Baseball Extinguishes Flames in 2-1 Series Win
- Sam Dicus and Reece Leddy
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
Belmont’s baseball team won its first conference series of the season after going 2-1 against the University of Illinois Chicago Flames in a homestand over the weekend.
On the heels of a six-game losing streak and a bitter defeat to rival Lipscomb, the Bruins headed into this series looking to right the ship and get back in the win column.
“I think it was very much better, but still not all the way where we want to try to be in any shape. But, we’re trending in the right direction,” said head coach Dave Jarvis.
The Bruins took the first game behind a pitching gem from junior left-hander Tate Marland, who scattered six hits and five walks across seven and a third innings for the win.
UIC got to Marland early with a two-run second inning, but he settled in to retire 17 out of the next 19 batters to douse the Flames.
Meanwhile, he was locked in a pitcher’s duel with UIC’s starter Mason Lei, who pitched seven innings of four-run ball in the loss.
After a leadoff triple from redshirt sophomore shortstop Cavan McMeans, left fielder Lucas Smith provided Lei with a twin killing when he nabbed McMeans trying to tag up on a sacrifice fly at the play.
Lei would not get so lucky the next inning, when a two-out triple from freshman left fielder J.D. Whitworth and an RBI single from senior second baseman Charlie Davis made the score 2-1.
In the seventh inning, Lei would run into more two-out trouble after back-to-back singles from Davis and third baseman Landon Godsey put two runners on for sophomore first baseman Jake Maddox.
Maddox proceeded to launch a no-doubt fly ball to right field for a go-ahead three-run blast that put Belmont up 4-2.
The Bruins did not get to enjoy the run support for long, as the Flames loaded the bases and chased Marland in the top of the eighth.
In came junior right-hander Zane Brown, who gave up a run on a sacrifice fly but limited the damage there. He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record the save and clinch the Bruins' win.
Saturday’s game was a defensive battle with a strong outing from the pitchers on the mound.
Freshman right-handed pitcher McKale Stevenson blew out the Flames in the top of the first, striking out the team’s first three batters.
Davis was able to bash a double to center field right off the first pitch.
Unfortunately, Davis was caught stealing third base, and nothing came of it for the Bruins.
Flames Outfielder Thomas Curry mimicked Davis’ double in the top of the second, though UIC was unable to make anything from the hit.
Bats remained cold for a few more innings with batters striking or grounding out.
In the bottom of the fourth, Davis was walked to first and was able to advance to second on a passed ball during Godsey’s at-bat.
After Godsey and Maddox could not bring their teammate home, McMeans stepped onto the plate.
McMeans flew a single to centerfield, bringing in Davis for the first score of the game.
The lead did not last long.
UIC tied the game in the fifth after infielder Will Flanigan walked, stole second, and scored on outfielder Lucas Smith’s RBI double to left.
In the top of the sixth, Stevenson struck out his seventh batter of the game.
“I mean, it feels really good. Five years ago today, my dad passed away, and I’ve been able to throw on this day three years in a row, so it’s really special,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson finished with a career-high seven strikeouts after entering the rotation just weeks ago.
“A few weeks ago I wasn’t even in the rotation, so to get the opportunity to throw on a day like this is super special,” Stevenson said.
Belmont turned to sophomore left-hander Chris Gandhi in the seventh inning.
Gandhi was serviceable, retiring three batters on groundouts without allowing a runner to reach base.
The Suwanee, Georgia native was then replaced the following inning by graduate right-handed pitcher Brooks McDonnough.
Belmont and UIC traded scoreless frames through the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, combining for just three hits over that stretch.
Despite a few baserunners, including a double from Landon Godsey in the ninth, neither side could capitalize as the game remained deadlocked heading into extras.
McDonnough struck out three batters in the 10th inning after recording just two strikeouts combined from the seventh through the ninth, setting the tone for Belmont’s walk-off opportunity.
McMeans ignited Belmont in the tenth with a leadoff double, and Sprockett advanced McMeans' spot further with a groundout, moving him to third, putting the winning run within reach.
Moments later, Centerfielder Brady Holbrook delivered the breakthrough with a single to left, scoring McMeans and sealing the walk-off win.
“I didn’t have that good of a game at the plate, so I was just thinking I’ve got to do a job,” Holbrook said. “I was just thinking…I just had to poke one through and catch it out front.”
After clinching the series, Belmont once again found itself trailing when two infield singles, a walk, and an error plated two runs in the top of the first.
UIC would extend its lead to five in the top of the fifth after four straight hits off freshman left-hander Ridge Harvey.
Belmont’s offense, which mustered just one hit through four innings, responded with a four-run fifth inning thanks in large part to another Maddox three-run blast.
Brown relieved Harvey in the sixth and gave up a leadoff homer that gave UIC a 6-4 lead, but a two-run double from Davis tied things up in the bottom half of the inning.
Brown ran into trouble in the seventh, as he hit two batters and walked another to load the bases.
Sophomore left-hander Gandhi came in to relieve Brown, and his first pitch produced chaos.
He induced a groundball to Davis at second. He tried to turn a 4-6-3 double play, but the runner at second was called safe, and the Bruins looked to challenge. As they were doing so, the runner advancing to third rounded and headed home, where Maddox delivered home for the third out.
After a lengthy and confusing replay process, it was decided that the runner at second was safe. That meant the run counted for the Flames, and they took a 7-6 lead.
After the seventh inning stretch, the Bruins responded with some two-out magic.
Redshirt senior catcher Mike Sprockett hit a double and then, thanks to some heads-up baserunning, came around to score on a throwing error by UIC’s pitcher.
The Flames got their revenge in the top of the ninth with two doubles, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch that plated two runs to make the score 9-7.
Belmont sent the heart of the order to bat in the ninth, but Godsey, Maddox, and McMeans went down 1-2-3 to end the game.
“We’re frustrated about this loss here today, but it’s about trends. It’s about winning our first conference series so far this year,” said Jarvis. “We’re marching in the right direction.”
One trend from this weekend was the Bruins coming back, as they trailed to start each game of the series.
“That’s just the nature of the beast, and baseball just has those things within that are really not explainable, to be quite honest,” said Jarvis. “But what it shows me is our team’s character and their competitiveness to be able to never be out of it.”
All in all, Belmont scored 13 runs on 26 hits on the weekend. Davis led the way with six hits in 11 at-bats, along with three runs and four RBIs.
Maddox went just 2-12 across the three games, but both hits left the yard as he finished with 6 RBIs on the weekend.
The Bruins have a tall task ahead of themselves in their next game, as they take the short trip over to Vanderbilt University to play the Commodores on Tuesday at 6 p.m. This article was written by Sam Dicus and Reece Leddy