March 5, 2010
Box
Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Through a
total of 29 runs and 39 hits, Belmont baseball capped off a
five-run comeback against Eastern Michigan on Friday evening at
Shelby Park with a walk-off single from Phillip Parsley
to win 15-14 and remain undefeated.
With a 14-13 lead, Eastern
Michigan faced the heart of Belmont's lineup heading into the
bottom of the ninth inning. Sophomore Dylan Craig led-off
with a single up the middle, but after the next two batters struck
out swinging, it seemed too little too late for the Bruins. With
his back against the wall on a six-pitch full count, junior Matt Zeblo came
through in the clutch to drive in the tying run, Craig, with a
double down the left field line.
Sophomore Phillip Parsley
then made his first at bat of the season a memorable one. After
being subbed into right field in the top of the inning, Parsley
didn't disappoint after delivering a floating walk-off single down
the right field line to score Zeblo from second.
It is the sixth one-run
victory for Belmont, to help tie the best start in program history
at 9-0. The Bruins started 9-0 three other times in 1981, 1994, and
2004.
"We don't talk about the best
start in program history," Head Coach Davis Jarvis said. "They are
very well aware of the fact that we are 9-0, but we do talk about
playing like we are 0-0 in the next game, approaching the game
right, respecting the game, and playing it the way that it's
supposed to be played."
The Bruins set the standard
for playing the game right at the plate as four played registered
three or more hits to yield a total 22 hits -- the most since March
30, 2007 against Gardner-Webb.
Craig finished 4-for-6 and
scored a career-high of four runs. Senior Packy Elkins went
3-for-5 with a homerun and three RBI. Zeblo had three hits, on top
of his game-tying RBI. Mark Noth tied a
career-high of three hits, along with one RBI and two runs
scored.
From the beginning, Belmont
left little doubt of extending its win streak to nine with seven
runs in the first inning. The Bruins sent nine batters to the plate
in the first, featuring a lead-off homerun from Elkins.
Eastern Michigan (3-6)
answered with back-to-back six run innings in the third and fourth,
fueled by four-run homeruns from Zack Leonard in the third and Bo
Kinder in the fourth.
Matt Hamann (2-0)
pitched two innings, allowing one run, to receive the win. The
Eagles' Brett Cisper pitched the deciding closing inning to fall to
0-2 in 2010.
The Bruins and Eagles
concluded the series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 1
p.m. at Shelby Park.
