Baseball Closes Road Trip With 6-1 Loss at Missouri State

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Belmont University baseball team concluded their four-game road trip with a 6-1 loss at the hands of Missouri State on Saturday afternoon at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri.
 
Belmont (20-21, 5-10 MVC) recorded six hits and left nine men on base in the defeat. Missouri State (22-16, 11-4 MVC) continued their recent dominance of conference competition with six runs on nine hits, including their ninth home run of the series on a three-run blast in the fifth inning.
 
Belmont's lone run came in the fifth inning on a double from Chase Katafias that scored Max Blessinger. Blessinger broke up a no-hitter with a bunt single, the Bruins' first hit of the day with one out in the fifth inning.
 
Right behind him, Chase Katafias stroked a laser to left field for a double, allowing Blessinger to race all the way around from first base to put Belmont on the board and make it a 3-1 game.
 
In the ensuing half inning, however, Missouri State drew two walks and then got a three-run homer from Cody Kelly to make it a 6-1 affair.
 
Ethan Harden tossed three scoreless innings in relief after coming on after the home run in the fifth inning, allowing just one hit while striking out three Bears.
 
Simon Tesh pitched a scoreless eighth inning, recording three outs on just five pitches.
 
Kaden Galason, making his first career start, recorded his first career hit in the top of the seventh inning on an opposite field single.
 
Galason also recorded his first career stolen base in the third inning.
 
Dominic Baratta (L, 3-4) battled into the fourth inning on the mound before being relieved by Jett Thielke. With traffic behind him, Baratta limited the Bears to just two earned runs before exiting.

Missouri State marked the fourth straight MVC opponent that Belmont had faced that ranked inside the top-100 in RPI and the fourth straight MVC opponent that entered the series in the top-3 in the MVC standings.
 
Up Next
Belmont returns home next week to begin a four-game homestand.
 
The Bruins will host Middle Tennessee on Tuesday at E.S. Rose Park, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live audio play-by-play simulcast on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio and live stats available on 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.