Baseball Edged by No. 18 Tennessee, 9-5, on Tuesday Night in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont University baseball team nearly matched 18th-ranked Tennessee stride for stride on Tuesday night, but fell to the Volunteers, 9-5, in eight innings at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in the Bruins' final midweek game of the season.
 
Due to an agreed-to 10 p.m. local time curfew for starting any new innings, the game ended after the completion of the eighth.
 
Belmont (23-30, 8-16 MVC) kept things close by holding No. 18 Tennessee (36-17, 14-13 SEC) to just one home run, only the eighth time this year the Volunteers have been held to fewer than two blasts.
 
With two outs in the third inning, the Bruins plated four runs in a row to take their first and only lead of the game, 4-3, heading into the bottom of the third.
 
From there, Tennessee scored two runs in the home third inning and one run in each of the remaining frames to put cushion between themselves and their in-state visitor.
 
Brodey Heaton finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk, Sam Slaughter ended his night 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and Max Blessinger went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
 
Belmont tallied nine hits but also struck out 18 times in the loss.
 
Belmont got a double play to keep Tennessee scoreless in the first inning, but the Volunteers plated three in the bottom of the second thanks in part to a Bruin defensive miscue.
 
Trailing 3-0 in the third, and coming back from a lengthy weather delay forced by thunderstorms in the area, Jeff Clarke drew a leadoff walk before Ethan Harden doubled to left field, putting men on second and third with nobody out.
 
After a pair of strikeouts, Heaton drew a two-out walk before Slaughter bounced a single through the right side of the infield, scoring both Clarke and Harden and making the deficit 3-2.
 
One batter later, Belmont would take the lead on their top-25 opponent as Blessinger crushed a double to the gap, scoring both Heaton and Slaughter to make it 4-3 in favor of Belmont.

BLESS GIVES THE BRUINS THE LEAD ??#ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/91c7YnvTor

— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) May 17, 2023

 
The Volunteers re-took the lead in the home third inning, 5-4, on a two-run homer, but Belmont would tie things in the fourth as Jack Rando continued Belmont's success with two outs by delivering a clutch infield single down the third base line that allowed Clarke to come home over the final 90 feet.
 
With the game tied, 5-5, going into the bottom of the fourth, Tennessee manufactured one run in each of the last four innings, keeping Belmont at bay en route to the final score.
 
Jalen Borders, Jake Timbes, Cade Granzow, Will Pryor, and Caleb Guisewite all saw time on the mound for Belmont
 
Seven of nine Bruins in the starting lineup tallied a hit in the contest.
 
Up Next
 
Belmont closes the regular season with a crucial MVC road series at Bradley (15-30, 6-18 MVC) starting Thursday and rolling through Saturday in Peoria, Illinois.
 
With two wins, Belmont would clinch a spot in the MVC Tournament, hosted this year by Indiana State in Terre Haute, Indiana, at Bob Warn Field from May 23-27.
 
One win, combined with an Illinois State loss, would also guarantee Belmont a spot in the tournament field, which takes the top-eight teams from the final regular season standings.
 
All three games will be streamed on ESPN platforms, with live audio play-by-play broadcast on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio and live stats 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.