NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont baseball opens its conference slate at Eastern Kentucky this weekend. With inclement weather predicted over the weekend, both squads have elected to push the series up to Thursday, March 9. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT at Earl Combs Stadium. Friday will feature a double header with the first contest starting at 11 a.m., the finale will take place afterwards.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
Belmont heads into its conference slate with an overall record of 5-7, recently falling victim of a walk-off victory by Western Kentucky. After beating the Hilltoppers, 11-3, in their first meeting earlier this season, the Bruins fell, 3-2, on Tuesday. BU is 3-6 in weekend series so far this year.
The Bruins offensive production has been led by junior Rafael Bournigal (Mulberry, Fla.) and redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.). Bournigal is currently registering a .391 batting average, going 9-for-23 at the plate with a pair of doubles and six RBIs. Cogen has collected a team-best .409 BA and is the only Bruin to tally double digit hits with 18. He leads the squad with a pair of triples. Belmont has enjoyed the consistency from sophomore Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) who's collected at least one hit in six of the squads last seven games, including three multi-RBI games. Senior utility Nick Egli (Brentwood, Tenn.) has been producing great at bats for the Bruins with seven of his nine hits coming in the form of extra base knocks.
The pitching staff has been headed by sophomore Dylan King (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and junior Tyler Vaughn (Jonesboro, Ill.) who have hurled a combined 45 strikeouts. Right-handed sophomore, Connor Etheridge (Springfield, Ill.), earned his first start of the year against Georgia Tech tossing 4.0 complete innings and striking out four batters. Vaughn, King and Etheridge have been reliable on the mound in each of their outings, logging 44.2 innings of work. The Bruins have also seen extensive production from their bullpen with 10 different pitchers taking the hill for Belmont. Sophomore Kyle Klotz (Fairview, Tenn.) has made an appearance in all but three of Belmont's contests, tossing 14.1 innings and earning a record of 1-1 on the mound. Senior righty Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) tallied his first save of the year against Bowling Green, sitting down the Falcons final three batters.
FRIDAY FEATURE
Right-handed pitcher Tyler Vaughn has earned the Friday start for the Bruins in each of their first three weekend series. In his three appearances, the hurler has struck out 22 batters through 17.0 innings of work. The Jonesboro, Ill. product tossed nine Ks in each of his first two starts on the hill. He's collected an ERA of 6.88 so far in his junior campaign.
KING OF THE HILL
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. After three starts this season the hurler has tossed a team-best 23 strikeouts, ranking him fourth in the OVC.
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 perfect four-for-four record when attempting to steal and currently sits third in Belmont's NCAA era records with 50 stolen bases, five behind Drew Ferguson (55).
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Bruins have registered a double in ten of its first 12 contests, including connecting on at least two in nine games. They hold a 5-4 mark when recording multiple two-base shots.
10 AND 2
Sporting No. 10 for the Bruins, senior Clay Payne (Powell, Tenn.), is the driving force of Belmont's defense playing position 2 (catcher). Payne has started behind the plate in all but one game this season, tallying 97 putouts - ranking third in the conference. He has also caught five runners attempting to steal, the second most in the OVC.
FOLLOW ALONG
This weekend's series will be featured on the Bruin Sports Network. You can also follow our twitter page, @belmontbaseball and with live stats at ekusports.com for in-game updates.
