NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont University baseball team returns to Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend, taking on SEMO at Rose Park starting on Friday at 4 p.m.
The series proves to be critical for the OVC standings, where SEMO is currently three games ahead of Belmont and is tied for second in the conference.
SEMO leads the series 19-11, with the Redhawks winning four of the previous six meetings against Belmont.
Sitting among the top teams in the OVC standings, SEMO looks to continue its quest for a conference crown this weekend. The Redhawks are hitting .272 as a team to go with 24 home runs and 180 RBIs. SEMO also has an earned run average of 5.68 to go with almost 300 strikeouts.
SEMO has four players hitting .301 or better, led by Tyler Wilber with a .407 batting average. Wilber and Andrew Keck have hit five home runs, where Keck has hit .312 this season. Jevon Mason adds power at the plate, hitting .375 to go with 14 runs driven in.
Head coach Dave Jarvis recently became the winningest coach in program history thanks to a doubleheader win on April 17 against Murray State. Jarvis now has 668 wins in his 24 years at Belmont, passing Dave Whitten (1969-1997) for the all-time wins record in program history. Jarvis and Whitten had a close relationship until Whitten's death in 2012, where Whitten served as an assistant and pitching coach under Jarvis from 1998-2000.
Junior Logan Jarvis has already placed himself in the Belmont Baseball record book. Hitting five triples in the 2021 season, he is now tied for fifth in the program's NCAA Era Single Season record book and 10th in the program's All-Time Single Season record book in that category. He needs just one more to move in a tie for third in the NCAA Era Single Season record book and fifth in the All-Time Single Season record book. Jarvis is currently tied for second in triples in NCAA Division I Baseball.
Game Notes
Sophomore John Behrends earned Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday. Logan Jarvis earning OVC Player of the Week honors last week, Behrends' honor marks the second time in the last three seasons where multiple Belmont players have earned the accolade in a season. Behrends finished last week with a .533 batting average, scoring seven runs, hitting two doubles and a pair of home runs while collecting nine RBIs to go with three stolen bases. In game one of Sunday's doubleheader at Tennessee Tech, Behrends hit a career-high two home runs and drove in a career-high six runs to lead Belmont to a game one win and eventually clinch the series in Cookeville.
Sophomore Carson Shacklett and Logan Jarvis have helped the Bruins this season by getting on base, especially drawing walks. Jarvis is eighth in NCAA Division I Baseball in that category while Shacklett is currently 10th, being ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the OVC. Jarvis is four walks away from moving in the top 10 in the single season program record book while Shacklett is five walks away from that feat.
Belmont has proven that they are never out of an inning when they are down to their last out. Over 27 percent of Belmont's runs scored this season have been with two outs, with the Bruins scoring 63 total runs in 2021 when they are down to their last out. The Bruins have also hit five home runs with two outs this season.
First pitch is set for 4 p.m. on Friday, with live stats and Bruin Sports Network being available to fans for all three games. ESPN+ will broadcast Friday's game only.
