Baseball Travels to Valparaiso

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Belmont (17-16, 5-4 MVC) travels to Valparaiso (10-20, 2-7 MVC) this weekend. The Bruins will attempt to bounce back after their 1-2 series against Evansville last weekend. Valparaiso enters the series on a four-game losing streak, with a loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, March 12, 3 p.m.
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Saturday, March 13, 1 p.m.
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Sunday, March 14, 1 p.m.
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PROBABLE WEEKEND ROTATION
Friday
Belmont: Will Pryor (So. / RHP): 3-2, 8 GS, 4.29 ERA, 42 IP, 44 K, 22 BB
Last start (4/5 vs. Evansville): L, 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 6 K, 2 BB
Valparaiso: Kaleb Krier (Sr. / RHP): 1-1, 7 APP, 6 GS, 6.00 ERA, 21 IP, 11 K, 6 BB
Last start (4/7 vs. Illinois State): L, 2.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER
 
Saturday
Belmont: Dominic Baratta (Rs.-Sr. / LHP): 3-2, 10 APP, 5 GS, 6.39 ERA, 38 IP, 27 K, 16 BB
Last start (4/6 vs. Evansville): L, 5.2 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 2 K, 1 BB
Valparaiso: Connor Lockwood (Jr. / RHP): 2-2, 6 GS, 4.09 ERA, 33 IP, 29 K, 9 BB
Last start (4/6 vs. Illinois State): L, 6 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 5 K
 
Sunday
Belmont: Joe Ruzicka (So. / RHP): 3-3, 8 GS, 5.13 ERA, 40.1 IP, 28 K, 28 BB
Last start (4/7 vs. Evansville): W, CG, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 K, 4 BB
Valparaiso: Grant Jablonski (Gr. / RHP): 2-0, 11 APP, 4.50 ERA, 26 IP, 18 K, 12 BB
Last appearance (4/9 vs. Milwaukee): 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K
 
GAME RECAP VS. AUSTIN PEAY (APRIL 9)
Belmont lost to Austin Peay 13-5.

• Blake Barton set a new career high with four hits. He drove in two runs as well.
• Pete Daniel, Landon Godsey, and Mason Landers recorded RBI.
• Mason Landers extends his hit streak to 16 games.
• Caleb Guisewite threw a scoreless fourth inning with a strikeout.
• Ty Allen pitched two scoreless innings and allowed one hit.
• Hank Liss struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

BRUIN BULLETS

• Mason Landers' 16-game hit streak is the five-longest active streak in Division I. His 12 home runs are tied for an MVC-best and puts him at 39^th in the nation.
• Landers leads the Bruins with 12 multi-hit and multi-RBI games.
• Sam Slaughter continues to lead the Bruins with a .345 batting average and a .446 on-base percentage.
• Jack Rando has reached base in his last 12 games. Rando also homered in three of the last five games.
• In the last 10 games, seven Bruins have a batting average above .300.
• Blake Barton leads Belmont with a .462 batting average in the last ten games. Barton is on an 11-game on-base streak.
• Ty Allen has not allowed a run in 5.2 innings of relief work. The Belmont outfielder made his pitching debut on March 17 vs. Indiana
• First baseman Brodey Heaton and third baseman Mason Landers are the only two Bruins to start all 33 games this season.
• Belmont is 8-4 on the road this season. Their last conference road series resulted in a series sweep over Murray State (March 28-30). Belmont is the only team to have a winning road record and a losing home record in the MVC.
• Will Pryor's start against Evansville on April 6 was the first time since March 1 vs. Little Rock he has struck out five or more batters. Pryor struck out a career-high 11 batters against the Trojans that day. Pryor recorded five or more strikeouts in his first three starts this season.
• Pryor is seventh in the MVC in strikeouts (44). Belmont's ace has struck out 23.4% of his opponents this season and stranded 76.8% of runners on base.
• Freshman relief pitcher Hank Liss has not allowed a run in his last four appearances. During that stretch, Liss has struck out eight batters and walked three in seven innings. He owns a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings this season and has 22 strikeouts.
• Joe Ruzicka leads the MVC in opponent batting average (.204).
• Belmont's .978 fielding percentage ranks second in the MVC. The Bruins are tied with Southern Illinois for the most double plays with 26 on the season.

BRUINS ON THE MVC LEADERBOARD
Hitting

• Mason Landers: T-1^st in home runs (12), T-5^th in hits (43) and RBI (35), 5^th in slugging percentage (.674), and 8^th in OBP.
• Max Blessinger: T-5^th in triples (2). 

Pitching

• Will Pryor: 7^th in strikeouts (44), 9^th in ERA (4.29), 8^th in innings pitched (42), and 10^th in opponent batting average (.256).
• Joe Ruzicka: 1^st in opponent batting average (.204), and T-9^th in innings pitched (40.1).

SCOUTING REPORT: VALPARAISO BEACONS

• Valparaiso was picked to finish ninth in the MVC preseason poll.
• Head coach Brian Schmack is just two wins away from becoming the third skipper in program history to reach the 200-win threshold.
• Kyle Schmack is tied for fifth in the MVC with 10 home runs. Schmack has hit 28 career home runs, the third most in program history and the most by any Valpo player since 2002.
• Valparaiso is 3-1 at home this season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Belmont is 7-1 all-time against Valparaiso.
• The Bruins won last year's series 2-1 at E.S. Rose Park. Valparaiso won the series opener on May 12, 12-3.
• Belmont knocked out Valparaiso 10-9 in the MVC Tournament last season. The Bruins scored nine runs in the second inning. Brodey Heaton hit a grand slam, and Will Pryor picked up the win in relief.

UP NEXT
Belmont will host North Alabama at E.S. Rose Park on Tuesday, April 16. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT. The Bruins will remain home on the weekend and welcome Southern Illinois to Nashville from April 19-21.
 
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