another solo blast in the seventh and capped his afternoon with an RBI single in the eighth.

The game’s turning point came in the bottom of the fifth. After Tennessee Tech starter Braxton Lewis and reliever Carter Casabella combined for four shutout innings, allowing just one hit, the Blue Raiders broke through against the Golden Eagles’ bullpen. With the score tied, Casabella walked two batters to open the frame, and Brayden Vondohlen delivered an RBI single to give Middle Tennessee a 2-1 lead. A sacrifice fly by Trace Minnick later in the inning extended the advantage to 3-1.

That opened the floodgates for the Middle Tennessee offense, which piled on eight runs over the next three innings. Following O’Neill’s sixth-inning homer, Owen Nowak drove in a run with a single to make it 5-1. The Blue Raiders then erupted for five runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run homer from Brett Rogers and a two-run double from Nowak, who finished with three RBIs.

The offensive outburst supported a strong collective effort from the Middle Tennessee pitching staff. Starter Abel Albarran set the tone with 4 2/3 dominant innings, allowing just one hit and no earned runs while striking out three. The bullpen quartet of Landen Burch, Bryant Beranek, Landon Sexton and Jackson Pickens closed the door, allowing only one hit over the final 4 1/3 innings. Burch struck out three of the five batters he faced.

Tennessee Tech, which entered the game having won four straight, managed only three hits total. The Golden Eagles scored their lone run in the sixth without a hit, as Jorge Jimenez came home on a wild pitch after reaching on a walk. Golden Eagles pitchers issued nine walks and hit a batter.

With the victory, Middle Tennessee improved to 6-2 on the season, while Tennessee Tech fell to 5-4. The result defied the pregame projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 7-5 Tennessee Tech victory and gave the Golden Eagles a 53.6% probability to win.

Middle Tennessee next hosts a three-game series against Illinois State beginning Friday. Tennessee Tech returns home to open a series against Illinois-Chicago on Friday.