Box Score BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Belmont University baseball fell to Western Kentucky 3-2 in the 10thinning Tuesday evening, despite nine scoreless inning from the Bruin bullpen.
BU recorded seven hits in the game, but left 11 runners on base. Junior Brennan Washington(Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and freshman Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) each went 2-for-3 from the plate; Washington came across the plate twice and scored both Belmont runs in the game. SeniorTyler Fullerton (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), sophomore Rafael Bournigal (Mulberry, Fla.) and sophomoreKyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.) each recorded a hit in the game.
Eight Bruins saw action on the mound as junior
Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) recorded his first loss of the season, and Jackson Sowell of Western Kentucky recorded his first win.
Belmont recorded the first hit of the game in the top of the first inning as Hadden drove a double to the outfield wall. Washington drew a lead off walk in the top of the second and made his way to third, along with Conger on first, but the Bruins were unable to bring the runners across the plate.
Western Kentucky took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd after recording two RBIs on three hits.
Bruins went down in order in the third, but Washington came up big in the fourth putting BU on the board with a solo homerun over the left field wall. BU would strand two more runners in the fourth inning as Bournigal and Conger drew back-to-back walks.
The bats began to ignite in the top of the fifth as Hadden and Fullerton recorded back-to-back singles, but a double play ball hit off of junior
Clay Payne (Powell, Tenn.) would end the inning.
Consistent batting paid off for the Bruins in the top of the eighth. A lead off walk from Washington eventually became the tying run in the game. Washington advanced to third base off of a sacrifice bunt from junior
Tyler Walsh (Evansville, Ind.) and a ground out from Bournigal. Conger tied the game with a two out RBI single into right field.
Hadden recorded a hit in the top of the ninth as a normally routine ground ball took a weird bounce and jumped 15 feet over the head of the shortstop. WKU turned a double play and after Veltri sat the Hilltoppers down in order in the bottom of the 9th the game would go into extra innings.
Washington posted his second hit of the game, third time on base, in the top of the 10th but the Bruins were unable to move him off first.
WKU put its lead off batter on a bunt that spun away from the Bruin defense. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second. The Hilltoppers third batter to come to the plate in the inning pushed a ground ball to second base, but an overthrow to first allowed the runner to turn home, which ended the game.
Seven Bruins maintain a batting average above .300 with Hadden leading the charge at .386, followed by Washington at .349 and Fullerton at .344.
Belmont hits the road once again as it travels to Charleston, Ill. to face Eastern Illinois in an OVC tilt. First pitch is set for Friday, April 22 at 3 p.m. CT.
