BU wins diamond Battle of the Boulevard
By Jordan Drake
Sports Editor

ISSUE: 05/01/07 > SPORTS > BU wins diamond Battle of the Boulevard

Photo by aimee monell Sophomore Derek Wiley comes up empty on this swing but later goes on to score the first run of the game against Lipscomb.

Belmont (26-19, 13-8 A-Sun) took two of three from rival Lipscomb (26-20, 10-8 A-Sun) Apr. 27-29, securing sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Sun. The series victory marked the Bruins’ sixth in seven tries against conference foes. Head coach Dave Jarvis commented, “Going into every series, our goal is to win the series, and we’ve accomplished that with two wins here. We have won six of seven A-Sun series this year, which can be attributed to our team’s mental toughness.”

The Bruins won Friday 4-3 and Saturday 9-5 before falling Sunday 9-2. Despite the loss, Jarvis will take a series win any way he can get it. “Any time these two teams meet, it’s a great atmosphere thanks to this special rivalry. I was pleased with the result of the weekend, although I was disappointed with (Sunday’s) performance. I have to tip my cap to Lipscomb for getting off the mat (Sunday) and fighting back to avoid the sweep.”

A Kane Simmons single in the second scored Derek Wiley for the first run of the game. Then a Brady Manifold single drove in Ben Petsch and Simmons before a Matt Reynolds sacrifice fly scored Carlo Testa as the Bruins took an early, commanding 4-0 lead. The Bisons chipped away with runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings but eventually fell short by one run (4-3). Charles Lee pitched six strong innings, allowing just three runs en route to earning his team-leading seventh victory of the season. Relief pitcher Ben Meador came in and threw two scoreless innings, and closer Chris Manning shut down the heart of Lipscomb’s lineup in the ninth to pick up his ninth save.

A shaky start by starting pitcher Josh Moffitt was overcome by seven scoreless innings from Eric Diaz and Jimmy Stanley and a barrage of runs as Belmont took game two 9-5. Moffitt allowed all five Lipscomb runs in two innings and did not record a strikeout en route to earning a no-decision. Diaz relieved Moffitt and recorded his first win of the season. Leading 3-2 in the third inning, Simmons smashed a three-run homer, his team-leading tenth of the season, scoring Wiley and Petsch to stretch the lead to 6-2. Lipscomb rallied to 6-5 before Wilson Tucker capped off a three-run eighth with a 2-run single to push the lead to 9-5.

The finale did not go as planned for the Bruins as Lipscomb roughed up starting pitcher Testa early and built an insurmountable lead as the Bisons captured the third game 9-2.