EVANSTON, Ill. – Belmont Baseball dropped a 13-4 decision to the Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday afternoon in the first of a three-game series.
Belmont looked to get some offense going early as senior Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) and junior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) both recorded base hits in the first inning to put a runner in scoring position, but both were stranded and the Bruins were kept off the board.
Northwestern was able to open things up in the bottom of the first inning, scoring five runs on four hits to take an early 5-0 lead.
Belmont was unable to get things going in the top of the second, but freshman Chandler Schultz (Nashville, Tenn.) was able to record the first three-up, three-down inning for the Bruins with the help of a spectacular diving catch in shallow right field by Cogen.
With the Bruins struggling to get anything going on the offensive end, the Wildcats scored two more runs in the bottom of the third to make it a 7-0 lead.
The Bruins finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. Cogen was responsible for the run as he rocketed a one-out solo home run over the right field fence to make it a 7-1 ballgame.
The Wildcats tacked on one in the bottom of the fifth and two in the bottom of the sixth to extend their lead 10-1 before rounding out their scoring efforts in the bottom of the seventh, adding on three more runs.
The Bruins scored their final three games of the afternoon in the top of the eighth. Junior Zach Ehrhart (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) started off the rally with a single through the right side and advanced to second on a wild pitch to put himself in scoring position. Senior Kyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.) delivered a ground rule double to left center to score Ehrhart, cutting the lead 13-2. Junior Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) was hit by a pitch, and Cogen delivered his fourth hit of the night to load the bases with no outs. Junior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) then grounded out, but scored Conger in the process plate the Bruins' third run of the night. Senior Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) plated the final run of the night with a two-out single to right field before the final out to cut the lead 13-4.
Belmont was able to keep Northwestern off the board in the bottom of the eighth, but still needed several runs to stay alive.
Despite a leadoff hit by sophomore Michael Matter (Ft. Myers, Fla.) on the first pitch of the inning and another hit by Ehrhart, the Bruins were unable to plate anymore runs and ultimately fell 13-4.
Matt Cogen had an impressive day, going four-for-four and adding incredible defensive play for the Bruins.
The Bruins were outhit 14-13 by the Wildcats and committed one error.
The second game of the series will be Friday, May 18that 3:30 p.m. CT.
