Baseball Goes 1-2 Against East Tennessee State

Andrew Perry. (Sam Dicus)

After losing the first two games, Belmont’s baseball team managed to avoid a three-game non-conference sweep against the East Tennessee State University Bucs over the weekend, losing the series 2-1. 

Junior left-hander Tate Marland started game one for the Bruins, and he ran into some trouble the second time through the order. 

ETSU’s first four hitters produced a four-run third inning on three hits, a walk and a passed ball. 

In the fourth, Marland loaded the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch before an unassisted 4-3 double play by senior second baseman Charlie Davis, and a single plated two more runs for the Bucs. 

Trailing 6-0, redshirt senior catcher Mike Sprockett smacked an RBI double to right-center field to give Belmont its first run in the bottom of the fourth. 

In the sixth, sophomore first baseman Jake Maddox uncorked a deep fly ball to right field for his third home run of the season to cut the lead to 6-2. 

Another RBI double from Sprockett in the eighth made it 6-3, but that was as close as the Bruins would get, ultimately losing by that score. 

Despite the slow start, the Bruins played noticeably better from the fifth inning on, as they outscored ETSU 2-0 over the last five frames.  

“Well, they only pay you for winning nine innings, and we didn’t get that accomplished,” retorted Bruins head coach Dave Jarvis. 

Graduate right-hander Sam Heyman played a key role in the stronger second half of the game by throwing five scoreless innings, conceding one hit and striking out six.  

After sustaining an early-season injury and incurring some struggles, Heyman has made five straight appearances without allowing an earned run. 

“He’d been feeling for it and pitching from fear,” said Jarvis. “I think when he pitches in reality, he’s a much better pitcher.”  

Belmont looked to carry that momentum over to the start of the second game, but ETSU jumped out to a 1-0 first-inning lead after a single, a stolen base, a throwing error from Sprockett and a sacrifice fly. 

Things would only get worse for lefty starter Ridge Harvey and the Bruins from there. 

In the third, a ball that kicked past graduate third baseman Landon Godsey resulted in a double that barely left the infield before another bad hop at first brought home a run, and another sacrifice fly brought the score to 3-0. 

In the sixth, the Bucs added three more runs off Harvey with three-straight doubles, a wild pitch and a throwing error on a bunt.  

Meanwhile, in the bottom of the sixth, Belmont chased ETSU’s starter Michael Harpster after a Maddox hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with two outs, but the runners were left stranded, and the scoring drought continued.  

Harpster had blanked the Bruins all day, with 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, with more strikeouts, 10, than baserunners allowed, seven. 

“We knew he had really good stuff to begin with, and then today, I thought he did an outstanding job,” said Jarvis. “I thought our kids battled well, but we didn’t have enough to show for it.” 

Harvey’s day was done after the sixth, and the southpaw’s final stat line included six runs, four of which were earned, with eight hits, no walks and five strikeouts.  

Junior right-hander Aubrey Moraitakis relieved him in the seventh, and he gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits and a passed ball that moved a runner from second to third.  

Playing the front game of a doubleheader, the game would only be seven innings long, so the Bruins had three outs to overcome an 8-0 disadvantage.  

Living on a prayer, they got halfway there. 

With one out, back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases for freshman leftfielder Brady Holbrook, who clobbered a three-run triple to the right field corner. 

Redshirt sophomore shortstop Cavan McMeans brought him on a sacrifice fly, but that was all Belmont could muster, eventually losing 8-4.  

Staring down the barrel of a sweep, the Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning off an RBI swinging bunt from McMeans, which resulted in a throwing error and two runners in scoring position, and a two-run single from designated hitter Nicholas Stinson.  

Belmont’s starter, junior right-hander Zane Brown, did not enjoy the lead for long, as back-to-back base hits led to a tying three-run homer in the top of the second. 

Belmont responded with three more runs in the bottom of the second, off an RBI double from Davis and a majestic two-run Blast from Godsey.  

Southpaw Andrew Perry came on in relief in the third inning and kept the Bucs at bay before the Bruins plated one more in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single from freshman leftfielder JD Whitworth. 

Perry kept racking up zeroes until the sixth inning, when he loaded the bases with one out and was pulled in favor of freshman right-hander Cole Kenyon, who limited the damage to just a sacrifice fly.  

“I liked what AP did coming in relief for us there and putting up some zeroes, giving us a chance to get our legs underneath us and then pull away a little bit and stretch a lead,” said Jarvis. 

Belmont got that run back and more in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run double from Maddox that brought the score 9-4.  

ETSU responded with a run in the seventh, but Whitworth hit a screamer out to left field for a solo shot in response, making the score 10-5 through seven. 

Sophomore left-hander Krish Gandhi pitched the eighth and worked into some trouble, with three hits, a walk, a hit batsman and a critical error leading to three runs and Belmont’s lead being cut to two.  

In the top of the ninth, Gandhi surrendered a lead-off triple and a walk before giving way to Jonathan Van Ness. 

With the go-ahead run at the plate, Van Ness mowed through three hitters to earn the save and a hard-fought victory for the Bruins.  

“A lot of that has to do with the great mentality of our kids,” said Jarvis. “They didn’t throw in any towel. They stayed in the fight, and we’re both rolling third-day pitching in that situation, so it’s going to be an offensive ballgame.” 

Now, Belmont turns its focus to a mid-week game against Middle Tennessee State University at E.S. Rose Park on Tuesday before a weekend series hosting conference foe Evansville.  

  This article was written by Sam Dicus