Baseball Picks Up Important 7-5 Win Over Murray State on Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Big days at the plate for Mason Landers and Brodey Heaton propelled the Belmont University baseball team to an important 7-5 win over rival Murray State on Friday evening at E.S. Rose Park. 

Landers drove in three runs and Heaton drove in four runs to lead the Belmont offense, with Ethan Harden (W, 3-1) delivering a masterful performance on the mound in relief to stave off any potential Racer comeback. 

Belmont (21-22, 6-10 MVC) snaps a nine-game conference losing streak with the victory, moving within a game of .500 in the process. 

Landers finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and three RBIs, while Heaton ended his night 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. Jeff Clarke also picked up two hits in the win, scoring three runs and drawing a walk. 

Will Pryor drew the Friday night start on the mound with an injury to Andy Bean, just the second career start for the freshman right-hander. The native of Whitwell, Tenn., pitched into the fifth inning, allowing three earned runs and striking out a career-high seven while issuing zero walks. 

Harden replaced him with two outs in the fifth and Racer runners on the corners and proceeded to retire 12 batters in a row with five strikeouts sprinkled in before he was tagged for a solo homer with two outs in the ninth inning. 

The redshirt freshman bounced right back with a game-ending strikeout to clinch the victory for the Bruins. 

Belmont struck out only three times on the night, putting balls in play to force pressure on the Murray State (22-21, 8-8 MVC) defense and tallying eight hits in the process. 

Heaton put Belmont on the board in the first inning after Sam Slaughter drew a leadoff walk that was followed by a Jeff Clarke double to right-center. Heaton delivered a base to right field that drove in both, giving Belmont a 2-0 lead. 

Murray State hit back-to-back solo homers to lead off the second inning, tying the game at 2-2. 

Belmont would take the lead for good in the third inning, as Landers stepped in with a pair of runners aboard and blasted a three-run bomb to left field, his ninth home run of the year. 

Murray State got back a run in the fourth and a run in the fifth to trail, 5-4. 

The Bruins separated themselves again in the sixth as Clarke and Landers singled to start things off before Heaton delivered a mammoth double to the gap to score both, pushing the Belmont lead to 7-4. 

??? Hear from @butter_landers1 and @BrodeyHeaton after Friday night's home win over Murray State ??#ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/q8bBk1FNtB
— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) April 29, 2023
 

With Harden in the driver's seat on the mound, Belmont cruised the rest of the way for the series opening victory. 

Harden finished his outing after going a career-long 4.1 innings, allowing just the one hit, the solo homer, with six strikeouts and no walks. 

Up Next 

Belmont will go for the series win on Saturday afternoon against Murray State at E.S. Rose Park. 

First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

The game will be streamed on ESPN3, with live audio play-by-play simulcast on iHeartRadio and live stats available on BelmontBruins.com. 

Saturday's game will be the annual 9 Innings of Winning game, with free prizes raffled off to fans in between innings. 

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.           

           #ItsBruinTime