Feb. 27, 2010
Box
Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont
came from behind to win another one-run game on Saturday afternoon
against Eastern Illinois at Shelby Park to improve to 5-0 on the
season.
Down, 2-7 going into the
eighth inning, Belmont took the lead with six runs on three hits
and five walks. Sophomore Dylan Craig capped
off the comeback with a sacrifice fly to center field to score the
winning run, Judah Akers, from
third. Craig went 2-for-3 with two RBI on the day.
Junior Nate Woods hit his
third homerun of the season in the eighth to give Belmont at least
one homerun in every game this season.
"Offensively, our kids have a
real high belief in themselves right now," Head Coach Davis Jarvis
said. "We are putting some pressure on defenses right now with our
lineup and I had faith that we could come back from 2-7 as long as
we continued to keep our mind set on the process of having quality
at-bats. We did that by finding many ways to reach base and keep
innings alive."
On top of winning five
straight games to begin the season, the last four have been decided
by one run.
Left-handed freshman Chase Brookshire
started the game on the mound and pitched five innings, allowing
one run on three hits and two strikeouts. Matt Hamann (1-0)
received the win for the Bruins after pitching 3 1/3 innings with
four strikeouts and allowing one run.
The game started as a pitching
duel as Brookshire struck out the first two batters in the first
inning and held the Panthers scoreless through four innings. Giving
up five walks, Brookshire and the Belmont defense retired five
Eastern Illinois runners in scoring position in the first five
innings, as well as turning two double plays.
Belmont was the first to score
in the third inning as junior Vinny Casha was the
first Bruin to reach base with an infield single to second base.
After Casha and Jared Breen ran-out
an attempted double-play, two runners were on. Senior Packy Elkins drew
his 105th career walk to load the bases to set up a sacrifice fly
from Mark Noth
to center field. Craig drove in Breen from second with a single to
left field for his fifth RBI of the season.
Brookshire retired the
Panthers in order in the fourth for his seventh-consecutive
scoreless inning, dating back to his last start against Evansville.
The Chattanooga native's only blemish came in the fifth on a solo
homerun from Daniel Rowe. Before Rowe's solo shot Belmont turned a
4-6-3 double play to clear the bases.
Brookshire left after the
fifth inning with a 2-1 lead, allowing just three hits on two
strikeouts and five walks. Tim Egerton entered
the game in relief in the sixth inning, lasting two outs and
allowing five runs and four walks as Eastern Illinois took a 6-2
lead.
With two outs in the sixth,
Hamann forced a ground-out to shortstop against his first batter to
end EIU's five-run sixth inning.
Craig led-off the bottom of
the sixth with an infield single and Nate Woods reached on
a single to left field to put runners in the corners. But the
Bruins' comeback effort would have to wait as the next three
batters were retired by EIU reliever Mike Hoekstra to end the
inning.
Hamann struck out three in the
seventh inning but gave up one homerun to put the Bruins down
2-7.
Eastern Illinois went through
three pitchers in Belmont's six-run eighth inning and after three
hits, five walks and two errors Belmont took an 8-7 lead. The
Bruins have scored six or more runs in one inning three times this
season.
Hamann remained on the mound
to face four batters in the ninth while striking out one to receive
the win. Dillion Roark (0-1) just faced three batters but was
responsible for the game-winning run in the eighth to receive the
loss.
Belmont's 2010 squad is the
fourth team to begin the season 5-0 during the NCAA era. Eastern
Illinois falls to 0-5.
The three-game series with the
Panthers concludes tomorrow with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
