May 21, 2010
Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box
Score
MACON, Ga. - The 2010 Bruins
fell just short of the 2010 Atlantic Sun Tournament for the first
time in four years after splitting a doubleheader with Mercer on
Friday night.
The Bruins won the first game
14-13 behind seven homeruns and a total of 12 homeruns between
teams for an Atlantic Sun record. Mercer edged Belmont in the
second game, 9-8, to knock the Bruins out of the sixth and final
spot in the A-Sun Tournament. The Bruins needed to win at least two
games in the Mercer series or for Jacksonville to sweep Stetson -
neither happened as Stetson won the last of three games on Friday
night against JU.
In game one, junior Matt Zeblo and senior
Mark Noth each
had a career-high two homeruns to power a 14-13 win. Noth also set
a career-high with four runs batted in with a three-run homer in
the third inning and a solo shot in the sixth. Zeblo hit homeruns
in consecutive at bats after leading off the fifth inning and
hitting a two-out blast in the sixth.
Junior Tim Egerton drove in
the first runs of the day with a two-run double in the first
inning. Despite a total of 27 runs and 12 homeruns between teams,
Belmont never lost the lead.
Woods increased his Belmont
single-season homerun record to 20 after being the first of three
Bruins to homer in the sixth inning.
A day after hitting his first
career homerun, freshman Jared Breen hit his
second homerun of the series in the seventh inning. The solo
homerun which led off the seventh inning proved to be the go-ahead
run, giving Belmont a 14-12 lead.
Freshman Chase Brookshire
(6-2) gave up 10 earned runs through 5 1/3 innings in his 13th
start of the season with three strikeouts but was still able to be
the winning pitcher. Jon Ivie increased his
conference-leading saves total to 10 after throwing a 1-2-3 ninth
inning.
Belmont and Mercer are
believed to set an Atlantic Sun record for combined homeruns in a
game with 12. The NCAA Division I record is 17 homeruns in a game
which was set on March 23, 1991 between Louisville and Western
Illinois.
In game two, the Bruins were
off to a slow start but eventually got into a groove with a
five-run fifth inning behind senior Packy Elkins' grand
slam to shrink a seven-run deficit to two.
The Bears held a 7-0 lead
through four innings until Noth led off the fifth with a single. He
was driven in by Breen's RBI-single to put the Bruins on the board,
7-1. In the top of the order, Craig reached on a fielder's choice
to retire Breen on base. Hamblen hit his 23rd double of the season,
followed by an intentional walk for Woods to load the bases. Elkins
took advantage of the runners in scoring position with his 15th
homerun of the season to put Belmont within two, 7-5.
With Elkins' 15th homerun he
is tied for fifth-most in Belmont single-season history - the
second 2010 Bruin in the top-five of BU single-season homeruns,
joining leader Woods (20).
Noth led off the sixth with a
single to left field which paid off with a sacrifice fly from Breen
to put Belmont within one at 7-6. Mercer answered with one run in
the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings for a 9-6
lead.
Two doubles in the eighth
inning put the Bruins within one run at 9-8. Once again, the top of
the order proved to be productive as Craig reached with a one-out
single. Hamblen hit another double, this time to deep left field,
to drive in Craig. Woods traded places with Hamblen after hitting
the second consecutive double of the inning and driving in his 78th
run of the season for a 9-8 Belmont deficit.
Sophomore Garrett Fanchier
(3-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits to
receive the loss. Justice French (3-3) pitched five innings,
allowing six runs on 10 hits for the win.
Despite falling short of a
tournament, Belmont (27-27, 13-13 A-Sun) finished .500 overall and
in conference play for the second consecutive season and have a
plethora of high notes from an exciting 2010 season. Mercer (33-22,
16-11) clinched the No. 2 seed in the postseason
tournament.
The Bruins started the season
as one of just nine NCAA Division I teams at 10-0 - setting a
program record of 10 straight wins during the NCAA era. Junior Nate Woods
headlines a group of individual honors after setting single-season
Belmont records in homeruns (20) and runs batted in
(78).
