Box Score STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Belmont baseball team (3-4, 0-0) dropped game two of its three game series against Mississippi State (6-1, 0-0) by a score of 5-3 on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs held the Bruins scoreless until the ninth inning when a home run by senior Tim Egerton (Smyrna, Tenn.) drove in three runs.
The three run jack in the ninth capped off a three for four day at the plate for Egerton. Junior Dylan Craig (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) started the offense in the inning when he singled to left field with one out. Senior Matt Zeblo (Raleigh, N.C.) then walked to put runners on first and second. After a strikeout by senior Nate Woods (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Egerton cranked one to left center field on a 2-1 count. The Bulldogs won the game on the next batter as sophomore Josh Davis (Fayetteville, Ga.) grounded out to first.
The Bruins were done in by an outstanding pitching performance by Mississippi State starter Christ Stratton. The sophomore right-hander struck out a career best 13, while allowing only four hits and walking none in seven and two thirds innings.
The Bulldogs scored one run in each of the second and fourth innings, but it was the sixth when Mississippi State really opened things up. Woods, who started game two for Belmont, opened the inning by walking Jarrod Parks. After getting the next two batters to ground out, Woods gave up a double to Jaron Shepherd and then a homer to Jonathan Ogden as the Bulldogs took a 5-0 lead.
In two and one third innings of relief, senior Dalton Bell (Crossville, Tenn.) finished another nice afternoon out of the bullpen. He allowed three hits but no runs and struck out one for the Bruins.
Egerton finished with only a triple shy of the cycle on the day, as he doubled in the second inning and singled in the seventh. Craig, with his single in the ninth, along with sophomores Judah Akers (Cookeville, Tenn.) and Jared Breen (Marietta, Ga.) recorded the only other hits for Belmont on the day.
Mississippi State finished with five runs on nine hits and no errors, while Belmont recorded three runs on six hits and three errors in the loss. Stratton improved to 2-0 on the season with his win on the mound, while Woods falls to 0-2.
The two teams will square off in the final game of the series on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. CT in Starkville.
