Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Despite a leadoff home run from Guy Lipscomb and a pair of four-hit games from Jackson Campbell and Carson Shacklett, the Belmont University baseball team fell, 3-2, to Toledo in the season opener on Friday at E.S. Rose Park.
The Bruins out-hit the Rockets, 15-7, but left ten men on base and committed two fielding errors.
Belmont reached base in every inning, including the ninth, when Brodey Heaton singled with two outs before being replaced by Austin Ehren as a pinch runner. With Ehren representing the tying run, Toledo reliever Camryn Szynski got Logan Jarvis to foul out to end the game.
Joshua South started the game on the mound for the Bruins and went 5 1/3 innings, scattering two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts and four walks.
Guy Lipscomb began the season with a bang, attacking the second pitch he saw and depositing it over the right field fence for a leadoff home run in the first inning.
Toledo tied it up in the top of the third inning, 1-1, but John Behrends worked a walk in the bottom half of the frame to set the table for Brodey Heaton, who doubled down the left field line to score Behrends and give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
Toledo would strike back in the sixth inning, getting two runs across to take a 3-2 lead. Belmont earned opportunities in the later innings to come back, but couldn't capitalize on two baserunners in the sixth, a Jarvis double in the seventh, and two more baserunners in the eighth.
Aaron Hubbell took the loss in relief, going 2 2/3 innings with four hits and one earned run allowed, collecting two strikeouts with no walks. Kyle Brennan tossed the ninth inning and retired the side in order.
The Bruins ended the night 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The four hits each for Campbell and Shacklett were career-highs. Belmont only had three total four-hit games throughout the entirety of the 52-game 2021 season.
Jarvis, Heaton, and Lipscomb each collected two hits in the game.
Belmont continues their four-game series against Toledo with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch in Game 1 is set for 1 p.m., while Game 2 will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first seven-inning contest. While no audio or video coverage will be available, live stats will be accessible for both games on BelmontBruins.com.
Follow Belmont baseball on social media - @BelmontBaseball on Twitter and @belmontbaseball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
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