Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven baseball team opened the weekend with a 7-1 win over McKendree University Friday afternoon in the Belhaven Invitational at Smith-Wills Stadium. The Bearcats had upset top ranked and defending NAIA National Champion Cumberland University 2-1 earlier in the day. The Blazers came up with five runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to earn the win after trailing through the first three innings of the contest.

Belhaven (6-1) found themselves down by a run after a half inning of play as a result of McKendree right fielder Dan Corwin's two out solo homer to left off Blazer starting pitcher Brett Blaise. The Blazers struggled at the plate through the first three innings and did not generate at hit until the fourth inning off Bearcat starter Ben Dallesasse.

Blaise managed to keep it a 1-0 game and worked himself in and out of jams in both the second inning and the fourth inning. Blaise walked Rob Beatty to leadoff the second followed by a Daniel Solis single to right center putting runners on first and second with no one out. However, three straight fielder's choices got Blaise out of trouble with no further damage done. The key play in the inning was first baseman Ryan Saunders throw to third base to get the lead runner on Patrick Thole's sacrifice bunt attempt. In the fourth inning Blaise walked the bases loaded with two outs, but another force out allowed him to escape unscathed.

The Belhaven bats came alive in the fourth scoring five times off Dallesasse to take the lead. Shortstop Lake Eiland opened the inning with a single to left and moved to second on Paul Moreno's groundout to first. With one out, right fielder Drew Dillard roped his third triple of the season into the gap in right center to tie the game at 1-1. Tyler Wrinkle, who got the start in center field, cashed in Dillard from third with an RBI base hit up the middle and went to second on a stolen base.

Jordan Brewer followed with an infield single to short and a wild throw by Solis opened the door for Wrinkle to cross the plate. Saunders picked up the second triple of the inning to right field plating in Brewer driving Dallesasse from the game. Cole Wille came in from the bullpen and induced a ground ball out off the bat of catcher Alex Riser for the second out. Matt Discon then capped the inning with a two out run scoring double to right center to make it a 5-1 game. Belhaven went on to add two more runs in the fifth on a Brewer triple extending the edge to 7-1. Blaise and relief pitcher Kiel Higginbotham kept the McKendree at bay over the final two innings to preserve the win.

Brewer led the Blazers at the plate going 2 for 2 with two runs batted in and a run scored. Dillard and Wrinkle also had two hits in three at bats as both drove in a run and scored twice in the Blazer victory. Dillard boosted his batting average to .480 and now has three triples, two doubles, and 13 RBI. Saunders scored a run and brought in another along with Discon who had a hit and an RBI. Moreno and Wrinkle each came up with a stolen base apiece. As a team, Belhaven banged out three more triples and a double with nine total hits on the afternoon. The Blazers now have 10 triples in just seven games this season.

Blaise rebounded from a rocky outing last weekend at LSU-Shreveport with a gutty performance on Friday afternoon to earn the win and improve his record to 2-1 on the season. Blaise worked 6.1 innings and surrendered just one run on four hits while working around six walks. Blaise struck out four and induced a double play ball. Higginbotham worked two thirds of an inning in relief getting Ronnie Calvird to ground into a double play in the seventh to end the game.

McKendree (2-4) had just the four hits in the contest with the Corwin home run being the only extra base hit. Solis, Thole, and Kossina had the other three hits in the game for the Bearcats. Dallesasse took the loss allowing five runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of work on the hill. He walked three and struck out two as his record falls to 0-2 in 2011.

Belhaven is now 6-1 on the season and will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM against McKendree followed by a battle with top ranked Cumberland University at 4:00 PM. Fans can follow the play-by-play action of both games through live audio and stats via Stretch Internet by clicking here.