Early offense from the Oregon Ducks put the Belmont Bruins baseball team behind for good in a 13-4 loss at Rose Park Thursday evening.
The Ducks scored six runs in the game’s first two innings, and scored ten of their thirteen total runs by the end of the fourth.
The Bruins allowed Oregon runners on base early in the game, which kept them scoring through the first ffew innings, head coach Dave Jarvis said. Twelve Oregon players got on base in the first four innings.
“To Oregon’s credit, they made us pay for those mistakes. We had the opportunities to do the same and didn’t,” he said.
Belmont pitcher Matt Hamann pitched the first four innings in the game, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits and two walks in the loss. Hamann also struck out six batters during the game.
The Bruins’ first run came as second baseman Zac Mitchell scored from third on a two-out, two-strike wild pitch after the Ducks scored three runs in the top of the first.
Oregon extended their lead to 6-1 in the second after hits from Connor Hofmann and J.J. Altobelli, an error from Belmont catcher Jamie Ritchi and an RBI single from Ryon Healy.
Connor Hofmann then hit a two-run home run to right with two outs for the Ducks in the top of the third, expanding their lead to seven runs. A Drew Turner two-run homer, the first of his college career, cut the lead to 8-3 for Belmont, but a fourth-inning Oregon homer quickly made gave them a 10-3 advantage.
A single by Brett Thomas scored another run for the Ducks in the seventh, and a two-run Healy homer gave Oregon their final two runs of the game in the eighth.
Shortstop Jared Breen also hit a solo home run for the Bruins in the bottom of the eighth.
Billy Flamion got the win for the Ducks, allowing two runs on a hit and two walks in four and one-third innings.
The Bruins’ record dropped to 2-2 with the loss. They will face Arkansas-Little Rock at home Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.