Baseball Prepares for Southern Illinois

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont (20-17, 7-5 MVC) begins their three-game series against MVC foe Southern Illinois (21-16, 5-7 MVC) Friday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park. The Bruins are fresh off a 15-9 midweek win over North Alabama on Tuesday evening. SIU picked up a much-needed road win against Western Illinois Wednesday night. The Salukis won 12-11 in 12 innings.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Friday, April 19 - 4 p.m.
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Saturday, April 20 – 2 p.m.
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Sunday, April 21 – 1 p.m.
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PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday
Southern Illinois - Alec Nigut (Jr. / LHP): 4-1, 10 APP, 7 GS, 4.81 ERA, 39.1 IP, 29 K, 9 BB
Belmont - Will Pryor (So. / RHP): 3-2, 9 GS, 4.20 ERA, 45 IP, 48 K, 31 BB
 
Saturday
Southern Illinois - TBA
Belmont - Dominic Baratta (Rs-Sr. / LHP): 3-2, 11 APP, 6 GS, 7.40 ERA, 41.1 IP, 29 K, 19 BB
 
Sunday
Southern Illinois - Aiden Foeller (Jr. / RHP): 2-1, 9 GS, 5.01 ERA, 41.1 IP, 62 K, 20 BB
Belmont - Joe Ruzicka (So. / RHP): 3-3, 9 GS, 5.11 ERA, 44 IP, 32 K, 32 BB
 
GAME RECAP: APRIL 17 VS. NORTH ALABAMA
Belmont defeated North Alabama 15-9. It was Belmont's second win of the season over the Lions.

• Jack Rando had the best game of his career. The senior went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, a two-run home run, four runs, and five RBI. He fell a single shy of the first cycle in program history. Rando doubled in the fourth, homered in the sixth, tripled in the seventh and doubled again in the eighth.
• Brodey Heaton recorded his second four-hit game of the season. Heaton hit a single, two doubles, and a two-run home run. He ended the night with four RBI.
• Sam Slaughter went 2-for-5 with a double and scored twice.
• Mason Landers' two-hit night extends his hit streak to 20 games.
• Blake Barton went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs.
• Michael Lareau had two hits and a home run.
• Caleb Guisewite made his first career start and earned the win. Guisewite allowed three runs, two earned, across five innings with three strikeouts.
• Ty Allen tossed a season-high three innings and fanned five Lions. His two earned runs were the first allowed this year. 

WHAT'S BRUIN?

• Three Bruins carry a 15+ on-base streak into the weekend: Mason Landers (20), Jack Rando (16) and Blake Barton (15).
• Mason Landers continues to gain national attention for his 20-game hit streak, which ranks top 5 in the nation.
• Landers is at the top of the MVC leaderboard in home runs (14), second in slugging percentage (.709) and hits (53), and third in RBI (44). Landers is tied for 33^rd in the nation in home runs. His current total is tied with Derek Wiley ('06) for the ninth-most home runs hit in a single season in program history. His 14 dingers are the most home runs hit in a single season by a Bruin since Brodey Heaton's 13 in 2022.
• Brodey Heaton keeps his eyes set on becoming the program's all-time RBI leader. His 199 career RBI are the second most in program history. He needs 13 RBI to surpass Derek Wiley's ('09) 212 career RBI. In the last 10 games, Heaton has gained ground with 15 RBI on 14 hits. His 39 RBI this season ranks second on the team and fifth in the MVC.
• Brodey Heaton's two doubles Tuesday night bring his career total to 50 and moves him to ninth all-time in program history.
• In the last five games, Belmont is batting .342 as a team with 68 hits, 11 home runs and 49 RBI. Four Bruins are batting above .400 during that stretch: Blake Barton (.550), Mason Landers (.458), Brodey Heaton (.450) and Jack Rando (.450).
• Blake Barton continues to thrive in the clean-up spot of Belmont's order. The junior has a team-high 19 hits in the last 10 games, with three doubles and nine RBI. He is 4-for-5 on stolen base attempts as well. He is batting .397 in twenty games this season (a team-high, but does not meet the minimum participation requirement for MVC ranking).
• Jack Rando continues to shine during his senior campaign. The Brentwood, Tennessee native ranks second on the team in hits (47), third in batting average (.356) and runs scored (27). Rando posted a .250 batting average last season in 59 games. His seven home runs and 35 RBI are both single-season career highs. He is 11 hits away from surpassing his 2023 hit total of 49.
• Pete Daniel leads the Bruins with five doubles in MVC play.
• Will Pryor leads the Bruins' pitching staff in strikeouts (48). He is tied for third in the MVC.
• The Bruins have recorded at least 10 hits in their last six games.
• Cade Granzow has been dominant out of the bullpen in conference play. The junior owns a 2-0 record, a 1.59 ERA, and has struck out 18 batters in 17 innings. Opponents are batting .190 against him in five appearances.

SCOUTING REPORT: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS

• Nathan Bandy leads the Salukis and is ranked 10th in the MVC in batting average (.351).
• Mathieu Vallee leads the team in hits (48) and doubles (11). He ranks sixth in the MVC in hits and is tied for seventh in doubles.
• Aidan Foeller's team-high 62 strikeouts lead the MVC. His 21-looking strikeouts lead the conference.
• The Salukis lead the MVC in hits (396), runs scored (282), stolen bases (60), and walks (213).
• SIU is 7-9 this season on the road. 

MATCHUP HISTORY

• Belmont is 6-9 all-time against Southern Illinois.
• The Bruins went 1-3 against the Salukis last season. Belmont defeated SIU 6-5 in the MVC Baseball Championship on May 25, 2023. It was the first win against SIU since February 18, 2020. The Salukis swept the Bruins in Carbondale, Illinois during the regular season, with two extra-inning games.
• SIU is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.

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