NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont baseball hits the road this weekend for a three-game series against conference foe Austin Peay April 7-9. The Bruins and Governors will kick off the series on Friday, April 7 at 6 p.m. All three games will be played at Raymond C. Hand Park.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
Belmont enters this weekend's OVC series against Austin Peay with an 8-4 conference mark, bolstered by a series sweep over SIUE last weekend. The Bruins offense game alive in the league match up against the Cougars to propel them to their first sweep of the year. They were recently shutout my Memphis to bring their overall record to 13-14. BU has won all but one of its conference series so far.
Senior designated hitter Nick Egli (Brentwood, Tenn.) has continued to lead the Bruins offense over the past few weeks of play. He currently sits atop the squad in eight statistical categories - batting average (.376), runs (18), hits (32), doubles (11), home runs (5), RBIs (22), slugging percentage (.729) and on-base percentage (.465). Eighteen of the veteran's 32 hits have come in the form on a extra-base knock - 11 doubles, two triples and five home runs. Behind Egli, Belmont has two other players logging a .300 or better batting average - junior Rafael Bournigal (Mulberry, Fla.) (.329) and redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) (.316). Collectively, the team has registered 220 hits, 147 runs and 131 RBIs nearly halfway through the season.
Belmont's weekend pitching staff has been dominant on the mound this season with all three starting hurlers rank in the top-7 in strike outs. Sophomore Dylan King (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) leads the OVC in K's, having registered 54 in seven starts this season. Juniors Tyler Vaughn (Jonesboro, Ill.) ranks fourth (49) and Connor Etheridge (Springfield, Ill.) ranks seventh (45). The trio has tossed 148 of the teams combined 196 strike outs in 2017. The Bruins have also seen extensive production from their bullpen with 11 different pitchers taking the hill for Belmont. Sophomore Kyle Klotz (Fairview, Tenn.) leads the OVC with 19 appearances, tossing 25.0 innings and earning a record of 2-2 on the mound. Senior closer Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) has earned all five of Belmont's saves this season - ranking second in the league.
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. Walsh once again showed his base-running skills against SIUE (4.2), stealing three bases. The speedster boasts a eight-for-nine record when attempting to steal. Walsh currently sits third in Belmont's NCAA era records with 54 stolen bases, one behind Drew Ferguson (55).
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 seven appearances, the hurler has struck out 49 batters through 43.2 innings of work - ranking him fourth in the league. The Jonesboro, Ill. product tossed a career-best 11 Ks against Morehead State (3.17), reducing his ERA to 5.22 so far in his junior campaign.
KING OF THE HILL
King leads the conference in Ks with 54 in 42.2 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 - he's done so three times. King ranks 10th in the OVC with an ERA of 4.22
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 45 Ks in 35.2 innings of work, boasting an ERA of 4.04 - 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 .435 batting average while connecting on 20 hits, ten which have been extra base shots. He's registered 15 RBIs in the squad's 12 OVC games. 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. The Brentwood, Tenn. product leads the team in BA (.376), hits (32), runs (18), doubles (11), home runs (5) and RBIs (22) throughout the 2017 campaign.
NO PAYNE NO GAIN
Senior catcher Clay Payne (Powell, Tenn.) is the driving force of Belmont's defense - starting behind the plate in all but four games this season. He's tallied 180 putouts ranking seventh in the conference. The veteran has also caught nine runners attempting to steal, the most in the OV
KINETIC KYLE
Junior infielder Kyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.) has headed the Bruins offense as the leadoff hitter in Belmont's last 24 games. He has contributed 25 hits this season, seven 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. Conger is currently riding a four-game hitting streak - one of three Bruins to have collected at least one hit in four consecutive contests.
BRINGING THE HEAT
After sitting out early on in the season, junior Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) has been clutch at the plate, one of five Bruins to launch multiple long balls this season. He's been a mainstay at third base for the last 16 contests and sits fourth on the squad with a batting average of .254. He's only struck out nine times in his 67 plate appearances.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Bruins have registered a double in 23 of its 27 contests, including connecting on at least two in 18 games. They hold a 11-7 mark when recording multiple two-base shots.
QUICK HITS
- The Bruins take on conference foe Austin Peay for a three-game weekend series. They most recently dropped a midweek tilt against Memphis, 6-0, at home.
- Coach Jarvis is in the midst of his 20th season at the helm of BU, compiling an overall record of 571-512-2 with the program. Collectively, Jarvis has earned an 895-663-2 mark in his 28-year coaching career.
- The Governors lead the all-time series against Belmont, 15-20. The Bruins have only gotten one game off Austine Peay in each of their three-game series since joining the OVC. Both squads faced off five times last year as BU fell to APSU twice in the OVC tournament in addition to going 2-1 in the series.
- The team has five different Bruins who rank in the top-10 of overall OVC statistics - Nick Egli (fourth slugging percentage .729, third doubles 11), Clay Payne (first having caught nine runners attempting to steal), Dylan King (second in strikeouts with 54), Tyler Vaughn (fourth in strikeouts 49), Connor Etheridge (seventh strikeouts 45, ninth ERA 4.04) and Dom Veltri (third with five saves).
- The Bruins hold an 8-4 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference, currently ranking them third in the league.
- BU is 5-5 on the road this season.
