NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont University baseball team wraps up its February non-conference schedule with doubleheaders against Northern Kentucky and Creighton on Friday and Saturday at Rose Park. Friday's doubleheader will start at 3 p.m. while Saturday's first pitch is set for 1 p.m.
Belmont is coming off a 5-1 win over North Alabama on Tuesday, with its pitching staff combining for 17 strikeouts. The pitching staff's performance marked the first time since March 4, 2016 where Belmont forced at least 15 strikeouts as a team. Junior Logan Bowen picked up his first win of the season while junior Kyle Brennan picked up his 15th career save, moving into a tie with Jimmy Stanley (2007-09) and Robbie McNair (1988-91) for fifth on the program's all-time career save list.
"We got a lot still in front of us," head coach Dave Jarvis said. "I felt good about the team's performance (on Tuesday) and we want to get better. We want to improve. We want to use this as something we can build upon and that's what we're looking forward to."
Northern Kentucky is off to a 1-2 start heading into Friday's game, but coming off a 4-3 win at East Tennessee State. The Norse have scored nine runs off 14 hits to start the season, drawing eight walks and stealing five bases in the process.
Griffin Doersching leads the Norse with a .375 batting average, hitting a home run and a double that brought his slugging percentage to .875. Sam Hedges adds power with a .333 batting average while Josh Romans has a home run, two RBIs to go with a slugging percentage of .750.
In the backyard of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., Creighton has totaled 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and appeared in the College World Series in 1991. The Bluejays finished with a 5-10 record in 2020, but hit 11 home runs and drove in 59 runs. Creighton also has several key contributors from 2020 returning for the 2021 season.
David Vilches led the Bluejays with a .333 batting average, coming up with 14 hits, two home runs and eight RBIs. Ryan Mantle hit two home runs and drove in eight RBIs to go with a batting average of .318. Despite only playing five games in 2020, Jared Wegner hit .278 to go with a home run and three RBIs.
Including the 2020 season, Belmont is one of just four programs in NCAA Division I Baseball to hold a winning streak of at least nine games (Ole Miss, Navy, Fordham) heading into Friday. The Bruins are also one of 12 teams in NCAA Division I Baseball yet to trail in a game this season (East Carolina, Missouri State, Vanderbilt, Mercer, UT Arlington, Clemson, UNC Asheville, Boston College, Memphis, Kentucky, Southeastern Louisiana).
Game Notes
First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Friday at Rose Park. Grandstand seating will be limited to 20 percent of the maximum occupancy. The grandstand areas will be clearly marked to indicate where spectators can and cannot sit. Attendees are required to wear masks or face coverings at all times at Rose Park.
Live stats will be available for all of the weekend games. Bruin Sports Network will broadcast the games online.
