Box Score
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Down 9-2 in the fourth inning, the Belmont University baseball team staged a miraculous comeback and won on a walk-off base hit from Jackson Campbell to open up their OVC Tournament with a victory over No. 5 SIUE, 10-9, at Wild Health Field in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday.
The Bruins advance in the winner's bracket to face the Thursday winner of No. 2 Southeast Missouri and No. 6 Tennessee Tech on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
Top-seeded Belmont (38-19, 18-6 OVC) trailed 9-8 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, but Guy Lipscomb started the frame with a leadoff single before getting his 41st stolen base of the year to move into scoring position. Brodey Heaton doubled to right-center field to drive in Lipscomb and tie the game at 9-9, but after advancing to third base on a wild pitch, the SIUE pitcher got strikeouts of Mason Landers and Logan Jarvis to set the table for a dramatic final at-bat.
Jackson Campbell stepped into the batter's box 0-for-4 on the day, but rifled a line drive into left field to score Heaton and give the Bruins the wild come-from-behind win.
Belmont was out-hit 14 to 12, but tallied two big home runs in the comeback, including a solo shot from Jack Capobianco in the fourth inning to make it 9-3 and a three-run blast from Logan Jarvis in the sixth inning to bring the score to 9-6.
The Bruins got closer with a two-out pinch-hit double from Tommy Crider in the home sixth that scored Capobianco and made it 9-7, before Mason Landers sent a groundball to the infield that scored Lipscomb from third base in the bottom of the seventh inning to get the Bruins within a run, 9-8, heading into the final stretch.
After SIUE chased OVC Pitcher of the Year Andy Bean after two innings, the Belmont bullpen was spectacular in relief, with Aaron Hubbell tossing four strong frames with only two runs allowed before Dusty Baird (W, 2-1) delivered one of the best relief performances of the season with three scoreless innings to allow Belmont to complete the comeback.
The Cougars scored seven runs in the second inning and two more in the fourth to lead 9-2, but did not score a run over the final five innings.
Heaton finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs, Capobianco finished 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI, and Lipscomb ended his day 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base.
No. 1 Belmont advances to Game 8 in the OVC Tournament, scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. ET. The Bruins will face the winner of Game 6, which features No. 2 Southeast Missouri and No. 6 Tennessee Tech on Thursday evening at Wild Health Field.
All games from the OVC Tournament are streamed on ESPN+, and live audio play-by-play of every Belmont game is broadcast on the Bruin Sports Network.
