Baseball Scores Six Runs in Ninth Inning to Beat Austin Peay, 12-6, on Tuesday Night

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Erupting for six runs in the ninth inning, the Belmont University baseball team grabbed an important 12-6 road win over area rival Austin Peay on Tuesday night at Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville. 

A no-doubt home run from Jack Rando led off the ninth and gave Belmont a 7-6 lead, before Sam Kirkpatrick delivered a sacrifice fly, Max Blessinger scored on a wild pitch, and Mason Landers put the game away for good with a three-run blast over the left field fence. 

When the dust cleared, Belmont had scored six runs in the ninth inning, following up a two-run eighth inning that had tied the game just minutes earlier. 

Belmont (19-15, 5-4 MVC) improves to 5-3 in midweek games with the thrilling non-conference victory. 

The home runs from Rando and Landers in the ninth capped big days for both, with Rando finishing 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Landers ending his night 2-for-5 with four RBIs, a double, and a walk. 

??? Hear from @jackrando_ and @butter_landers1 on a satisfying midweek win, what they saw in their ninth-inning home runs, a bounce-back offensive performance, and looking ahead to Indiana State ??#ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/CiOsDnUQvg
— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) April 12, 2023
 

Blessinger finished the game 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. 

Patient Belmont hitters worked 12 walks in the win, adding 11 hits, including four in the ninth alone. 

Ethan Harden (W, 2-1) picked up the win on the mound, navigating a bases-loaded situation in the eighth and shutting the door in the ninth for the road victory. 

Joe Ruzicka tossed four innings without allowing an earned run, and Caleb Guisewite recorded 2 1/3 scoreless frames in relief with three strikeouts. 

Belmont manufactured their first lead of the game in the opening inning, with Jeff Clarke beating out an infield hit before stealing second base and advancing to third on a wild pitch. 

Landers picked up his first RBI of the day with a grounder, giving Belmont a 1-0 lead. 

Austin Peay (15-18, 7-5 ASUN) took advantage of back-to-back Belmont errors in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead, 2-1. 

The Bruins kept up offensive pressure in the ensuing innings, getting an RBI single from Rando in the third to tie the game, a sacrifice fly from Cade Rogers in the fourth to take the lead, and another sacrifice fly from Rando to give Belmont a 4-2 advantage. 

Austin Peay would put together a big fifth inning, plating four runs and grabbing the lead back, 6-4. 

However, Belmont refused to quit. 

Trailing by two runs in the eighth with the bottom third of the order due up, Max Jones drew a leadoff walk before scoring on a Blessinger double down the left field line. 

Belmont then tied the game as Sam Kirkpatrick laid a beautiful sacrifice bunt down the first base line to score Blessinger and knot the game at 6-6 before Belmont erupted for six runs in the ninth for the win. 

Up Next 

Belmont returns to E.S. Rose Park for their first home weekend series since March 24-26.  

The Bruins will take on Indiana State (18-12, 8-1 MVC) in an important three-game set beginning Friday. 

The series will mark the third weekend in a row that Belmont will face a team tied for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference, after previously sweeping Evansville and falling to Southern Illinois on the road the previous two weeks. 

Friday and Sunday's games will be streamed on ESPN+, and live audio play-by-play from Dr. Rich Tiner will be carried for all three games 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.                  

#ItsBruinTime