Baseball Secures Series Sweep of Evansville Sunday On The Road

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Belmont University baseball team continued their best stretch of the season with two more wins over Evansville on Sunday, taking down the Purple Aces, 9-2 and 7-5 across the doubleheader, to secure a road sweep at German American Bank Field. 

Three home runs in the first game, including a grand slam from Blake Barton, gave Belmont (17-12, 5-1 MVC) the series win, and Jeff Clarke's two-run homer in the 13th inning of the nightcap helped secure the sweep, Belmont's first MVC sweep in program history. 

Belmont has now won 10 of their last 11 games. 

Game 1 

Belmont relied heavily on the long ball to coast to a 9-2 victory in the first game of the doubleheader, hitting three home runs to secure the series victory. 

Belmont struck first in the opening inning, with Mason Landers and Blake Barton trading two-out doubles to give the Bruins a 1-0 advantage. 

In the third inning, Barton stepped in with the bases loaded and hit a towering grand slam to left field, Belmont's second straight game with a grand slam after Jeff Clarke hit one on Saturday afternoon. 

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??Blake. Barton.??@bwbarton15 | #ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/fDASpqIJ0m

— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) April 2, 2023

Barton finished 2-for-5 with five RBIs in the victory. 

Belmont added to their lead in the fourth frame, with Ethan Harden hammering a solo shot to left center off the scoreboard, to put the Bruins on top, 6-0. 

A two-RBI double from Sam Kirkpatrick in the ninth and an RBI single from Jack Rando tacked on three insurance runs to hand Belmont the win. 

Rando ended the game 3-for-5 with an RBI and Kirkpatrick finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. 

On the mound, Dominic Baratta (W, 3-2) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs on two hits with three strikeouts. 

Simon Tesh continued his torrid stretch on the mound with two sparkling innings of relief, giving up just one hit while striking out three Purple Aces. 

Ethan Harden (SV, 5) accomplished the feat of homering and recording a save in the same game, believed to be the first time that has happened in program history. 

In addition to his solo homer in the third inning, Harden retired four in a row from the mound to shut the door across the eighth and ninth innings to earn his fifth save of the season. 

Game 2 

In the second game of the doubleheader, Belmont emerged victorious from one of the wildest games of the year in the MVC, a 7-5 triumph in 13 innings to cement the sweep over Evansville. 

A two-run homer from Jeff Clarke in the top of the 13th inning proved to be the difference, with Caleb Guisewite (SV, 1) picking up the last three outs to get his first career save. 

NO BAT FLIP REQUIRED@clarkejeff13 | #ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/BqQb7cOgSl

— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) April 2, 2023

Belmont led 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, but Evansville tied the game to send the contest to extra innings. 

From there, both teams threatened to steal the series finale, with pitchers on both sides escaping jams. 

Drew Lowry provided a huge hit in the top of the 12th, knocking a single to center field with two outs to drive in Brodey Heaton and give Belmont a 5-4 lead. 

However, Evansville would again get a game-tying homer to send things to the 13th, where Jeff Clarke gave the Bruins the lead again for good. 

Brodey Heaton homered to left center field in the fourth inning, a two-run shot for his second blast of the series. 

Evansville tied the game in the fourth, 2-2, where the score stood until the seventh inning, when Clarke doubled to drive in Sam Kirkpatrick. 

In the ninth, the Bruins got an important insurance run when Clarke put a ball in play to score Max Blessinger from third base, to lead 4-2. 

The Purple Aces would manufacture a pair of runs to send the game to extra innings, where the see-saw affair would end in the 13th. 

Will Pryor was flawless on the mound in relief, tossing four innings without allowing a single baserunner. The freshman struck out five while retiring 12 straight before handing things off to Harden in the ninth. 

At the plate, Sam Kirkpatrick finished 5-for-7, recording five straight base hits in his last five plate appearances for Belmont's first five-hit game since Ben Kocher accomplished the feat against SIUE in 2018. 

The junior shortstop also scored two runs and stole four bases in the extra-innings victory, the most stolen bases in a single game since at least 2013. 

Evansville entered the series checking in at No. 37 in the RPI, meaning Belmont earned three Quad 1 wins on the weekend. 

Belmont hit seven home runs across the three games in the series, and held what had been the top offense in the MVC to eight runs across 31 innings. 

Up Next 

Belmont will look to keep their strong form with a midweek matchup at home against old Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech on Tuesday. 

First pitch from E.S. Rose Park is scheduled for 4 p.m. 

The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live audio simulcast on 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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