Box Score MOREHEAD, KY.- Picking up right where it left off after Tuesday's offensive explosion, the Belmont University baseball batters remained hot, scoring 20 runs for the second straight game as it outslugged the Morehead State Eagles, 20-8 Thursday afternoon.
The Bruins opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with a five run output. In the inning the Bruins slugged three homeruns. Clay Payne (Powell, Tenn.), who entered the game with homers in back-to-back contests, went deep for the third-straight contest to put the Bruins on the board 1-0. Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) and Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) also homered in the inning as the wind was swirling early in the game. BU led 5-0 after two innings were in the books.
Veltri, who finished 2-for-3 and walked twice, had this to say after the win, "We took advantage of what the pitcher was giving us and came through with some timely hits. We had a nice day at the plate as a team, and Quillen did a great job on the mound for us. We backed him up with some good defense."
Senior Aaron Quillen (Kingsport, Tenn.) guided the Bruins through eight innings and notched his third victory of the season. Quillen did an admirable job of getting the Bruins pitching staff eight innings of work and saving some arms for the remainder of the three game set.
"Aaron's effort was huge for us. He pounded the strike zone all night and kept their hitters off balance," said Veltri.
Belmont turned four double plays as Quillen worked out of trouble. He finished with nine strikeouts and has a team-high 48 punchouts which rank him near the top in all of the conference.
After scoring five in the second, Belmont upped the ante with a seven run third to really flex its muscles. All nine of the Bruins recorded a hit by the top of the fourth inning.
Belmont scored in every inning but the first and the last. After putting up some crooked numbers early, Belmont spent the rest of the game manufacturing runs and extendings its lead.
The Bruins have now scored 20 runs in back to back contests, combining for nine homeruns during that span.
"We've had great approaches at the plate over the last few games, we're seeing the ball deep and hitting it the other way," noted Veltri. "The wind has obviously helped us out."
Belmont outhit Morehead State, 20-15. Eight Bruins recorded multi-hit games. Brennan Washington (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) walked a season-high four times.
Tyler Walsh (Evansville, Ind.) and Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) both registered three-hit games in the win. One of Walsh's trio of hits was a homerun, his fifth.
Christopher Carroll (Hendersonville, Tenn.) finished the game for BU, coming on in the ninth inning.
In his last three games, Payne is 6-for-11 with three homeruns and is slugging at a 1.545 clip. Hadden, also one of BU's hottest hitters, finished with two hits including his first collegiate homerun.
Belmont is now 1-0 in conference road games and 2-0 overall on the road.
The Bruins and Eagles resume their series tomorrow as the team's meet for a 3 p.m. CT pitch at Allen Field.
