Box Score COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont baseball team (26-14, 11-4 A-Sun) gave up three runs in the bottom of the ninth and lost on a walk off home run to Tennessee Tech (16-20, 6-6 OVC) by a score of 7-6 on Wednesday night. The Bruins fell to the Golden Eagles on a walk off homer in a 9-8 loss in Cookeville last season.
The Bruins jumped on Tennessee Tech early, recording four extra base hits in the first inning. Senior captain Zac Mitchell (Cordova, Tenn.) and junior captain Drew Turner (Shelbyville, Tenn.) led the game off with a pair of doubles to give Belmont the early lead.
After a strikeout and a fly out, freshman Matt Beaty (Dresden, Tenn.) tallied the third Belmont double of the frame on a deep shot off of the 405 feet sign in center field to drive in Turner for the second Bruin run. Senior Phillip Parsley (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) then gave BU a 4-0 lead on his first home run since 2009, a line drive over the left field fence.
The Golden Eagles were able to pick up a pair of runs in the third inning to cut the Belmont lead to two, at 4-2. Jordan Hopkins led the frame off with a single up the middle. After James Abraham reached on a fielder's choice to third, the left fielder scored on a two run homer by Zach Stephens, his 15th of the year.
Senior starter Brandon Frensley (Hendersonville, Tenn.) got into a bit of a jam in the fourth, allowing one run on a single, a hit by pitch, and a double down the left field line. He helped himself out by getting the next two batters out on a pop up in foul territory and a fielder's choice. Junior Tim Bowles (Hendersonville, Tenn.) then relieved Frensley and got the Tech batter to ground out to get out of the inning.
The Bruins added to their lead with one run in the fifth to take a 5-3. Turner led off the frame with a walk, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior Dylan Craig (Signal Mountain, Tenn.). The Belmont right fielder then came around to score on a single through the infield by Beaty. It was Beaty's second RBI of the game, and his 26th of the season.
Belmont scored one in the seventh, while Tennessee Tech tallied one in the eighth, before the Golden Eagles ended it in the bottom of the ninth. Senior Garrett Fanchier (Lebanon, Tenn.), who leads the Atlantic Sun Conference with 10 saves, gave up a double and a home run, allowing three runs to Tennessee Tech.
The Bruins finished with six runs on 10 hits and one error. Fanchier fell to 1-2 on the season after allowing the three runs, only two of which were earned, on two hits. Frensley, Bowles and junior Jessie Snodgrass (Lebanon, Tenn.) allowed the first four runs on 13 hits in eight innings of work.
Turner led the Bruins with three hits on the night, while Beaty and Parsley each recorded two hits and drove in two runs in the defeat. Two of Turners hits were doubles, while Mitchell and Beaty each added doubles as well.
Tennessee Tech totaled seven runs on 15 hits and one error. Josh Bryant improved to 1-0 on the year after pitching the final 1.1 innings, allowing no runs on zero hits, walking one, and striking out two. Ben Burgess and Michael Morris each tallied three hits in the victory, the latter recording the game-winning home run.
Belmont will next return to A-Sun play on the road at Kennesaw State this weekend. The Bruins will play a three-game series with the Owls, who sit one game behind BU in the conference standings.
