Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont baseball team (23-20, 12-10) fell to Lipscomb (15-27, 6-13) by a score of 9-8 after giving up three runs to the Bisons in the bottom of the ninth. Junior Zac Mitchell (Cordova, Tenn.) led the Bruins at the plate with three hits in the defeat.
The Bruins got on the board first with a trio of singles in the top of the third. Mitchell led off the inning with a single up the middle, before junior Dylan Craig (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Senior Derek Hamblen (Plano, Texas) then scorched a line drive off of the Lipscomb third baseman for an infield single that advanced Mitchell to third base. After Hamblen stole his team-leading 16th base of the season, senior Nate Woods (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) drove in both base runners with a single to left field to make it 2-0 early.
The Bisons scored one in the fourth and three in the fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead over the Bruins. A couple of singles, a sacrifice bunt, and an intentional walk loaded the bases for Lipscomb. A wild pitch by sophomore Chase Brookshire (Chattanooga, Tenn.), followed by an error on senior Vinny Casha (Nashville, Tenn.) trying to throw the runner out at the plate allowed LU to take their lead.
Belmont then tied the game at 4-4 with two runs in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Judah Akers (Cookeville, Tenn.), who pinch hit for Casha, singled to center field before reaching second on a single by Mitchell. After Akers advanced to third on a fly to right from Craig, and Mitchell stole second base, Hamblen drove in both runners as he reached first on an error by the Lipscomb short stop.
Lipscomb took the lead in the back end of the seventh when Tennyson Dodd doubled off of the right field wall to drive in Josh Chism from first base. Chism had just reached base on a slow rolling single to third base.
The Bruin offense was not finished though, as they took at 6-5 lead in the eighth with a couple of runs batted in by Mitchell. The Belmont third baseman recorded his third hit of the game with a single to right center that scored senior Tim Egerton (Smyrna, Tenn.) and freshman Greg Brody (Dacula, Ga.). The former led off the inning getting hit by a pitch, while the latter singled to center immediately afterward.
After the Bisons tied the game once again in the bottom of the eighth, BU made it 8-6 when Egerton came through in a big spot once again in 2011. The senior recorded his team-leading ninth homer of the season with a two-out, two-run bomb to left field that drove in Woods, who singled through the infield earlier in the inning.
But as was the case throughout this game, Lipscomb countered once again in the bottom of the ninth. Senior Jon Ivie (Summertown, Tenn.) gave up three runs to the Bisons after allowing three singles and a two RBI double to Lee Wilson that gave LU the 9-8 Game One victory.
Lipscomb finished with nine runs on 14 hits and two errors. Goodenow earned his first win of the season after striking out three in one and one third inning pitched. Dodd led the Bisons at the plate, going four-for-five with a double and three RBI.
Belmont totaled eight runs on 13 hits and three errors. Ivie falls to 3-3 on the season after giving up the three runs on four hits in the ninth. Mitchell led the Bruins at the plate, going three-for-four with two runs batted in. Egerton's home run was unfortunately the only extra base hit for BU in the game.
The two teams will play Game Two of the series at Dugan Field on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Junior Matt Hamann (Northbrook, Ill.) is projected to pitch for the Bruins, while Blake Fonfara will take the mound for the Bisons.
