NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The bats of the Belmont University baseball team roared to life and carried the Bruins to a run-rule victory over Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon, 13-3, in seven innings at E.S. Rose Park.Â
Belmont (22-29, 7-16 MVC) snapped a seven-game losing streak with the victory, their first run-rule win of the season. Â
Belmont smashed 18 hits in the victory, with six Bruins recording multiple knocks.Â
Brodey Heaton ended his day 3-for-4 with three RBIs, and provided the game-winning hit in the seventh inning with a bases-loaded single that scored Sam Kirkpatrick from third and secured the ten-run final margin.Â
Sam Kirkpatrick finished 3-for-4, securing his second straight three-hit game, and Ethan Harden went 3-for-4, picking up his first career three-hit game in the process.Â
Mason Landers extended his on-base streak to 27 games with a 2-for-4 outing on two doubles and four RBIs, and Jeff Clarke went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.Â
All nine Belmont hitters recorded a hit in the win, which keeps Belmont alive in the chase for a spot in the MVC Tournament.Â
Joe Ruzicka (W, 1-3) earned his first career win after 4.2 innings on the mound, allowing just two earned runs and striking out six Beacons.Â
Jett Thielke shut down any chance at a comeback from Valparaiso (19-22, 9-14 MVC) with a dominant outing in relief, tossing the final 2.1 innings with only one hit allowed with one walk to four strikeouts.Â
Belmont jumped all over the Valparaiso starter, holding a 4-0 lead after the first four batters came to the plate in the opening frame.Â
Clarke drew a leadoff walk before Landers smashed a double to the left-center gap, scoring Clarke all the way from first base.Â
Landers then came in to score on a pair of wild pitches back-to-back.Â
Heaton then drew a walk, setting the stage for Sam Slaughter, who crushed a no-doubt home run to right field to make it 4-0 Bruins just four batters into the game.Â
Belmont manufactured another run in the second inning as Kirkpatrick singled and then advanced to third on a Clarke base hit. Landers picked up his second straight RBI with a sacrifice fly, bringing the Belmont lead to 5-0.Â
Belmont tacked on two more in the fourth as Kirkpatrick and Harden singled to set the table for RBIs from Clarke and Heaton.Â
Four innings in, Belmont led 7-0.Â
In the sixth, leading 7-3, four straight hits from Harden, Clarke, Landers, and Heaton drove in three more runs, pushing the lead back out to 10-3.Â
Belmont put the game away for good in the bottom of the seventh, as Kirkpatrick drove in two runs on his third hit of the day and Landers drew a walk to load the bases before Heaton delivered a base hit down the left field line to end the game on a walk-off for the first time this season for Belmont.Â
Up NextÂ
Belmont will go for a series win over Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.Â
Sunday will be Senior Day for the Bruins, as they honor Aaron Hubbell, Carter Park, Chase Katafias, Drew Lowry, and Andy Bean.Â
Bean is the projected starter on the mound for the Bruins in the final home game of 2023.Â
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.Â
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.          Â
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