Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Belmont University baseball team dropped their series finale against the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Sunday, 6-3, at Young Memorial Field in Birmingham.
Belmont (12-5), has now lost four of their last six after a ten-game winning streak from Feb. 19 to March 5.
John Behrends went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and two RBIs in the loss.
With the Bruins trailing 1-0, Behrends drove a ball way over the right field fence to lead off the third inning, his first home run of the season, to tie things at 1-1.
UAB (11-4) struck first in the opening inning, getting a leadoff double before the runner advanced to third base on an errant pickoff throw, leading to a sacrifice fly that scored the game's first run.
UAB threatened again in the second inning, loading the bases with zero outs. However, Jalen Borders got a strikeout and a groundball double play to escape unscathed.
After Behrends tied it up with his solo shot in the third inning, UAB again loaded the bases with zero out in the fourth frame. Again, Borders got three straight outs to retire the side without giving up a run.
Borders finished his outing after four innings, scattering four hits with a season-high four walks and three strikeouts, earning a no-decision.
Freshman lefty Ethan Harden (L, 0-1) got through the fifth inning and appeared to be out of the sixth inning when a playable fly ball was hit in the air to the gap in right-center field. However, miscommunication between the two Bruin outfielders allowed the ball to drop and the inning to continue, giving UAB the opportunity to plate two runs with two outs in the sixth and take a 3-1 lead.
Belmont cut the deficit in half when Behrends doubled to left-center in the seventh inning, driving in Logan Jarvis to make it 3-2.
UAB stretched the lead with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, then got an RBI single to give the Blazers a 6-2 advantage.
Belmont got back a run in the ninth inning when Carson Shacklett scored on a passed ball, but the Bruins would fall, 6-3.
Caleb Guisewite pitched a scoreless eighth inning for Belmont, recording one strikeout while retiring the side in order.
One game after issuing a season-high ten walks in the second game of Friday's doubleheader, Belmont handed out seven free passes in Sunday's loss. The Bruins had entered the series top-30 in the country in fewest walks per nine-innings.
Belmont will have a quick turnaround, hosting Western Kentucky at E.S. Rose Park on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
