JACKSON, Tenn.- In a winner take all elimination game against the Morehead State Golden Eagles, it was the Belmont Bruins who held the upper hand, cruising to an 8-0 victory Friday night in the OVC Baseball Championship at the Ballpark in Jackson.
Freshman Dylan King (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) pitching the biggest game of his young career, twirled a gem and helped Belmont stave off elimination with a career-high eight shutout innings. With their backs against the wall the Bruins turned to the rookie King, and the 6'4 freshman certainly didn't disappoint as he pitched brilliantly. Along with King's mastery on the mound, the Bruins excelled offensively with eight runs on nine hits. Desi Ammons (Hohenwald, Tenn.) finished 2-for-4 including a mammoth homerun in the bottom of the fifth that put Belmont ahead 6-0.
"The big story for us obviously was Dylan King and the job that the freshman did on the mound out there for us in must win situation. The poise, the talent and the execution all were outstanding from him tonight and that gave us an opportunity to win the game," remarked Head Coach Dave Jarvis after his club's shutout win.
The Bruins scored two in the first, one in the third, three in the fifth and two in the eighth to bounce Morehead State, the defending tournament champions, from the postseason.
Freshman Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) added a two-run homer for Belmont and scored two runs while Alex Ward (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) scored two runs of his own and added his fifth triple of the season.
Morehead threatened in the first, putting runners on first and second with just one out, but King was able to induce a double play to end the threat. King's first inning of work really set the tone for the remainder of his outing as he would show a propensity to put out fires left and right by making key pitches.
Belmont took it to the Golden Eagles early as it came away with a 2-0 lead after the first inning had passed. Yet to swing the bat a single time, the Bruins managed to score their first run as Ward came around to score on a wild pitch after first reaching on a hit by pitch. The first three Bruins reached as Morehead State starter Luke Humphreys loaded the bases with two hit batters and a walk. The third wild pitch of the game for Humphreys scored Ward from third. In an inning in which the Bruins didn't register a hit, and struck out three times, they tallied two runs as Humphreys failed to record an out before Craig Pearcy came on in relief. Hadden also scored in the inning on a wild pitch.
"At the beginning of the game we were able to take advantage of the opportunities we were given, specifically in the first inning. They had some control issues on the mound and we were able to show some really strong plate discipline at the plate and a result of all that we were able to scratch out a few runs," said Jarvis.
Both teams exchanged scoreless at bats in the second inning and after King escaped another jam in the top of the third, Belmont struck again. Ward kicked off the bottom third with a lead-off triple into the rightcenter gap and then later came on around to score on a sacrifice fly from Hunter Holland (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.).
Belmont padded its lead with a three-run bottom of the fifth, highlighted by Ammons' towering homer over the high leftfield fence. After Tyler Fullerton (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Holland posted consecutive singles to open the frame, Fullerton came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Clay Payne (Powell, Tenn.). With Holland aboard, Ammons, the senior, smacked a two-run shot to add some insurance for the Bruins.
"Desi Ammons had a heck of a game tonight, not only at the plate but also the job he did handling our pitchers, particularly with a freshman on the mound," added Jarvis.
The score stood at 6-0 in favor of the Bruins until Hadden connected for his third homer of the season in the bottom of the eighth to score himself and Kyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.).
The eighth would be King's final inning as he surpassed the century mark in terms of pitches thrown in the stanza and Connor Etheridge (Springfield, Ill.) handled the ninth, tossing a scoreless frame.
Eight of the nine Bruin starters recorded a hit. Brennan Washington (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) also tripled and reached on a base on balls.
King has hit his stride in the season's stretch run going at least five innings and allowing three runs or fewer in four of his last five starting assignments.
"I give a lot of credit to Desi (Ammons), and of course our pitching coach Matt Barnett, for the maturation and transformation that we've seen from Dylan over the last couple weeks."
King walked just one batter, and scattered six hits while striking out a trio of Morehead batters in his first career shutout.
"He had dealt with some shoulder issues early in the year but thanks to the efforts of our training and medical staff and our strength and conditioning staff, he's been able to get back in a position to compete. We're honestly not shocked by any of this, we knew he had this kind of ability when we recruited him," added Jarvis.
With its second victory of the tournament, Belmont is set to face Austin Peay tomorrow at 11 a.m. facing elimination for the third straight game. The resilient Bruins will look to continue their emergence from the loser's bracket when they meet Austin Peay for the second time in the last three days. The Bruins fell to Austin Peay in the opening round of the OVC Baseball Championship, 12-7.
Tomorrow's 11 a.m. contest with the Governors, as all contests in the tournament have been, will be featured on the OVC Digital Network and on the Bruins Sports Network.
