Box Score
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven baseball team opened a three game weekend series against LSU-Alexandria on Friday night by taking home a 5-1 victory in game one. The Blazers, ranked 12th in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Poll, got a solid performance from starting pitcher Allen Johnson who had his best outing of the season keeping the General's bats in check. Johnson allowed only one run on five hits in eight innings pitched.

Belhaven (9-3) had a hard time figuring out Aryo Fleming who got the start on the hill for LSU-Alexandria. Fleming cruised through the first two innings, but left a pitch out over the plate to Paul Moreno to begin the bottom of the third inning. Moreno deposited the fastball over the wall in right center to break the ice and put Belhaven ahead 1-0.

The Blazers then tacked on their second run in the fourth inning as Fleming hit Lake Eiland and Ryan Saunders with one out to put runners on first and second. Fleming then balked sending Eiland to third and Saunders to second base. Drew Dillard followed by tapping a ground ball to second that plated Eiland to make it a 2-0 contest. LSU-Alexandria (3-6) tallied their only run of the game in the top of the fifth as Joey Johnson led off with a single, move to second on a fielding error by second baseman Jordan Brewer, and then came home on a throwing error by Eiland at short.

The game stayed at 2-1 until the bottom of the eighth inning when Belhaven put three insurance runs on the board. Johnson helped keep it 2-1 in the top of the eighth by working out of a major jam that could have put the Generals in front. Stephen Laurent picked up an infield single and then a throwing error by third baseman Tom Wertz placed runners on the corners with nobody out. Johnson got Chase Barrett to foul out to catcher Derek Tortorich on a bunt attempt, picked off Logan Lasseigne at first, and ended the inning by getting Tid Hilger to ground out to second base.

Unlike LSUA, Belhaven capitalized on two throwing errors by Fleming in the bottom of the frame which allowed courtesy runner Justin Hill and Moreno to score. Moreno got the inning started with a single and Tortorich bunted his way aboard putting the pressure on Fleming. Pinch hitter Alex Riser drove in the innings third run with a base hit to right field making it a 5-1 contest. Josh Clarke came in from the bullpen and closed the door on the Generals in the ninth inning sending the Blazers to a victory.

Moreno had two of Belhaven's five hits with a single and his second home run of the season in the third inning. It was Moreno's fourth RBI of the year and he is now tied with Saunders for the team lead in home runs. Tortorich, Wertz, and Riser each had a single accounting for the other three hits in the game. Moreno's round tripper was the only extra base hit in the game for either team.

Johnson pitched eight innings and earned the victory to go to 2-1 on the season. Johnson allowed only one unearned run on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Friday's performance lowered his ERA to 2.42 and boosted his strikeout total to a team best 21 for the season. Clarke did not allow a run or a hit and recorded a strikeout in the ninth inning to close out the game.

Fleming took the loss for LSU-Alexandria as he falls to 0-2 in 2011. Fleming went eight innings and allowed five runs on five hits while hitting two batters and striking out 11. Lasseigne, Hilger, Johnson, Laurent, and Christopher Soileau each had a base hit in the game for the Generals.

Belhaven will take the field again on Saturday afternoon as they host LSUA in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 PM. Free Belhaven baseball/softball schedule posters will be handed out prior to game one and fans that can't make it to the stadium can catch all the play-by-play action the games through live audio and stats via Stretch Internet by clicking here.