Box Score STARKVILLE, Miss. – Belmont Baseball (3-5, 0-0) dropped the final game of its series at Mississippi State (7-1, 0-0) by a score of 14-5 on Sunday afternoon. Senior Derek Hamblen (Plano, Texas) had an outstanding day at the plate, going three for four with three runs scored.
Although the Bruin pitching was not up to the task during Sunday's final game of the series, both Hamblen and senior Nate Woods (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) were fantastic from the plate. Hamblen tallied two singles and a double, while Woods recorded two singles with three runs batted in.
After a terrific first outing against Illinois State last weekend, freshman left-hander James Buckelew (Suwanee, Ga.) gave up five runs in the first two innings, which allowed Mississippi State to take control early. With a walk, a single and a home run, the Bulldogs were up 3-0 after their first three batters.
Mississippi State was led by a balanced offensive attack, as only one player had more than one hit on the day. C.T. Bradford tallied two hits, three runs scored and a stolen base to lead the way. Jarrod Parks, Ryan Collins, and Taylor Stark all recorded home runs for the Bulldogs.
Both freshman William Dodd (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and junior Phillip Parsley (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) connected on hits in their first action of the 2011 season. Dodd and Parsley each singled in a three run ninth inning for the Bruins. Dodd knocked in Breen to score the first run of the inning, while Parsley scored Hamblen for final run in the eighth.
Mississippi State, which won the three game series 2-1, finished Sunday with 14 runs on 13 hits and one error. Belmont tallied five runs on 10 hits and two errors. The Bulldogs' Evan Mitchell was credited with the win, improving to 2-0 on the year, while BU's Buckelew earned the loss, falling to 0-2 in 2011.
Belmont will next return home to host Tennessee Tech at Shelby Park on Tuesday, March 1 in non-conference action. The Bruins will then welcome in Mercer for a three game series from March 4 to 6 in the first Atlantic Sun games of the season.
