Box Score
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Behind dominant pitching from Jalen Borders and two timely home runs from Brodey Heaton and Tommy Crider, the Belmont University baseball team clinched a series win over Morehead State on Saturday with a 4-2 victory at Allen Field.
With Saturday's win, Belmont (23-13, 9-3 OVC) has now won all four of their Ohio Valley Conference series this season and snapped a nine-series win streak that Morehead State held at home dating back to 2020.
Crider's solo home run in the ninth inning to give Belmont a 4-2 lead meant the junior from Madison, Ala., has homered in three straight games. The designated hitter hit a two-run homer on Thursday, and a two-run homer on Friday before Saturday's home run to center field, giving him a team-high eight long balls on the year.
After the first two games in the series saw a combined 39 runs scored, a pitcher's duel on Saturday seemed unlikely. However, Jalen Borders delivered one of his best starts of the season, going 6 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and only one earned run to get the win.
Belmont's offense was quieted early, with five strikeouts of Bruin batters starting the game and Belmont not getting their first hit until a single in the fourth inning.
After a solo home run from Morehead State gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the second inning, Borders locked in and scattered just three more hits and one more unearned run in the seventh before exiting.
Morehead State held the one-run lead until the sixth inning, when John Behrends walked to get on base and set the table for Brodey Heaton, who with two outs hammered his second home run of the series over the right field fence to give Belmont a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins manufactured a run in the seventh when Mason Landers doubled to left-center to lead off the inning, then advanced to third base on a grounder from Jack Capobianco.
Jackson Campbell flared a shallow fly into left field that was caught by the Morehead State second baseman. Belmont rolled the dice, sending Landers from third and had the gamble pay off, with the sophomore third baseman getting to home plate before the throw.
After Borders exited in a 3-2 game in the seventh, Will Jenkins (SV, 2) came on in relief and was lights out, going 2 1/3 hitless innings to collect his second save of the season.
Landers finished 2-for-3 with a double, Crider finished 2-for-4 with a home run, and John Behrends went 1-for-2 with two walks.
Belmont will continue their stretch of nine straight road games with a game at Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., and will be broadcast on CUSA.TV. Live audio play-by-play will also be streamed on the Bruin Sports Network.
