Baseball Wins Fifth Straight With 6-3 Victory Over Southern Indiana

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A three-run eighth inning catapulted the Belmont University baseball team to their fifth straight win on Tuesday night as they defeated Southern Indiana, 6-3, at E.S. Rose Park. 

Tied 3-3 in the eighth, Drew Lowry drew a bases-loaded walk and Max Jones ripped a two-RBI single up the middle to give Belmont insurance for the ninth inning, where Jett Thielke (W, 3-0) earned his third win of the year in relief. 

With the victory, Belmont (12-11) climbs above .500 for the first time this season. 

Belmont has now won six of their last seven games heading into opening weekend in Missouri Valley Conference play, which begins on Friday at E.S. Rose Park against Illinois State. 

On a chilly and rainy evening, Belmont saw a 3-1 lead disappear in the top of the eighth, but quickly responded with resilience, taking advantage of a pair of Screaming Eagle errors, drawing a walk and getting hit by a pitch to set up the three-run inning. 

Southern Indiana (7-14) cracked the scoreboard first in the third inning, scratching across a run to lead, 1-0. 

Belmont tied things up in the fifth inning when Drew Lowry stepped in with two runners on and two outs and delivered a game-tying RBI single through the left side that scored Ethan Harden. 

The Bruins took their first lead of the night in the seventh inning with another big two-out hit, this time coming from Mason Landers on a bases-loaded, two-RBI double to left field that drove in Lowry and Max Blessinger, putting Belmont in front, 3-1, before the seesaw eighth inning. 

Drew Lowry finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, Jeff Clarke finished 2-for-4 with a walk, and Mason Landers ended his night 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs. 

Freshmen right-handers Joe Ruzicka and Simon Tesh were stellar on the mound to start the game, combining for six innings of one-run ball. 

Ruzicka recorded a career-high seven strikeouts over three innings in the start, while Tesh allowed just one hit over three shutout frames with four strikeouts and only one walk, keeping the deficit at just a run before handing the ball over to Thielke. 

Thielke struck out five batters over the final three innings to hand Belmont the win. 

On the night, Belmont pitchers struck out 16 Southern Indiana hitters, their most punchouts since striking out 17 against UT Martin on February 18. 

Up Next 

Belmont will play in their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference game on Friday when they host Illinois State at E.S. Rose Park in the opener of a three-game series. 

First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. 

All three games this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+, with audio play-by-play simulcast to Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio and live stats 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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