Baseball Closes Regular Season at Bradley This Weekend

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont University baseball team closes out the regular season this weekend, taking to the road to face Bradley in an important three-game series at Dozer Park in Peoria, Illinois, beginning Thursday evening and continuing through Saturday afternoon.
 
Belmont can sew up a spot in their first MVC Championship by winning the series, and can also secure a berth with at least one victory over the Braves coupled with a loss from Illinois State, who closes the regular season at Valparaiso.
 
The first two games of the series will be streamed on ESPN+, with Saturday's series finale streamed on ESPN3. Live audio play-by-play from Dr. Rich Tiner will be broadcast on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio, and live stats will be available on BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Last weekend, Belmont won their home series against Valparaiso to strengthen their case for an MVC Championship bid, taking Saturday's game against the Beacons, 13-3 in seven innings, and winning Sunday's rubber game, 5-1, on Senior Day
• With two wins this weekend, Belmont can clinch a spot in the conference tournament. With one win and an Illinois State loss to Valparaiso, the Bruins would also clinch.
• Junior third baseman Mason Landers leads the team in batting average (.292), home runs (12), and RBIs (38)
• Junior outfielder Sam Slaughter carries a ten-game hitting streak into this weekend's series. Slaughter is the reigning Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week after hitting .429 with two home runs and four RBIs across four games last week.
• Over his last ten games, Slaughter is 15-for-36 (.417) with four home runs and ten RBIs
• Thursday's projected starter on the mound is junior left-hander Dominic Baratta (3-5, 5.37 ERA)
• Friday's projected starter on the mound is freshman right-hander Joe Ruzicka (1-3, 5.01 ERA)
• Saturday's projected starter on the mound is left-hander Andy Bean (3-5, 3.31 ERA)
• Bean, a native of Fisherville, Tenn., made his return from injury last Sunday against Valparaiso on his senior day, tossing four innings with just one run allowed on the way to a 5-1 Belmont win
• Bean ranks eighth in Belmont's NCAA-era in career strikeouts (218) and is tied for eighth in career victories (18)
• Redshirt freshman Ethan Harden is tied for third among freshmen in NCAA Division I in saves (6)
• At the plate, Harden is 9-for-22 (.409) over his last eight games with two doubles and two RBIs
• In their loss to No. 18 Tennessee on Tuesday in Knoxville, Belmont held the Volunteers to just one home run in a narrow 9-5 loss, only the eighth time this season that Tennessee had been held to fewer than two home runs in a game this year
• Belmont's bullpen has been stellar, helping the Bruins to a 16-0 record when leading after six innings this season
• Belmont has scored at least five runs in five of their last six games 

Series History

• Thursday marks the 14th meeting all-time between Belmont and Bradley
• The two programs first met in 2006 and last met in 2020
• The Bruins lead the series, 7-6
• Belmont has never played Bradley in Peoria--all 13 prior meetings took place in Nashville

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.