NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont baseball continues its six-game homestand with a OVC series against SIUE March 31-April 2 at E.S. Rose Park. The first pitch is slated for 4 p.m. on Friday, March 31.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
The Bruins have been in a slump in their recent games, dropping five of their last eight contests. Despite struggling to pull out close games, Belmont has won two of its three conference series and boasts a OVC record of 5-4. The team recently outlasted UT Martin to take two of the three games in the third week of league play. Collectively, the Bruins are 10-13.
Recently BU's offense has been headed by designated hitter Nick Egli (Brentwood, Tenn.), who is currently batting a team-best .371 while driving in 19 runs. Sixteen of the senior's 26 hits this year have come in the form of an extra base knock - nine doubles, two triples and five home runs. Last week the Brentwood, Tenn. product registered a multi-hit game in each of Belmont's four contests. Redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) sits behind Egli with a batting average of .325 and a team-high 27 hits. Cogen also leads the squad with 16 walks, one ahead of sophomore Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) who has been heating up at the plate. Collectively, the team has registered 184 hits and 112 RBIs nearly halfway through the season.
On the mound, the Bruins have enjoyed consistency from their weekend staff assembled of Tyler Vaughn (Jonesboro, Ill.), Dylan King (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Connor Etheridge (Springfield, Ill.). The trio has triggered 128 of the squad's 189 strike outs. All three of them rank in the top-seven in the OVC in the statistical category with Vaughn leading the crew, tossing 45 Ks and ranking second in the conference. The Bruins have also seen extensive production from their bullpen with 10 different pitchers taking the hill for Belmont. Sophomore Kyle Klotz (Fairview, Tenn.) leads the OVC with 16 appearances, tossing 20.2 innings and earning a record of 1-2 on the mound. Senior closer Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) has earned all three of Belmont's saves this season.
MAD HADDEN
Chas Hadden has been a major factor at the plate in recent contests. He went 5-for-9 at the plate in the league series at UT Martin (3.24-26), collecting 5 RBIs and a pair of home runs. The Morristown, Tenn. native is leading the team with a four-game hitting streak. Hadden sits second on the squad with 14 RBIs during his sophomore campaign.
FRIDAY FEATURE
Right-handed pitcher Tyler Vaughn has earned the Friday start for the Bruins in every one of the squad's weekend series. In his six appearances, the hurler has struck out 45 batters through 38.0 innings of work - ranking him second in the league. The Jonesboro, Ill. product tossed a career-best 11 Ks against Morehead State (3.17), reducing his ERA to 5.21 so far in his junior campaign.
KING OF THE HILL
King ranks third in the conference in Ks with 44 in 35.0 innings of work. The right-handed hurler tossed his second 11 strike out outing of the year at EKU (3.10), tying a career-best. He previously fanned 11 batters against Northwestern (2.25) - both performances led to Belmont victories. The Murfreesboro, Tenn. is the only Bruin that has sat down more than 10 batters via strikeout in multiple games in 2017.
DEALING A DOZEN
Junior right-hander Connor Etheridge wreaked havoc on EKU on the Bruins series finale against the Colonels last week, hurling a career-best 12 strikeouts and only allowing four hits. Etheridge only allowed multiple base runners in the first inning against Eastern Kentucky, striking out at least one batter in every frame. He powered Belmont to its first shutout of the year, blanking EKU 2-0. The Springfield, Illinois product has combined for 39 Ks in 30.2 innings of work, boasting an ERA of 3.52 - ranking eighth in the OVC.
IN THE NICK OF TIME
Senior utility Nick Egli has played a crucial role in sparking the Bruins offense as the designated hitter. The veteran has been dominant in conference play, boasting a .455 batting average while connecting on 15 hits, eighth which have been extra base shots. He's registered 12 RBIs in the squad's nine OVC games, the only Bruin to record more than eight. Egli posted a pair of multi-RBI games in BU's double header against EKU, including driving in the Bruins only two runs in the squads 2-0 shutout in the second contest. He laced back-to-back doubles against Morehead State to bring in three of the squads four runs, before collecting multi-hit outings in all three games against UT Martin.
KINETIC KYLE
Junior infielder Kyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.) has headed the Bruins offense as the leadoff hitter in Belmont's last 19 games. He has contributed 20 hits this season, six which have come in the form of a two-bagger. He recently went 3-for-6 six at the plate against Vanderbilt, collecting a variety of hits in his first three at bats - coming up one short of hitting the cycle with a single, double and triple.
ZERO TO SIXTY
It takes little time for senior infielder Tyler Walsh (Evansville, Ind.) to turn on the speed as he displayed in both meetings against the Hilltoppers, stealing a base three times - all would go on to result in a run. The speedster boasts a five-for-six record when attempting to steal. Walsh currently sits third in Belmont's NCAA era records with 51 stolen bases, four behind Drew Ferguson (55).
QUICKHITS
- The Bruins take on conference foe SIUE for a three-game weekend series. They most recently dropped a midweek tilt against Middle Tennessee, 6-4, at home.
- Coach Jarvis is in the midst of his 20th season at the helm of BU, compiling an overall record of 568-511-2 with the program. Collectively, Jarvis has earned a 892-662-2 mark in his 28-year coaching career.
- Belmont has only tabbed a pair of losses against the Cougars, leading the all-time series, 8-2. The squad has dropped a game in each of the last two OVC series they've endured and are 5-1 when playing SIUE on their home turf.
- The team has six different Bruins who rank in the top-10 of conference statistics - Nick Egli (fourth slugging percentage .794, fifth doubles 9), Clay Payne (first having caught eight attempting to steal), Matt Cogen (eighth with 16 walks), Dylan King (forth in strikeouts with 44), Tyler Vaughn (second in strikeouts 45), Connor Etheridge (seventh strikeouts 39, eighth ERA 3.52) and Dom Veltri (seventh with three saves).
- The Bruins are 5-7 at home and hold a 5-4 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference, currently ranking them fourth in the league.
- This is the third institution from Illinois that Belmont has played this year. BU boasts a 2-0 record in those previous meetings.
