Baseball Edged by WKU on Tuesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont University baseball team fell in a thriller, 9-7, to Western Kentucky on Tuesday night at E.S. Rose Park. 

At one point trailing by three runs, Belmont (2-3) had the bases loaded with nobody out in the eighth inning, but an unlucky sequence with a strikeout followed by a lineout double play ended the Bruins' chances of fully coming back on WKU (4-0). 

Five of the last six meetings between the Bruins and the Hilltoppers have now been decided by two runs or fewer. 

Sam Kirkpatrick notched his third three-hit game of the young season, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs, a stolen base, and a run scored. 

Trailing 8-5 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, Belmont got back-to-back base hits from Max Blessinger and Kirkpatrick to lead off the frame.  

Sam Slaughter stepped in and recorded his second hit of the night with an RBI single up the middle, making the score 8-6, before Jeff Clarke was hit by a pitch to load the bases. 

Jack Rando proceeded to work an RBI walk, making it 8-7 in favor of WKU with the bases loaded and still nobody out.  

WKU changed pitchers, going with C.J. Weins, who struck out Ethan Harden for the first out of the inning. Brodey Heaton then dug in and barreled a ball up straight at the Hilltopper second baseman, who caught the line drive and stepped on second base to complete a double play and end the inning. 

The Hilltoppers added an insurance run in the ninth, then held on for their fourth straight win. 

Earlier, WKU got on the board first with a three-run homer to left field in the second inning. 

Belmont would tie things, 3-3, in the third frame, with Clarke singling to lead things off and Rando reaching on an error to set the table for an RBI double down the left field line from Heaton. 

Mason Landers then drove in Rando with a single to second base and Blake Barton reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Heaton to score from third. 

After WKU regained the lead in the fifth, 5-3, the Bruins responded in the home half of the fifth frame, with Kirkpatrick coming through in the clutch with a two-RBI base hit through the left side that allowed Landers and Barton to score, tying the game at 5-5. 

The Hilltoppers would gather three more runs over the next three innings, setting the stage for the late-game drama. 

Caleb Guisewite and Harden both had scoreless appearances out of the bullpen for Belmont, who used seven pitchers in all. Joe Ruzicka made his first career start on the mound, striking out three. Cade Granzow and Jett Thielke allowed one earned run each in a combined three innings of relief, striking out three each. 

As a staff, Bruin pitchers tallied 13 strikeouts. 

Belmont will head to Bowling Green, Ky., on March 7 to finish the season series with WKU. 

Up Next  

Belmont travels to Raleigh, N.C., this weekend for a highly anticipated three-game series against No. 21 North Carolina State at Doak Field.

The trip marks the first time since 2013 that Belmont has traveled for a weekend series in the month of February. That year, the Bruins took two out of three games from Georgia on the road. 

Last season, Belmont secured their first-ever road sweep of a Power Five opponent when they took three games in a row from Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. 

All three games in the series against the Wolfpack, which begins Friday, will be streamed on ACC Network Extra and the ESPN app. Live radio play-by-play will be carried on the Bruin Sports Network and iHeartRadio, and live stats will be available 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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