Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After overcoming a five-run deficit, the Belmont baseball team was unable to complete the comeback in the final game of the series against Kansas in a 7-6 loss on Sunday afternoon at Rose Park.
Sophomore Tommy Crider led the way offensively with his second home run of the season to go with three RBIs, with junior Kyle Brennan leading the Bruins' pitching staff with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work.
"The best thing that we did with this series is we got three games under our belt," head coach Dave Jarvis said. "We dealt with some adversities as far as weather and other situations. The pitching staff has shown me no surprises. I feel like we're going to be very sound within our pitching staff. We're in the midst of organizing and putting together a very good bullpen."
Kansas got off to a quick start, collecting a leadoff single and later getting the game's first run off an RBI single after a fielding error moved a runner to second base. Following a hit by pitch and a sacrifice bunt, the Jayhawks hit back-to-back home runs to take a 5-0 lead after the first half-inning.
Belmont, however, responded to the adversity in the bottom of the third inning with three consecutive singles capped off by an RBI from sophomore John Behrends to bring in the Bruins' first run. Freshman Brodey Heaton managed to keep the momentum going in the next at-bat, driving in a second run with single that cut the Kansas lead 5-2.
With runners at the corners, Crider came up with his second home run of the season and fifth bomb of his career to knot the game 5-5. Crider became the first Belmont player since Drew Ferguson and Matt Beaty in 2015 to hit two home runs in the first three games of the season.
"The thing that we did in all three of these games is I felt like our kids competed extremely well," Jarvis said. "I see so many positive things in all three aspects of the game. Offensively, I think we're going to evolve and get better."
The Jayhawks responded quickly in the next half inning, with Kansas' Zach Hanna collecting a triple and later scoring off a double from Anthony Tulimero. Kansas added an insurance run later in the top of the seventh inning, obtaining a 7-5 lead off a solo home run from Benjamin Sems.
Junior Jackson Campbell cut the Kansas lead in half in the next half inning, hitting his 13th career home run and first of the season to make it a 7-6 game. Heaton came up with a single in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the tying run at first, but Kansas executed a double play with a strikeout and threw out to second base off a Belmont steal attempt.
"We got a good program in SIU-Carbondale coming in on Tuesday night, so that's our next focus," Jarvis said. "As we look toward the weekend, that's going to be an extremely exciting weekend. That's four good opponents coming in, Samford and three from the Missouri Valley. We feel like these steps and this early part of the schedule is a really good way to prepare us, if we allow it to, to prepare us for OVC play."
Belmont looks to bounce back on Tuesday against Southern Illinois at 4 p.m. at Rose Park.
