Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont baseball team (2-3) gave up four runs in the first innings and never recovered, falling to Arkansas-Little Rock by a score of 7-0 on Friday. Freshman Dan Ludwig (Naperville, Ill.) struck out 10 Trojan batters in his six inning start.
After a ground out to first base, a walk, and a strike out, Ludwig had two outs with one man on in the top of the first inning. The next batter hit what would have been a fly out to right field on a normal, but because of the heavy winds at Rose Park, UALR's David Guarno recorded an RBI double off the right field fence, keeping the inning alive for the Trojans.
The next two batters, Sean Bignall and Blake Johnson, hit back-to-back home runs for UALR, giving the Trojans a 4-0 lead before Belmont even got to the plate. Ludwig struck out the next player at the plate, and went on cruise control for the next five innings.
The freshman left-hander allowed only one more hit during his six innings of action, striking out 10 batters, and walking only three in his first career start. The 10 strikeouts were more than any Belmont pitcher recorded in a single game last season.
"We've known that Dan was capable of that all along," Head Coach Dave Jarvis said. "His first inning today was bumpy, but what he did after that didn't surprise me at all. He was able to have that rough first inning, and then mentally turn it around. As a freshman, that shows a lot of character and maturity."
Sophomore Blake Harvey (Bell Buckle, Tenn.) and freshman Austin Coley (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) combined to pitch the final three innings for the Bruins. The former allowed two runs on two hits in his first appearance of the season, while the latter gave up just one run on one hit, with two strikeouts and no walks in his 1.2 innings.
Belmont was not able to get the offense going on Friday, recording just four hits, two of which came in the bottom of the ninth. Junior Jared Breen (Marietta, Ga.), sophomore Greg Brody (Dacula, Ga.), junior captain Drew Turner (Shelbyville, Tenn.), and junior Judah Akers (Cookeville, Tenn.) all recorded singles in the loss.
"What we have to do to get the bats going, and my experience tells me this, is keep playing the game," Jarvis said. "We have to have a great mentality, have quality at bats, and it will come around. We will end up fine at the plate."
UALR's Chance Cleveland was difficult to hit on Friday, as the left-hander kept his ERA at 0.00 after allowing just two hits to the Bruins in 7.0 innings in the win. Bubba Cooper came in for two innings of relief for the Trojans.
Belmont will next host Bradley on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Rose Park. UALR will also play Bradley on Saturday at Rose Park. The Trojans will take on the Braves at 10:30 a.m. in a neutral site contest.
