Baseball Downs Lipscomb in Battle of the Boulevard, 4-1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Behind dominant pitching and contributions from the bench, the Belmont University baseball team secured a rivalry win over Lipscomb, 4-1, in a Battle of the Boulevard matchup at Ken Dugan Field on Wednesday. 

Belmont (6-8) has now won five of the last seven meetings with Lipscomb, and 11 of the last 14. 

Dominance on the mound proved to be the story of the night, as Ethan Harden, Simon Tesh, Will Pryor, Caleb Guisewite, and Jett Thielke combined to hold Lipscomb (5-8) to just one run, the only time this season the Bisons have been held to fewer than three runs. 

The five Bruin pitchers scattered six hits while recording 11 strikeouts, with the only run of the game coming on a solo homer in the sixth inning. 

Harden got things going by tossing two scoreless frames in his first career start on the mound, striking out three. 

Tesh replaced him before the third inning and picked up right where the left-hander left off, allowing just one hit while striking out two on the way to two more scoreless innings. 

Pryor (W, 1-0) responded well after allowing the solo home run in the sixth, recording a strikeout with no walks while tossing two more innings. 

Guisewite pitched two scoreless innings while punching out three to set the table for Thielke (SV, 1), who retired the side in order in the ninth to get his first save as a Bruin. 

In all, Belmont limited an offense that scored 22 runs over the prior four games against Auburn and Georgia Tech to just a single run. 

Offensively, Belmont scuffled with only two hits through the first six innings before exploding for four runs on five hits in the seventh. 

After falling behind, 1-0, in the sixth inning, the Bruins responded by sending nine men to the plate in the seventh. 

Jack Rando drew a one-out walk, his team-leading eighth base on balls of the season, to put a man on. 

Sam Slaughter, pinch-hitting, then delivered a ringing double to left-center field that drove in Rando and tied the game, 1-1. 

After Jeff Clarke drew a walk, a wild pitch on ball four allowed Slaughter to scamper up ninety feet. 

With runners at the corners and still just one out, another wild pitch to Sam Kirkpatrick scored Slaughter and allowed Clarke to get to second base. 

Kirkpatrick recorded his first hit of the day with a single to drive in the third run of the inning. 

Finally, Blake Barton kept the frame going with a two-out single that scored Kirkpatrick, giving the Bruins a 4-1 advantage they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night. 

Belmont has now won four of their last six games and will play six of their next seven at home. 

Up Next 

Belmont returns home to host a three-game series against Western Illinois at E.S. Rose Park, beginning Friday. 

All three games will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available at BelmontBruins.com. 

Admission to all games at E.S. Rose Park is free. 

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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