Baseball Drops Friday Road Contest, 6-1, at Southern Illinois

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Belmont University baseball team fell on the road Friday night, 6-1, to surging Southern Illinois at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois. 

Belmont trailed by just a run for the majority of the game, but Southern Illinois plated four in the bottom of the seventh to secure the series victory, their 11th straight MVC series win since 2021. 

Andy Bean went seven innings on the mound, recording six strikeouts. Bean's first strikeout in the second inning marked the 200th for his career, as he became just the 11th Bruin in program history to achieve the feat and the first since Joshua South last season. 

Bean's 205 strikeouts rank 10th all-time in program history. 

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— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) April 7, 2023

Southern Illinois jumped ahead in the first inning, 1-0. 

Belmont would even things up in the third inning on a Drew Lowry RBI single that cashed in on a Sam Slaughter double. 

The Salukis took back the lead for good in the fourth on a solo home run, 2-1, before both pitching staffs took command of the game, with three scoreless innings leading to the big seventh frame. 

In the seventh, Southern Illinois scratched across a run then loaded the bases and took advantage of a Belmont throwing error to plate two more runs. The home side tacked on one more for good measure with two outs in the inning to lead, 6-1. 

Mason Landers finished 2-for-4 at the plate for Belmont, while Sam Slaughter ended his night 1-for-3 with a double, a run, and a walk. 

Caleb Guisewite tossed a scoreless inning in relief. 

Up Next 

Belmont will wrap up the series with Southern Illinois on Saturday afternoon from Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale. 

LHP Dominic Baratta (3-2, 4.50 ERA) will get the start on the mound for the Bruins. 

First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

The game will be streamed on ESPN3, with live audio play-by-play carried on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio and 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.              

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