KENNESAW, Ga. -- Nine strikeouts and three home runs that produced all five of Belmont Softball's runs helped secure the team's first win of the Rafter Memorial Tournament on Friday. The Bruins (13-3) nearly collected their third consecutive shutout but held on for the 5-1 win over Mercer (16-7). Unfortunately, BU was unable to carry the momentum over into the nightcap, falling 14-5, to host-Kennesaw State in five innings.
Home runs were knocked by junior Chelsea Thomas (Hot Springs, Ark.), senior Lexi Rouse (Macon, Ga.) and junior Sami Long (Springfield, Ill.).
Inside the circle, sophomore Brooklin Lee (Burns, Tenn.) fanned nine batters and went the distance in the win. Most impressively, she retired the whole side in the bottom of the second frame and the final three batters in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded to secure the win.
The nightcap was almost all Kennesaw State from the start. The Owls posted five runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Rouse crushed a solo home run in the top of the second frame to get Belmont on the board but KSU answered back with three more runs in their half of the same.
BU continued to fight down the stretch, even as Kennesaw State increased their lead, thanks to an explosive third inning where it added four more runs.
The Bruins attempted to make noise in the top of the fourth inning. Thanks to another solo home run by Rouse, a walked in run by junior Taylor Hargrove (Greenbrier, Tenn.) and a single by senior Jess Andree (Darien, Ill.), the team added three runs. However, the Owls added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the same frame to put the game out of reach.
Rouse smacked her career-high third solo home run in the top of the fifth but that would be the final time BU would cross the plate as the Owls would hold on for the 14-5 win.
Freshman Alicia Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) logged four innings in the circle for BU, notching one strikeout.
For the day, Rouse went 4-for-5 with a whopping four home runs and five RBI to lead all Bruin batters.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday for day two of the Rafter Memorial Tournament. The Bruins are scheduled to face Mercer at 9am CT and Fort Wayne at 11:30 am CT. Live stats will be available.
