Baseball Clinches Series Win Over Kansas on Sunday With 7-4 Victory

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Behind a career-best performance on the mound from Dominic Baratta and an explosive seven-run fourth inning, the Belmont University baseball team beat Kansas, 7-4, on Sunday afternoon to clinch a series win over the Jayhawks at E.S. Rose Park. 

By taking two out of three games from Kansas, Belmont (5-7) secured their first home series win over a Power Five opponent since 2001, when they defeated Iowa twice. 

It marks the second season in a row that the Bruins have won a series over a Power Five team after sweeping Purdue on the road last year in West Lafayette, Indiana. 

Baratta (W, 1-1) bested his previous career-long outing by two full frames as the left-hander went seven strong innings, allowing just two Jayhawk runs on six hits.  

The junior from Dunedin, Fla., collected two strikeouts and kept Kansas hitters off-balance the entire outing, playing to his defense and letting them make plays behind him. 

Belmont turned two double plays in the game and made a handful of diving catches in the outfield. 

Ethan Harden (SV, 1) earned the save in relief, tossing a scoreless ninth inning. The redshirt freshman also started the game as Belmont's designated hitter and picked up a clutch RBI single with two outs in the fourth inning that allowed that lopsided frame to continue. 

Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, the Bruins got the bats going, with singles from Blake Barton and Drew Lowry putting men at the corners with one out. 

A perfectly-executed double steal put Lowry at second base and scored Barton, putting the Bruins on the board. 

With two outs, Jack Rando delivered a single that scored Lowry and tied the game at 2-2. 

Jeff Clarke then drew a walk before Harden punched one up the middle, allowing Rando to score from second base. 

Sam Kirkpatrick kept the magic going with two outs, driving a single to the right-center gap that scored Clarke. 

Max Blessinger then provided the only extra base hit of the game for Belmont, a scorching triple down the right field line that drove in two runs and made it 6-2 in favor of the home team. 

Blessinger then scored on a wild pitch, bringing the margin to 7-2.  

When the dust cleared, Belmont had erupted for seven runs with two outs in the fourth inning, sending eleven batters to the plate and forcing two Kansas pitching changes. 

Kansas got back within three on a two-run home run in the eighth inning, but Harden slammed the door in the ninth to secure the victory, giving Belmont their first series win over a team from the Big 12 Conference in school history. 

Kirkpatrick finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, Brodey Heaton ended the game 2-for-4, and five other Bruins recorded a hit. 

Up Next 

Belmont will travel to Bowling Green, Ky., on Tuesday for a rematch with WKU, then will return to action on Wednesday down the street for a Battle of the Boulevard rivalry game with Lipscomb at Ken Dugan Field. 

First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 3 p.m. 

The game will be streamed on the Hilltopper Sports Properties Facebook page, and live radio-play-by-play will be carried on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio. 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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