Belmont Bats Stay Cold In Battle Of The Boulevard Loss

Mike Sprockett. (Sam Dicus)

Belmont’s baseball team was unable to defend E.S. Rose Park in a 4-1 loss to rival Lipscomb in the second Battle of the Boulevard game this season on Tuesday.

Of the 17 games since the Bruins’ 8-2 loss against Lipscomb on February 24, the Bruins have dropped 11 of them, including six straight.

Amid the six-game slide, Belmont has been outscored by its opponents 53-16, and head coach Dave Jarvis did not mince words when talking about the offense.

“In the first few weeks of the season, we looked like we were going to have the ability to be a really good offensive ball club. As of late, we have started going anemic offensively,” said Jarvis.

The offense looked full of promise in the first inning, as senior second baseman Charlie Davis led off with a single and advanced to second on a one-out walk from sophomore first baseman Jake Maddox.

However, Lipscomb’s starter Cody Underwood got redshirt sophomore shortstop Cavan McMeans to ground into a pitcher’s best friend, an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

That was the best opportunity either offense had early, as Underwood was locked in a pitcher’s duel with Belmont’s sophomore starter Andrew Perry for the first three innings.

Lipscomb’s offense broke through in the fourth, with three Bisons hits and a sacrifice fly from third baseman Cam Pruitt plating two runs.

In the home half, redshirt senior catcher Mike Sprockett responded with a deep fly ball that cleared the right field wall for a solo home run to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Graduate right-hander Sam Heyman relieved Perry in the fifth inning, and he stranded a runner with two punchouts.

He would not get so lucky in the sixth, as a leadoff error by senior third baseman Landon Godsey gave the Bisons a baserunner that would come around to score on Pruitt’s RBI knock to right field.

Trailing 3-1, the Bruins went down in order in the bottom of the sixth.

Heyman worked around two baserunners to keep Lipscomb off the board in the seventh.

In the home half of the inning, freshman designated hitter Nate Webb smacked a two-out double for Belmont’s first hit since the Sprockett home run and its first baserunner since a hit-by-pitch in the fifth inning.

Webb was left stranded, and outside of a Davis hit-by-pitch; he would represent the last baserunner for the Bruins.

Aaron Stelogeannis, Lipscomb’s right fielder, led off the eighth with a double that chased Heyman from the game.

Sophomore left-hander Krish Gandhi relieved Heyman, and after recording a 6-3 groundout that advanced the runner to third, he threw a wild pitch that scored Lipscomb’s fourth run.

Lipscomb brought in Kaleb Kantola to shut the door on the Bruins in the ninth, and he needed just seven pitches to secure the win and pick up his fourth save of the year.

All in all, Belmont scored one run on three hits, while reaching base only seven times.

“We’ve got to be able to put together better at-bats. We’ve got to be able to string together more offense than what we’re seeing. Especially in these midweek games when everybody is not throwing their conference pitching,” said Jarvis.

One positive from the game was how the pitching staff limited Lipscomb to just four runs despite allowing 10 hits, two errors and 13 baserunners.

“We quite simply did a better job of throwing strikes, and we got hurt less because of it,” said Jarvis. “You cannot defend a walk. You cannot defend a hit-by-pitch. When you give away those freebies like that, you’re always going to be in turmoil.”

Now, the Bruins turn their focus toward a home weekend series against conference foe UIC.

“I want us to take care of our business,” said Jarvis. “That’s what I want to see us grow in and get better at: taking care of our business and doing what we do well.”

Belmont hosts UIC on Friday at 4, Saturday at 2 and Sunday at 1 at E.S. Rose Park as they look to rebound from a 0-3 start in conference play. This article was written by Sam Dicus