Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont Baseball (7-9, 3-3) dropped the final game of its series with Kennesaw State (10-6, 4-2) by a score of 7-5 on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins scored three runs in the final two innings, but it wasn't enough to sweep the Owls this weekend.
Kennesaw State put Belmont in a hole early as an RBI double by Ronnie Freeman and a three run homer by Jordan Craft gave the Owls a 4-0 lead after one and a half innings. The Bruins fought back with runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Seniors Nate Woods (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Tim Egerton (Smyrna, Tenn.) singled during the inning, while Woods and senior Matt Zeblo (Raleigh, N.C) scored the two runs.
After giving up four early runs, BU starter James Buckelew (Suwanee, Ga.) settled down and continued to pitch four straight scoreless innings to keep the score at 4-2 heading into the seventh inning. Buckelew finished with four strikeouts and only two walks, while allowing four earned runs on eight hits.
"I was glad to see James [Buckelew] rebound after he gave up four runs in the first two innings," Head Coach David Jarvis said. "He took a negative situation and turned it into a positive, putting up several goose eggs and giving our offense an opportunity to come back. We were just unable to push those runs across the plate today."
The Bruins gave up three more runs in the seventh inning, two coming from a homer by Freeman off of Belmont reliever Jon Ivie (Summertown, Tenn.). The Owls scored one more on a single by Ethan Herron to make it 7-2 in favor of KSU.
Belmont made a final run to come back in the game, scoring three runs during the eighth and ninth innings. Egerton hit his team-leading third home run of the season to make it 7-3 in the eighth. Junior Dylan Craig (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) then started a two out rally in the ninth with a double to left center field. Woods then connected on his first homer of the season to bring the Bruins within two at 7-5.
That was as close as BU would get in this one, as Kennesaw finished with seven runs on 11 hits and one error and Belmont totaled only five runs on 17 hits and one error.
"It was a bit of a frustrating contest because of the fact that we did so many things right offensively, but were only able to tally five runs in the game," Jarvis continued. "We had a lot of kids put together plenty of quality at bats. But to Kennesaw State's credit, they had some very timely hitting today. They scored five runs off of their two home runs, which came at key moments in the game. It was a great rebound game for the Owls."
KSU's Zak Griffith improved to 3-1 on the season, earning the win after allowing only two runs and striking out four in seven innings pitched. Andrew Austin and J.B. Johnson each pitched one inning of relief to sustain the Owl lead. There was not a single walk recorded for any of the three Kennesaw State pitchers, which may have been the difference in this game.
"It says something about our team's character, and our resolve," Jarvis concluded. "Surrender is more mental than it is physical, and our kids never did surrender today. They did not give up and that is a testament to their ability to play through adversity."
The Bruins won the series against Kennesaw State, taking the first two games on Friday and Saturday. Belmont will next host Western Kentucky and Purdue in mid-week non-conference action, playing games on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
