Heaton Homers Twice, Baseball Falls to UIC, 10-5, In Opening Round of MVC Championship

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Brodey Heaton went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs, but the Belmont University baseball team fell to No. 6 seed UIC in their opening game at the MVC Championship on Tuesday afternoon, 10-5, at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute, Indiana.
 
Belmont (25-32) will now play in an elimination game on Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. CT against the loser of Tuesday's game between No. 5 seed Murray State and No. 8 seed Valparaiso.
 
UIC (28-23) hit three home runs in the game, including a go-ahead three run blast in the third inning and a two-run shot in the seventh inning.
 
Belmont also hit three home runs, with Heaton clearing the fences with a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run blast in the eighth inning.
 
The long balls were the eighth and ninth of the year for the first baseman from Newburgh, Indiana, and the 25^th and 26^th of his career, moving him into the top-10 in Belmont's NCAA-era for career home runs.
 
Max Blessinger also left the yard with a no-doubt solo home run to left field in the top of the second frame, his third of the season.
 
Belmont scratched across a run in each of the first three innings to hold a 3-1 advantage going into the bottom of the third.
 
Heaton's solo home run with two outs put Belmont on the board, and Blessinger's home run gave them a 2-1 lead.
 
Heaton added the second of his four RBIs with a two-out base hit to left field that scored Mason Landers from second base, pushing the lead to 3-1 in favor of the Bruins.
 
However, UIC put a pair of men on base before a three-run home run gave the Flames the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning.
 
Andy Bean (L, 3-6) battled into the sixth inning before handing the baton off to the bullpen after four strikeouts and just one walk.
 
Jett Thielke, Simon Tesh, and Caleb Guisewite saw action in relief on the mound for the Bruins, who as a staff walked just four Flames on the day but were tagged for 13 hits, including nine singles.
 
Offensively, Belmont put the ball in play often, only striking out three times. However, UIC pitchers issued just one walk and limited Bruin batters to weak contact.
 
Up Next
 
Belmont will face the loser of Tuesday's second game between No. 5 seed Murray State and No. 8 seed Valparaiso in an elimination contest on Wednesday.
 
First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live audio play-by-play broadcast on Belmont Bruins radio on iHeartRadio and live stats carried 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.