NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont baseball concludes its eight-game home stand against Southern Illinois on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at E.S. Rose Park. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
After getting out to a slow start to kick off the season, the Bruins bounced back in the second week of play boasting a 3-1 record with wins over Western Kentucky (11-3), Northwestern (6-1) and Bowling Green (7-5). Belmont dropped its second game of the week to Missouri State (7-5) despite leading the contest for five innings. Collectively, BU holds a 3-4 mark in 2017.
Leading the Bruins hitting efforts is redshirt-freshman outfielder Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) who has posted five multi-hit games through Belmont's first seven. Cogen currently sits second in the OVC standings, batting a team-best .500 while going 12-for-24 at the plate. The rookie compiled back-to-back games with three hits, registering a pair of RBIs. Behind Cogen, Belmont has seen crucial offensive contributions from senior duo Drake Byrd (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) and Nick Egli (Brentwood, Tenn.). Byrd currently leads the team with six RBIs, backed up by a five RBI outing against Western Kentucky. Both Byrd (.333 BA) and Egli (.250 BA) have put together career-best performances in their respective games to create runs for the Bruins.
On the mound, Belmont has enjoyed consistency among its starting hurlers with junior Tyler Vaughn and sophomore Dylan King (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) tossing a combined 37 strikeouts. Altogether, the pitching staff sits second in the conference totaling 78 Ks, one short of UT Martin who sits atop the league. The Bruins have also seen extensive production from their Bullpen with junior reliever Connor Etheridge (Springfield, Ill.) throwing a career-best eight strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. Senior righty Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) triggered his first save of the year against Bowling Green, sitting down the Falcons final three batters.
THE ROYAL TREATMENT
Sophomore righties King and Queener have become major contributors in the pitching rotation, with King starting on Saturday's and Queener the designated Sunday hurler. Combined, the duo has tossed 30 strikeouts in four appearances and 21.1 innings of work.
KING OF THE HILL
Dylan King had a career-best performance on the mound against Northwestern (2.25), retiring 11 Wildcats via strikeout topping his previous record of 8 Ks in the opening weekend. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee product sat down 10 batters - including seven consecutive - through the first three innings. One-hundred and ten pitches in and King was still dealing, triggering his 11th strikeout of the day in the sixth frame.
NO PRESSURE, NO DIAMONDS
Belmont mounted its first come-from-behind victory in grand fashion with a two-out five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth against Bowling Green (2.25). After the Falcons triggered two quick outs to start the frame, senior Nick Egli ignited an improbable comeback after delivering his second double of the game to left center field. The Bruins proceeded to get two free bases and lace three consecutive singles, including the go-ahead run delivered by Chas Hadden (Morristtown, Tenn.) to put BU up, 7-5.
SEEING MULTIPLE
After sitting out his first season with Belmont, redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen has posted five multi-hit games through the squad's first seven contests. He's the only Bruin to record multiple hits in multiple contests this season. The Franklin, Tenn. native is batting an impressive .500, going 12-for-24 at the plate - he's currently tied for the second-best batting average and has collected the second most hits in the league. Cogen also sits in fourth in the OVC boasting an on-base percentage of .556.
ZERO-TO-SIXTY
It takes little time for senior infielder Tyler Walsh (Evansville, Ind.) to turn on the speed as he displayed against the Hilltoppers, stealing second base twice - both would go on to result in a run. The speedster is three-for-three when attempting to steal through the first seven games. Walsh currently sits third in Belmont's NCAA era records with 49 stolen bases, seven behind Drew Ferguson (55).
UP NEXT
Belmont will embark on a seven-game road tilt, hitting the road for the first time this season for a weekend series at Georgia Tech, March 3-5. The Bruins will then travel to Western Kentucky (March 7) and EKU (March 10-12).
