Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont University baseball team had their seven-game winning streak snapped with an 11-7 defeat to Illinois State on Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park.
Belmont (14-12, 2-1 MVC) had won seven consecutive games from March 17 to March 25 before Sunday, only the third time the Bruins had given up double-digit runs in a game in the previous month.
The Bruins recorded 15 hits in the tight loss and threatened a comeback in the ninth inning, but ended up falling short of securing a series sweep.
Sam Kirkpatrick recorded his fifth three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs, two doubles, and two runs scored.
Mason Landers went 2-for-4 with a home run, Blake Barton ended his day 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, and Jack Rando finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
Of Belmont's 15 hits, there were seven doubles and a home run.
On the mound, Simon Tesh tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and no walks, and Ethan Harden threw one inning with no earned runs and a strikeout.
Belmont struck first in the opening inning when Sam Kirkpatrick led off with a double before scoring on a Blake Barton RBI single to center field.
Dominic Baratta (L, 2-2) retired the first seven batters he faced but Illinois State was able to scratch across a pair of runs in the third inning, then added one in the fourth and three in the fifth to force Baratta's exit.
Going into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Redbirds led, 6-1.
However, Belmont responded quickly in the home fifth, getting back-to-back-to-back doubles from Max Blessinger, Jack Rando, and Sam Kirkpatrick to get two runs back and climb to within 6-3.
An RBI single to center field from Brodey Heaton drove in Kirkpatrick and made it 6-4 in favor of Illinois State heading to the sixth inning.
The Redbirds wrestled more control with a four-run sixth, and added an unearned run off a Belmont error in the ninth inning.
Belmont manufactured a pair of runs in the eighth inning, with Kaden Galason scoring on a wild pitch and Kirkpatrick delivering another RBI with a single that scored Sam Slaughter, making the deficit more manageable at 10-6.
After Illinois State added a run in the top of the ninth, Mason Landers led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run to left field, his sixth home run of the season.
Belmont put two runners on and forced a pitching change, but could not muster enough offense to stage a dramatic comeback, falling in the series finale.
Up Next
Belmont will have their longest break of the season, a five-day stretch of no games before they travel to Evansville, Ind., next weekend for a three-game series with the Purple Aces. Evansville swept Missouri State this weekend to open Missouri Valley Conference action.
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