Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont Baseball dropped a 5-2 decision to Austin Peay on a cold Saturday afternoon.
Senior Connor Etheridge (Springfield, Ill.) earned his eighth start on the bump on Saturday afternoon. He came out of the gate hot, retiring the Governors in order in the first inning.
Both squads struggled to get things going offensively until Austin Peay opened up the scoring in the top of the third. The Governors jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs on three hits in the third.
Belmont finally broke through and scored a run in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) recorded BU's second hit of the night with a one-out single to give Belmont a runner. Sophomore Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) worked a walk that put Cogen in scoring position for the first time. With two outs and runners on first and second, senior Austin Reynolds (Smyrna, Tenn.) send a ball to left field that plated Cogen to cut the lead 3-1. Hadden and Reynolds completed a double steal giving the Bruins a real chance to tie things up, but the next Belmont batter went down swinging, ending the Bruins scoring chances.
After a couple scoreless innings, Austin Peay scored their final two runs of the game in the top of the seventh. The Governors took advantage of a couple of Belmont errors in the inning to score two more runs, giving them a 5-1 lead after six and a half innings.
Belmont scored again in the bottom of the seventh after Senior Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) and Reynolds started the inning with a single and double respectively, putting the Governors in a jam. Freshman Jordan Henshaw (New Market, Ala.) recorded his 17th RBI of the season when he grounded out to first base, but the play scored Kocher cutting the Govs lead 5-2 after seven complete innings.
Neither team would crack the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest, so the Bruins would ultimately fall 5-2.
Four Bruins saw time on the mound for the Bruins. Etheridge finished his outing, throwing six and two-thirds innings, allowing six hits, five runs, and striking out nine. Junior Kyle Klotz (Fairview, Tenn.) struck out two while freshman Chandler Schultz (Nashville, Tenn.) and sophomore Michael Matter (Ft. Myers, Fla.) both rung up one.
Austin Reynolds had an effective night at the plate going 3-for-4 with two singles and a double and drove in one.
Game three of the series is slated for Sunday, April 8th at E.S. Rose Park. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. CT.
