Baseball Closes Regular Season With 4-3 Defeat at Bradley

PEORIA, Ill. – The Belmont University baseball team closed out the regular season with a narrow 4-3 loss to Bradley on Saturday afternoon at Dozer Park in Peoria, Illinois.
 
Belmont (25-31, 10-17 MVC) took a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth inning, but Bradley (16-32, 7-20 MVC) walked it off minutes later to secure the series finale.
 
Thanks to an Illinois State win over Valparaiso earlier in the day, Belmont locked up the No. 7 seed in next week's MVC Championship, hosted by Indiana State at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute, Indiana.
 
Belmont will face No. 6 seed UIC in the first game of the double-elimination tournament on Tuesday, May 23, at 2:30 p.m. ET.
 
On Saturday, Belmont loaded the bases in the top of the first inning before Jack Rando worked a walk to lead, 1-0.
 
A Bradley triple followed by a passed ball in the bottom of the first inning evened the score at 1-1.
 
The score would remained tied until the sixth inning, as both pitching staffs threw up zeroes to keep the contest a low-scoring affair.
 
Jalen Borders tossed two innings for the Bruins, allowing just one unearned run in his start while striking out two and walking two.
 
Caleb Guisewite took the baton for the third, fourth, and fifth innings, limiting the Braves to just one baserunner while striking out one batter.
 
Belmont took a 2-1 lead in the sixth as Chase Katafias walked before being replaced by Max Blessinger as a pinch runner. The outfielder proceeded to steal second, setting the table for a Mason Landers RBI single that brought in the go-ahead run.
 
Jake Timbes allowed a solo homer to lead off the sixth inning but rebounded with three straight strikeouts to close that inning before recording a scoreless seventh, keeping the score tied at 2-2.
 
Cade Granzow pitched a scoreless eighth inning to send things to the ninth, where Landers led off with a single and then advanced to second base on a passed ball.
 
Sam Slaughter came through in the clutch with a double to right field, scoring Landers and giving Belmont a 3-2 advantage in the ninth.
 
However, Slaughter was stranded to end the frame and Bradley took advantage of the lone Belmont error of the weekend to put a man and extend the inning, before a sacrifice fly tied the game and an RBI single ended the contest.
 
Up Next
 
Belmont will participate in their first MVC Championship, heading to Terre Haute, Indiana, next week to take part in the eight-team field.
 
Belmont will be the No. 7 seed in the double-elimination tournament, taking on No. 6 seed UIC in the first game on Tuesday, May 23, at 2:30 p.m. ET, at Bob Warn Field.
 
Tickets can be purchased here.
 
The winner of Tuesday's game will take on either No. 1 seed Indiana State or No. 2 seed Missouri State on Wednesday.
 
All games in the tournament will be streamed on ESPN+, with live audio play-by-play from Dr. Rich Tiner 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.