MARTIN, Tenn. - The Belmont University baseball team starts Ohio Valley Conference play on Thursday at 5 p.m. at UT Martin.
Belmont currently leads the series with UT Martin 40-22,winning its last seven matchups with the Skyhawks. Since the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 baseball season, this will be the two's first meeting since the 2019 season. The Skyhawks have not beaten the Bruins in baseball since the 2017 season.
UT Martin opened up the season with a win at No. 22 Alabama and is off to a 4-6 start heading into OVC play. The Skyhawks rank first in slugging percentage in the league with a .424 mark and have hit 12 home runs to go with 59 RBIs. Their pitching staff has come up with 77 strikeouts to go with a 5.62 earned run average to start the season.
The Skyhawks have three players hitting .326 or better this season, led by Christian Hall. Hall has a .333 batting average to go with three home runs and 14 RBIs and a .611 slugging percentage. Blake Daniels is hitting .333, hitting a home run while driving in four runs. Casey Harford holds a .326 batting average in addition to leading the Skyhawks with 14 hits and four doubles while hitting a home run with 12 RBIs.
On March 29, 2015 at UT Martin, Belmont Baseball recorded one of the best offensive performances in an inning in NCAA Baseball history. The Bruins set multiple NCAA records, which included 23 plate appearances, 43 total bases, 20 RBIs, and seven home runs. Belmont went on to score 20 runs in the top of the sixth inning, setting multiple program records in the process and winning the game 34-10 while totaling 31 hits.
Game Notes
Catcher Jackson Campbell was named to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Watch List, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced on Tuesday. The award is given annually to the top catcher in NCAA Division I Baseball, with Campbell being one of 69 catchers to be named to the list. Campbell is the only catcher representing the Ohio Valley Conference, marking the second time in his career being named to the watch list.
The Russellville, Ky. native is currently in the top 10 in five statistical categories in the OVC, including fifth in putouts with 59. Campbell is currently one of six Belmont players to hit a home run in 2021 and is currently tied for second on the team in RBIs.
Head coach Dave Jarvis is eyeing the all-time wins record at Belmont, where he currently has compiled 652 wins in his 24 years as the Bruins' head coach. Jarvis needs just 12 more wins to pass Dave Whitten (1969-1997) to become the winningest head coach in program history. Jarvis and Whitten had a close relationship until Whitten's death in 2012, where Whitten served as an honorary assistant and pitching coach under Jarvis from 1998-2000.
First pitch for Thursday's game is set for 5 p.m. while Friday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for both games courtesy of UT Martin.
