Baseball Drops Series Opener to Valparaiso on Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A big start for Valparaiso carried the Beacons past the Belmont University baseball team on Friday afternoon, as the Bruins fell, 12-3, at E.S. Rose Park to open up an important MVC series in Nashville.
 
Valparaiso (19-21, 9-13 MVC) scored one run in the first, three runs in the second, one in the third, and four in the fourth to jump out to a 9-0 lead midway through the fourth inning.
 
From there, Belmont (21-29, 6-16 MVC) matched Valparaiso with three runs for both sides, but the early Beacon avalanche proved too large for the Bruins to overcome.
 
Sam Kirkpatrick finished 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Belmont offense, which collected nine hits in total but struck out 12 times while drawing zero walks.
 
It marks the seventh game of the season with three or more hits for the junior shortstop, and the first since April 2.
 
Belmont used five pitchers on day, with four relievers coming on after Will Pryor (L, 3-2) exited after two innings on the mound.
 
Eight walks and four hit batters helped moved the Beacon line along, with 11 hits, including two homers, helping power a quick attack for the visitors.
 
Griffin McCluskey (W, 4-4) tossed eight innings for Valparaiso while allowing three runs and striking out 11 Bruins with no walks.
 
Mason Landers ended his day 2-for-4 with a run scored, extending his on-base streak to 25 games.
 
Sam Slaughter and Jack Rando each recorded a double.
 
Up Next
 
Belmont will look to even the series against Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon when they return to E.S. Rose Park for the second game of the series.
 
First pitch is scheduled for 2 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.