With the most runs scored by Belmont in the Battle of the Boulevard series, the baseball team cruised to a 13-3 victory to sweep rival Lipscomb on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bisons have yet to win a game at Rose Park in five attempts.
“I’m proud of the mentality and we didn’t sit on a lead. Earlier in the season, I felt like once we’ve gotten a lead, we’ve sat on it or backed off a bit,” Belmont coach Dave Jarvis said.
Third baseman Matt Beaty led Belmont defensively with five assists and at the plate with a career-high six RBIs, including a three-run homer in the bottom of the second.
Belmont started swinging hard early as the first five batters in the lineup each got on base and scored a run in the first inning.
Beaty sent a drive flying into right field and turned his hit into a two RBI triple to bring across Drew Ferguson and Alec Diamond.
With the next at-bat, Jamie Ritchie earned a single off the pitcher’s foot, allowing Beaty to cross home plate. William Dodd kept the momentum going with a two run homer.
“We really came out of the gates swinging it hot from the beginning. That’s really good for the top of the lineup to set the tone,” Beaty said. “Everyone clicked and we swung it well.”
After reaching a full count, Beaty continued his hot streak, slamming his second home run of the season to give Belmont an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
The Bisons would not score a run until an RBI triple from second baseman Mike Konte in the top of the third. The run gave Lipscomb a short spark as they loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly from Josh Lee allowed Konte to cut the lead down 8-2.
In the bottom of the third, Diamond sent a drive down the left field line to bring in Ferguson from first to give Belmont a 9-2 lead.
Lipscomb loaded the bases once again in the top of the fourth but to no avail.
In the top of the fifth, an RBI single from Hunter Hunks brought in Austin Sistrunk to tack on another run for the Bisons, trimming the lead 9-3. That was the only offense Lipscomb could muster up as Belmont’s pitching and defense shut down the Bisons.
“On a day like today where the wind is going everywhere, I felt like we played well behind our pitchers,” said rightfielder Brennan Washington.
With the bases loaded for Belmont in the bottom of the fifth, Scott Moses scored after Beaty was hit by a pitch. Lipscomb reliever Conor Moynihan fanned the final two batters to get the Bisons out of the jam.
Belmont tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth behind the combination of a balk, Ferguson’s sacrifice fly and another RBI double from Diamond.
The combined effort of Belmont’s defense forced a total 27 putouts while the pitching staff allowed only four hits, walked four and struck out five.
“It really starts with great pitching by our pitchers and commanding the strike zone. It keeps our infielders on our toes,” Beaty said.
Belmont will travel to visit Eastern Illinois for a three game series with the Panthers this weekend. First pitch is set for Friday at 3 p.m.