Box Score Game 1    Box Score Game 2
Jackson, MS-It was a tough afternoon on Saturday for the Belhaven baseball team as the Blazers lost both games of a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader at Smith-Wills Stadium against LSU-Shreveport. Belhaven lost game one in five innings 17-3 and were outgunned in game two 16-7.

Game One
LSU-Shreveport (23-8, 15-7 GCAC) jumped ahead in the first inning with five runs off of starting pitcher Ryan Kassab. Kassab struggled and could not make it out of the first inning as the Pilot bats came to life. LSU-Shreveport went on to add two runs in the second, three in the third inning, two in fourth, and five in the fifth inning.

Belhaven's (26-9, 17-5 GCAC) only runs came in the third and fourth frames of the first contest. Mark Gray scored on a passed ball in the third inning and in the fourth Derek Tortorich delivered an RBI single to left field. Timmy Foster crossed the plate on an error by second baseman Stephen Hobbins to account for the only other run in the contest.

Kassab (5-1) was tagged with the loss allowing five runs on two hits with three walks in the top of the first inning. Alan McHenry gave up two runs while Jordan Scott and Joe Diecidue surrendered five runs apiece. Tortorich was 2 for 2 at the plate with an RBI in game one for Belhaven.

Jeff Nadeau (1-0) pitched all five innings for LSUS allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts to earn the victory. Shawn Moy had five runs batted in for the Pilots thanks to a 3 for 3 afternoon at the plate which included a grand slam home run. Hobbins, Kevin Smith, and Chase Wentz all collected 3 RBI's in game one.

Game Two
The Pilots stayed hot at the plate in game two especially in the later innings. Riley Galloway pitched well overall allowing five runs through the first six innings. Only three of the runs were earned as the defense committed five errors in the game.

LSUS struck for three runs in the third frame and tacked on two more in the sixth to build a 5-0 advantage. The Blazers tried to get back in it with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth when Drew Dillard doubled home Shawn Diehl and later scored on an RBI groundout to second by Lake Eiland. Unfortunately, each time Belhaven put runs on the board the Pilots answered back.

LSUS tacked on four runs in the top of the seventh to grab a 9-2 edge, but the Blazers pulled to within four runs after a three run bottom of the seventh. Paul Moreno scored on an error by pitcher Turner Brasher and later in the inning Gilford dropped a two run single into center field. The Pilots put the game away in the eighth with seven runs on six hits. Belhaven committed a couple of costly errors that gave LSUS extra outs which can be devastating against a good hitting ball club like the Pilots.

The Blazers avoided being run ruled in the eighth when Kyle Feazell launched his second home run of the season over the left field wall to cut the deficit to 16-7. John Michael Williamson had a pinch hit single and pinch runner Andrew Gipson crossed the plate on Feazell's blast.

Galloway was saddled with the loss dropping his record to 1-3 on the season. Golden Grasse gave up seven runs and Graham Upshaw was charged with the other four runs. Gilford and Feazell each had two RBI's while Dean and Feazell led Belhaven in hits with two apiece. Dillard and Eiland accounted for the other RBI's in the game with one each.

Jared Mata got the win for LSUS and improves to 5-2 on the mound this season. Mata tossed 6.1 innings and gave up four runs on five hits. Turner Brasher surrender one run and Cole Newell was charged with two runs in the game. Three Pilot hitters each had 3 RBI's as Kevin Smith, Andrew Blubaugh, and Andrew Brouillette powered the LSUS offense. Beaudoin led the Pilots in hits with three and added two RBI's in the contest.

Belhaven will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to NCAA Division II Delta State University for a matchup with the Statesman. The first pitch is slated for 6:30 PM and all the live play-by-play action can be heard via Stretch internet through the Belhaven Athletics website beginning with the pregame show at 6:15 PM.