Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Belmont baseball team took both games of the doubleheader against Morehead State by scores of 10-9 and 17-3 on Saturday at Allen Field.
Junior Jackson Campbell combined for five hits and seven RBIs, coming up with his third career multi home run game in game one in the process. Junior Logan Bowen tied his career high of eight strikeouts and picked up his first win of the season in game two.
"The first conference series is a measuring stick," junior Logan Jarvis said. "We're excited. In conference, they don't count series wins. They count wins and losses, so you got to get them while you can and that's where our focus is right now."
Game 1
It only took one pitch for Belmont to get on the board first, with senior Hagan Severance hitting his third home run of the season off the first pitch he saw to give Belmont a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Morehead State responded in the bottom of the second inning, hitting a leadoff single and scoring the tying run off a double down the left field line.
Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Belmont and senior Chandler Adkins drove in a run after getting hit by the pitch in the top of the third inning. Two doubles by Morehead State in the next half-inning allowed the Eagles to tie the game up again, snagging the 3-2 lead off a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Getting two runners on base in the top of the seventh inning, Adkins drove in the tying run with an RBI single. Sophomore Carson Shacklett came up with an RBI single to center field to give Belmont the lead and junior Jackson Campbell hit his fourth home run of the season to drive in three runs to give Belmont a 7-3 lead.
Morehead State, however, responded with a run rally of its own in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring six runs to take a 9-7 lead. Following Shacklett drawing a two-out walk in the top of the ninth inning, Campbell hit his second home run of the day to center field to tie the game at nine runs each.
Severance drew a walk in the top of the 10th inning and advanced to third base off a balk and wild pitch, scoring the go-ahead run off a passed ball. Junior Kyle Brennan earned his fourth win of the season, pitching the final 2.1 innings and collecting three strikeouts.
"There's no pressure at all," Campbell said. "We don't feel like we're ever pinned down at all. I'm glad I got a good barrel and glad I could tie it up there at the end."
Game 2
Belmont struck first again in game two, with junior Logan Jarvis coming up with his second home run of the season in the top of the second inning. After Severance drew a walk and sophomore John Behrends came up with a single in the top of the third inning, freshman Brodey Heaton hit an RBI single to left field to extend the Belmont lead to two runs.
A bases loaded walk added a third Bruins' run before Adkins hit a grounder that scored Heaton from third base and gave Belmont a 4-0 lead.
"It's a big credit to our offense for coming out and being able to make that comeback at the end of the first game and come out in the second game and put some runs up early," Bowen said. "It's always good to pitch with the lead."
Campbell came up with his seventh hit in the last three games with a leadoff double in the top of the fourth inning, with Behrends bringing him home with an RBI single to extend Belmont's lead to five runs. Belmont took advantage off two Morehead State errors later in the inning, pushing the lead out 8-0. The Eagles scored their first run of the game in the next half-inning, coming up with an RBI single to left field.
Belmont loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning, extending the lead off RBI singles from Shacklett and sophomore Jack Capobianco in addition to a two-RBI double from Campbell to make it a 13-1 advantage. Morehead State scored a run in the next half-inning, but sophomore Tommy Crider hit a two-run home run to put Belmont back ahead by 13 runs.
The Bruins got the bases loaded again in the top of the eighth, capitalizing off a 2-RBI single from Jarvis to extend the Belmont lead to 15 runs. Morehead State scored a run off a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Belmont shut down the Eagles in the final two innings to close it out.
"We just had the momentum after the first game," Campbell said. "No surprise there. I'm just glad we got the win in both games."
Belmont looks for the sweep against Morehead State on Sunday at 12 p.m. CST
