Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Belmont University baseball team saw its normally potent offense held in check for the second-straight game, as the Bruins (28-23, 14-12) fell to Tennessee Tech (27-21, 14-12) Saturday afternoon, 5-1 at E.S. Rose Park.
Despite a 3-for-4 effort from senior Desi Ammons (Hohenwald, Tenn.) the Bruins finished with just eight hits and fell in game two of the pivotal OVC set. Brennan Washington (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) picked up BU's lone RBI in the bottom of the eighth with a basehit.
Ammons now has five hits in the series to lead the Bruins.
With the loss, Belmont and Tennessee Tech now both stand at 14-12 in conference play as the teams continue to jockey for position for the upcoming OVC Tournament.
The Bruins enjoyed another strong pitching performance as starter Tyler Vaughn (Jonesboro, Ill.) logged seven innings of work and allowed just three runs. Vaughn was the hardluck loser on the day as his record falls to 6-3 on the season. Tennessee Tech's Jake Usher picked up his third win as he went 7.2 innings, allowing just one run and striking out nine.
Vaughn has logged at least 5.2 innings in his past nine starting assignments, but came up on the losing end of another duel between the pitchers.
Tennesee Tech's starting pitchers have combined for 16.2 innings, 20 strikeouts and have allowed just three earned runs so far in the series. Belmont's starting staff as been no sloutch so far in the series as Vaughn and Aaron Quillen (Kingsport, Tenn.) both certainly gave the Bruins a chance to win.
Belmont has now dropped three-straight series at home and has been held to four runs or less in three-straight games for the first time all season.
Tyler Fullerton (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) finished with two hits and joined Ammons in the multi-hit department.
TTU struck first with a score in the top of the first, as it received two fortunate bounces on softly hit balls down the left field line to manufacture an early score. The score remained 1-0 in favor of TTU until the fifth when the Golden Eagles scored their second run on a sacrifice fly by their star hitter Kevin Strohschein.
On what would have been a homerun on many other occasions at Rose Park, Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) just missed a three-run homer to left center as the wind knocked it down in the bottom of the fifth. The Bruins threatened in the fifth but could not crack through.
The Golden Eagles sent Trevor Putzig to lead off the top of the sixth, and while Kocher's ball fell just short, Putzig's didn't as the TTU third basemen led off the frame with a solo homer.
The score stood at 3-0, Tennessee Tech until the top of the eighth when the Golden Eagles played long ball again with a two-run homer off the bat of Chase Chambers. Kyle Klotz (Brentwood, Tenn.) allowed the two-run homer as he tossed the eighth and ninth innings in relief of Vaughn.
Belmont scored its lone run of the game in the bottom of the eighth as Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) singled and came around to score on the Washington base knock.
Kyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.) saw his 15 game hitting streak come to an end as he finished 0-4 on the afternoon.
Saturday marked Senior Day at Rose Park as Ammons, Fullerton, Quillen, Zach Lannan (Nashville, Tenn.) and Josh Tubbs (Camden, Tenn.) were all honored in a pregame ceremony.
The Bruins have just five games remaining.
Belmont and Tennessee Tech meet for the series finale tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Rose Park as the Bruins look to snap their three-game losing skid.
