Box Score Game 1    Box Score Game 2
Jackson, MS-The Belhaven baseball team concluded the regular season by splitting a Southern States Athletic Conference West Division doubleheader Saturday afternoon against William Carey University at Smith-Wills Stadium. The Blazers, ranked 25th in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, won game one of the day 8-4 and lost game two 5-3. Belhaven won the three game weekend series two games to one thanks to a 3-2 win on Friday night.

Game One
Belhaven (39-15, 11-7 SSAC) exploded for five runs in the bottom of third in game one to gain the upper hand. Anthony Doss drove in two runs on a bases loaded to single to left field and then Derek Tortorich hammered a double to the gap in left center that chased home to more runs to make it a 4-0 game. Courtesy runner Justin Hill crossed the plate for the fifth run when relief pitcher Will Mann balked sending Hill in from third base.

William Carey (26-23, 7-11 SSAC) countered with four runs in the top of the fourth as Carlos Castro shot a two run home run over the wall in left field followed by a shallow single off the bat of Michael Lindsey that plated two more runs to cut the Blazer lead to 5-4. Belhaven responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to regain the momentum and create some breathing room on the scoreboard. Tortorich picked up his third RBI of the game with a single to center and then Doss came into score when centerfielder Will White bobbled the ball. Paul Moreno capped the scoring in the fifth by blasting his third home run of the season over the left center field wall.

Belhaven was led at the plate in game one by Doss who went 3 for 3 with two runs batted in. Tortorich had two hits and three runs batted in and Paul Moreno had one hit and one RBI. Matt Discon and Jimmy Gilford also produced hits in the opening game of the day.

Brett Blaise started on the mound for Belhaven and earned the win in game one pitching four innings allowing four runs on six hits to go to 7-1 this season. Blaise walked three and posted one strikeout in his time on the hill. Jon Patino pitched well out of the bullpen by tossing the final three innings. Patino did not allow a run or a hit and struck out three en route to his first save of the season.

Castro had a home run and two RBI's for William Carey and Lindsey had one hit and two RBI's. Cory Williams suffered the loss for the Crusaders in the first game allowing four runs on five hits in two innings of work dropping his record to 4-4. Will Mann was charged with one run and Zach Magee was tagged with the other three runs in the game.

Game Two
William Carey took an early lead in game two and never relinquished their advantage scoring twice in the top of the third inning. Ronnie Camacho had a two out two run single and then in the fifth the Crusaders built a 4-0 edge when Camacho drove in another run on a base hit followed by a White RBI double that landed down the left field line.

Belhaven cut the deficit to 4-2 on a two run home run by Ryan Saunders in the bottom of the fifth, but the Crusaders tacked on an insurance run in the seventh on sac bunt by Jared Rogers that plated a run to make it 5-2. The Blazers picked up an unearned run in the eighth thanks to a pair of errors by the William Carey defense. Jordan Prout allowed Jordan Brewer to reach when he threw wildly to first base and then pitcher Taylor Martin could not handle a throw from first baseman Quin Stokes on a ball hit by Gilford. Gilford was credited with an RBI on the play since it would not have resulted in the final out of the inning. Unfortunately, Belhaven could not muster any offense in the ninth as the Crusaders held on for the 5-3 win.

Belhaven had only three hits with two of them coming off the bat by Saunders. One of the hits was the home run which was his fourth of the season. Tortorich had the only other hit the game for the Blazers. Alan McHenry started and took the loss for the Blazers on the mound dropping his record to 6-2 in 2011. McHenry pitched 4.1 innings and allowed four runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Kiel Higginbotham pitched two innings and surrendered one run on four hits.

Camacho had two hits and three runs batted in to lead William Carey in the second game. Castro and Prout both picked up two hits for the Crusaders and White along with Rogers each had one run batted in. Martin (3-2) tossed a complete game and allowed three runs on three hits while walking one and striking out seven. Only two of the three runs were earned due to four Crusader errors.

Belhaven will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Columbus, GA for the SSAC Tournament at Golden Park. Belhaven's opponent and game time are yet to be officially announced.