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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Behind strong starting pitching and a pair of home runs from Carson Shacklett, the Belmont University baseball team picked up a pair of wins, 4-0 and 5-2, over Youngstown State on Saturday in a doubleheader at E.S. Rose Park.
Belmont (7-1) has now won seven straight games and is out to their best start since 2010, when they began 10-0.
The Bruin pitching staff has now recorded three shutouts and currently has a 1.29 ERA, only allowing nine runs over the first eight games of the season.
Belmont has also been aided by excellent defense, with no errors committed in their last seven games.
Andy Bean (W, 2-0) was outstanding in his second start of the season, tossing six shutout innings while scattering just four hits. The sophomore from Fisherville, Tenn., collected six strikeouts while issuing only one walk.
Bean was replaced in the seventh by Will Jenkins, who completed the seven-inning shutout by picking up a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless frame.
The game turned on a clutch base hit from Jackson Campbell, who came up in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs and turned on a two-strike pitch, singling up the middle to bring home John Behrends and Guy Lipscomb and give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
Shacklett provided some insurance with a two-run blast to right field that was measured at 376 feet.
Behrends finished 2-for-3 with a run scored in the win.
Belmont finished off the doubleheader sweep with another standout performance from a starting pitcher, this time off the left arm of Dominic Baratta (W, 2-0), who battled through a tough first inning before settling down and finding his groove.
Youngstown State struck first in the opening inning, with a solo home run and an infield RBI single, to go up 2-0.
Belmont would tie things up with a pair of runs in the third inning thanks to an RBI double from Guy Lipscomb and an RBI groundout from John Behrends.
With the game tied 2-2, Shacklett stepped into the box in the fourth inning and proceeded to hit his second home run of the day, a solo shot to right field, to hand Belmont a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Jackson Werth would score on a wild pitch in the fifth, and Lipscomb added his second RBI with a single to center field in the sixth to bring the final margin to 5-2 in favor of the home side.
Lipscomb finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases in the win. The sophomore from Franklin, Tenn., now has 11 stolen bases on the young season, ranked in the top five in the country in that category.
Baratta went five innings on the mound in his second start as a Bruin, scattering four hits with the two earned runs. The sophomore recorded three strikeouts and handed out only one free pass.
Aaron Hubbell replaced Baratta to begin the sixth inning and went 1 2/3 scoreless innings, not allowing a hit and picking up one strikeout.
Kyle Brennan (SV, 3) came on with two outs and two runners on in the final inning, needing just one pitch to get the final Penguin to ground out to end the game.
Belmont will look for the series sweep when they return to E.S. Rose Park on Sunday for a 1 p.m. tilt against Youngstown State.
Dr. Rich Tiner will have the live play-by-play call on the Bruin Sports Network beginning at 12:50 p.m. Live stats will be available on BelmontBruins.com, and in-game updates will be posted on Twitter by @BelmontBaseball.
