Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont baseball team (28-23, 14-12) gave up a grand slam in the third inning, which gave Florida Gulf Coast (24-27, 13-13) a three run lead, the same lead that gave the Eagles a 10-7 victory over the Bruins in the second game of the Atlantic Sun Conference series on Saturday.
Before the grand slam by Mike Reeves, Belmont held a 2-1 advantage after a pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the first. Junior Dylan Craig (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) led off the inning with an infield single, before senior Derek Hamblen (Plano, Texas) advanced him to second with a sacrifice bunt.
Senior Nate Woods (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was then hit by a pitch, and seniors Matt Zeblo (Raleigh, N.C.) and Tim Egerton (Smyrna, Tenn.) connected on the back to back singles to drive in the two Belmont runs.
BU got within one run, at 5-4, when Hamblen and Woods hit back to back home runs to lead off the third inning. Hamblen went to the opposite field while Woods hit his over the left field fence to record their ninth and 10th homers of the season, respectively.
It was then Reeves doing more damage on the Bruins in the fifth, as his two RBI triple led to a three run fifth that gave the Eagles an 8-4 lead. Belmont outscored FGCU 3-2 from that point on, but it was too late as Florida Gulf Coast recorded the 10-7 victory.
The Eagles split the pitching duties almost equally, as starter Richard Knapp went four and one third innings and reliever Jason Forjet came in for four and two thirds innings to finish the game. Knapp allowed five runs on six hits, while Forjet earned the victory after allowing only two runs on eight hits and striking out four batters.
Belmont totaled seven runs on 14 hits and no errors. Sophomore Josh Davis (Fayetteville, Ga.) was credited with his first loss of the season, falling to 5-1, after allowing eight runs on eight hits in five innings of action. Freshman Blake Harvey (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) came in for three innings of hitless baseball to help the Bruins stay in the game down the stretch.
Egerton finished the day four-for-five at the plate, with a double and two runs batted in. Craig, Hamblen, Woods, and Zeblo all recorded two hits on the day to lead BU on the offensive side of things.
FGCU totaled 10 runs on 11 hits and one error. It was Reeves that led them at the plate with the grand slam, the triple, and a single to leave him just a double shy of the cycle. Brandon Bednar and Mike Alvarez also recorded multiple hits in the victory.
Belmont will attempt to win the final game of the series as the two teams square off once again on Sunday. The contest is scheduled to start at 12:05 p.m. at Rose Park in Nashville.
