NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont Softball split its first two games of the weekend at Rose Park on Friday. The Bruins (9-1) saw its program-record win streak snapped in a seventh inning heartbreaker in game one, 3-2, but rebounded in the nightcap, demolishing Evansville, (2-5), 14-0.
Game one started like all of the previous contests for the Bruins. BU posted runs first and went on to secure the victory down the stretch. Belmont jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the second, thanks to some hot bats. Doubles by juniors Lexi Rouse (Macon, Ga.) and Jess Andree (Darien, Ill.) notched the first run before back-to-back singles by sophomore Sami Long (Springfield, Ill.) and senior Kayla Wells (Bonney Lake, Wash.) opened the door for a sacrifice hit by senior Amy Zeronian (Pasadena, Calif.) to send another run over the plate.
BU maintained the 2-0 lead until the top of the sixth. Evansville rallied behind a pair of deep singles and double to knot the score, 2-2. The Purple Aces built on the momentum of keeping the Bruin bats nearly silent in the bottom of the sixth to again score in the top of the seventh. UE dug deep with two outs on the board to grab the lead. Using pinch hitters and stolen bases, Evansville added what would become the game winning run behind a single to right field. The Bruins got two runners on base but a double play severely crippled the late rally effort. A ground out ended the seventh for BU and handed Evansville the narrow 3-2 win.
The nightcap was lopsided from start to finish in favor of the Bruins. The Purple Aces resorted to three pitching changes and even took the unusual step of changing the entire personnel in both the infield and outfield to try to stop the streaking Bruins but to no avail. Belmont unloaded five runs in the bottom of the first and plated six runs in the bottom of the second inning to go up 11-0.
UE connected on a pair of hits over the five innings but Belmont's defense prevented the opponent from making a dent in the deficit. BU notched three more runs in the bottom of the third, even after the massive Purple Ace defensive swap, to take a 14-0 lead. All told, the Bruins recorded 14 runs on nine hits to secure their second run-ruled win of the season.
For the day, Rouse led the Bruins at the plate, batting .571with four runs put over the plate. Andree, senior Shersty Stanton (Pinckneyville, Ill.) and Cook each batted .500 over the two games. Long and Zeronian contributed four RBI apiece.
Inside the circle, sophomore Ashley Johnson (Kingwood, Texas) and freshman Brooklin Lee (Burns, Tenn.) each logged complete games. Lee matched her career-best 13 strikeouts while Johnson finished with four.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday at Rose Park, hosting Alabama State for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for both games.
