Box Score
New Orleans, LA-The Belhaven baseball team traveled to Loyola University on Friday night and took game one of their three game Gulf Coast Athletic Conference series with the Wolfpack by a final of 7-4. The Blazers scored all of their runs in the third inning and held off the Wolfpack for the victory. Both teams are now 3-1 overall and 3-1 in the GCAC.

 

Loyola got on the board first when they struck for two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Belhaven starting pitcher Craig Westcott got Mike Kelly to fly out to center field to begin the inning. Lucas Wendt then stepped to the plate and sent an opposite field double down the right field line to get the Loyola offense going. James Callahan drove in Wendt with a single and then stole second base. Westcott proceeded to strike out Bret Mahoney for the second out, but Bobby Alvarez dropped a single into shallow left field to bring home Callahan for the games second run. Westcott fanned Taylor Domengeaux to end the bottom of the second with Loyola up 2-0.

 

Belhaven got their bats going in the top of the third scoring seven times on five hits. After Brent Hudson flied out to begin the inning, Brian McCormick reached base on an error by Wendt. The Blazers then got a single from Lake Eiland as pinch runner Mark Gray advanced to third. Gray then scored on a single by Chanse Cooper to put the Blazers on the board. Eiland and Cooper stole third base and second base respectively setting up Shawn Diehl's two run single giving the Blazers a 3-2 lead.

 

With just one out in the third, Belhaven loaded up the bases with Westcott coming to the plate. Westcott came through with a two run single through the right side of the infield bringing home two more runs and thus extended the Blazer advantage to 5-3. Belhaven loaded the bases again setting up Brent Hudson's sacrifice fly which plated Craig Dean from third. The Blazers final run of the inning came on a wild pitch by relief pitcher Alex Wolf which scored pinch runner Chad Howard from third.

 

That proved to be all the runs the Blazers would need. Loyola would strike for runs in the fourth and eighth innings and would threaten for more. However, solid relief pitching by Riley Galloway, Chris Bennett, and Kyle Medley would slam the door on the Wolfpack. Galloway earned his first win of the year in relief of Westcott, going 3.2 innings allowing a run on one hit while recording 5 strikeouts. Kyle Medley picked up his third save in as many tries by working a scoreless ninth. Westcott pitched the first four innings allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out five.

 

At the plate, Diehl and Westcott led the team with 2 RBIs while Hudson and Copper also collected an RBI each. Timmy Foster went 2 for 3 with a run scored and Cooper also checked in with two hits in five at bats.