Box Score Game 1    Box Score Game 2
ROME, Ga.-The Belhaven baseball team lost both games of a Southern States Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday at Shorter to close out a three game weekend series. The Blazers, who are receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, fell in game one to the 24th ranked Hawks 5-1 and dropped a 9-2 decision in the second game. Shorter ended up winning all three games in the series by virtue of a 7-2 win on Friday in the opener.

Game One
Belhaven (31-18, 14-13 SSAC) scored its only run of game one in the top of the first inning when center fielder Tyler Wrinkle led off the game with a single and scored on an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of third baseman Bud Britt. The Blazers had the potential makings of a big inning, loading the bases with one out, but the only run proved to be Wrinkle's.

The advantage was short lived as DH Blake McCullers doubled in a run for the Hawks in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 1-1. Left fielder Bobby Triglia sent Shorter (35-12, 20-7 SSAC) in front for good in the bottom of the second when he delivered a two run single to left to make it a 3-1 game. Third baseman Mike Miranda opened the third inning with a solo home run and McCullers capped the scoring in the sixth with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Belhaven's only hit and run scored were recorded by Wrinkle in the first inning. Britt ended game one with the only RBI. Brett Blaise started the game on the mound for the Blazers and suffered the loss dropping his record to 4-3 on the year. Blaise pitched two innings and allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

Shorter was led by Triglia who went 2 for 4 with two runs batted in followed by McCullers with one hit and two RBI's. Miranda ended the game with the home run in three plate appearances. Pitcher Ryan Newell started and went the distance for the victory running his record to 9-2. Newell fired seven innings and allowed one run on one hit with four walks and eight strikeouts.

Game Two
Game two on Saturday was all Shorter as the Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. Triglia got things going with an RBI double followed by an RBI single from Miranda in the first inning. The Hawks added two more in the second on an RBI base hit by second baseman Antonio Walcott combined with a fielding error in right by Tom Wertz.

Leading 4-0, the Hawks extended their cushion to 6-0 in the fourth on an RBI single by McCullers and a run scoring triple off the bat of Miranda. Shorter then put the exclamation point on the win in the fifth on center fielder Willie Lewis's two run single and an RBI base hit by Triglia. Belhaven avoided the shutout in the eighth, scoring two runs on three hits. Justin Hill walked with one out and then Wrinkle doubled down the left field line putting runners at second and third. Left fielder Anthony Doss then blasted his 20th double of the season to straight away center rounding in Hill and Wrinkle.

Wrinkle and Doss each had two of the Blazers five hits in the game followed by first baseman Emilio DeSilva with the only other base hit. Geoffrey Thomas started the game on the bump and took the loss allowing four runs on seven hits in two innings of work, dropping his record to 3-4.

Miranda was 4 for 5 in game two for the Hawks with two runs batted in to lead the offense. Lewis and Triglia had two hits and two RBI's each followed by McCullers with two hits and one run batted in. Stuart Charleston started and earned the win on the mound improving his record to 7-0. Charleston did not allow a run and gave up just two hits with three walks and six strikeouts in six innings of work. Bud Fuller was tagged with both of Belhaven's runs in the eighth inning.

Belhaven will try and regroup on Tuesday, hosting Millsaps College in a Maloney Series game at Smith-Wills Stadium beginning at 6:00 PM.