Baseball Falls to No. 17 Tennessee in Hard-Fought Game

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont (24-29) traveled to Rocky Top and faced in-state foe No. 17 Tennessee (40-13) in the final midweek contest of the regular season. Despite trailing 5-0 after the second inning, a 58-minute rain delay helped the Bruins reset. Belmont closed the gap to 5-3 after the top of the seventh inning, but a four-run bottom half from the Vols put enough distance between the teams. Tennessee picked up their 40^th win of the season, defeating Belmont 9-4 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
 
Scoring Action

• Tennessee scored five runs in the second inning. Gavin Kilen brought in a run on a ground ball to the right side. The Vols then hit back-to-back home runs, a three-run homer from Andrew Fischer and a solo shot from Hunter Ensley.
• Blake Barton hit a solo home run to left field in the fourth inning.
• Michael Lareau drilled an opposite-field home run to left field in the fifth inning. The Bruins cut into Tennessee's lead, trailing 5-2.
• In the seventh inning, pinch hitter Nolan Sergeant brought in a run on a ground ball to the right side with runners on second and third.
• The Vols' bats woke up in the bottom of the seventh. Tennessee scored four runs on four hits. Levi Clark hit an RBI single through the left side. Stone Lawless drove in two more runs on a double down the left field line. Kilen drove in the final run of the inning on an RBI single. Tennessee led 9-3 after seven innings.
• Mike Sprockett hit an RBI double down the right-field line in the eighth inning.

Bruin Bullets

• Blake Barton hit a solo home run and reached base three times.
• Michael Lareau went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Mike Sprockett hit an RBI double.
• Lake Morris went 1.2 innings and allowed no earned runs.
• Logan Brock tossed 2.1 scoreless innings.
• Trey Maeker led the Bruins with three strikeouts in two innings of relief work.
• Owen Marsh tossed a scoreless ninth inning with a strikeout.

Up Next
Belmont travels to UIC for the final series of the regular season, May 15-17. All games from Curtis Granderson Stadium will be available on ESPN+.
 
Follow Belmont baseball on social media - @BelmontBaseball on X 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.