May 15, 2010
Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box
Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nate Woods capped off
a ninth inning comeback with a walk-off grand slam to defeat
Campbell 9-7 in game two of a doubleheader on Saturday night at Ken
Dugan Field. The Bruins won game one, 4-1.
Already Belmont's
single-season leader runs batted in, Woods became the program's
sole leader in single season homeruns with his game-winning 18th
homerun of the season. It also marks the seventh time this season
that the Cedar Rapids, Iowa native has tied a career-high of five
RBI in one game.
"Nate's grand slam homerun was
an answer to prayer for me," Head Coach David Jarvis said.
"It was a situation where we know we need to win that game and it
puts us in the mix of the conference tournament field."
On Senior Day, senior Mark Noth led off the
bottom of the ninth inning by drawing a walk, which set the pace
for Belmont to load the bases with no outs. Freshman Jared Breen singled
to right field and sophomore Dylan Craig bunted
for a single down the third base line to prepare for Woods'
game-winning opportunity. Junior Derek Hamblen
finished 2-for-5 in the game, but struck out before Woods came to
the plate.
Woods then took a 2-2 pitch to
right-centerfield to give Belmont (25-24, 11-11 A-Sun) the 9-7 win
and improve to over .500 for the first time since early April. The
Bruins' seventh straight win also clinched a third conference
series victory between the last four tries.
But before winning the tail
end of the doubleheader with the rarest of homeruns, the Bruins
were dealt a sobering four-run eighth inning Campbell comeback,
including a three-run homerun with two outs, which gave the
Fighting Camels a 7-5 lead.
"It was hard for our kids to
reach deep inside and recover emotionally from Campbell taking the
lead in the seventh inning," Jarvis said. "It set them back more
than I would have wanted it to, but they did manage to grind-it-out
to get the comeback win."
Belmont held a brief lead in
the seventh inning after a string of four triples led to a 5-3
lead. Two of the triples came in the seventh with two outs as Breen
drove in a run with a three-base hit past the left fielder and
Craig drove in one run with a triple to right field. Hamblen, who
tripled earlier in the game, used a single to drive in Craig and
put BU up 5-3.
Freshman left-handed pitcher
Chase
Brookshire and Campbell's Logan Davis went toe-to-toe in what
was a pitching duel early on -- Brookshire throwing 7 1/3 with six
strikeouts and one walk and Logan lasting 6 2/3 with five
strikeouts and no walks. But it was the late relievers who took the
decisions as sophomore Matt Hamann (5-4)
received the win after 1 2/3 with one strikeout. Frank Zier (4-7),
a regular starter in the Camels' rotation, pitched 1/3 inning and
received the loss after giving up Woods' grand slam.
Hamann gave up Campbell's
three-run homerun in the seven inning, but came back to hold the
Camels scoreless with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
"One of the biggest keys to
our game two win was the fact that Matt Hamann did not
lose his poise after the eighth inning," Jarvis said. "He was able
to put everything behind him and move forward to set us up for
success."
Game one of the doubleheader
started with a two hour and 10 minute rain delay, and when play
resumed the Bruins held the conference's top offense to one run and
the series-opening victory. Woods (5-5) started and went 6 1/3 with
four strikeouts. Hamann and Jon Ivie tag-teamed the
closing innings as Ivie picked up his conference-leading ninth
save.
Campbell's game one starter
Jeff Rydman (3-3) also had a quality outing on the mound, despite
the loss, after throwing 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and
three earned runs.
Seniors Elkins and Noth drove
in the first two runs of game one, which proved to be decisive in
the 4-1 victory. Noth went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Elkins went
1-for-2 with two walks. The impact the two seniors had on game one
was just a microcosm of the impact the class of four seniors had on
Belmont baseball through their careers.
"This was a small senior class
for a 30-man roster, so leadership becomes a question mark," Jarvis
said. "But the leadership Cameron Heath, Brendan
Frazier and our team captains Packy Elkins and Mark Noth have
given us is a huge part of the success that we have enjoyed and
continue to strive for. It is difficult to say good bye to those
kids, because you bleed, sweat and cry together and you become
pretty close throughout the years. This group has contributed
measures to our program and over-achieved as far as leadership when
considering their numbers."
Belmont concludes the series
with Campbell tomorrow at noon at Ken Dugan Field, on the campus of
Lipscomb University.
"These are great wins that we
had today," Jarvis said. "We need to enjoy them tonight but at the
end of the day we have got to reset because we have be prepared to
go right back to battle tomorrow. We don't want to negate great
wins like these today by not coming out hungry and ready to get
after it in the third game."
After Saturday's Atlantic Sun
baseball action, the Bruins stand on the cusp of the six-team
conference tournament, currently in seventh place in the standings.
With an 11-11 record, Belmont is just behind a tie for fifth
between Jacksonville (12-11) and Stetson (12-11).
