Box Score
CLINTON, Miss. – The Belhaven baseball team notched its second Maloney Series victory of the 2013 campaign Tuesday night at Mississippi College. The Blazers topped the Choctaws 8-4 and snapped a three game losing skid thanks to an all around solid performance at the plate and on the mound.

Belhaven (8-7) took advantage of two Choctaw miscues in the top of the first inning to pull ahead 1-0. Center fielder Reagan Rutledge reached on an error by shortstop Robbie Jernigan and proceeded to steal second; one of four stolen bases on the night for Rutledge. Blazer shortstop Daniel Gilbert then reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Keaton Hankins and in the process Rutledge scored the game's first run.

Belhaven added run number two in the third and for the second time in an inning did it without the aid of a hit. Rutledge drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a groundout by Gilbert to first base. Right fielder Jason Hicks plated Rutledge on a sac fly to center giving the Blazers a 2-0 lead.

Belhaven tacked on two more runs in the fourth thanks to a leadoff home run by third baseman Bud Britt and another sac fly, this time off the bat of Rutledge. Mississippi College (2-4) got on the board in the fifth on an RBI base hit from Hunter Frierson cutting the lead to 4-1, but the Blazers would break the game open with three runs in the top of the sixth.

First baseman Hamilton Harper got things rolling with an RBI single up the middle that plated DH Caleb Baucum who had led off the frame with a single to center. With two outs, another error by the Choctaws kept the inning alive for Gilbert who punched a single through the infield driving in Rutledge and Harper for a 7-1 advantage.

The Blazers tallied their final run in the ninth when Hicks doubled down the line and scored on a ground ball by Baucum. Mississippi College mounted a late charge in the home half of the ninth scoring three times to close the gap to 8-4. Frierson picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly, left fielder Kyle Blount had an RBI single through the middle of the infield, and second baseman Josh Perez bounced a base hit through the infielder for an RBI. Unfortunately for the Choctaws, it was too little too late.

After a rough weekend at Faulkner, the Belhaven pitching staff turned in a solid performance on Tuesday. Eight pitchers combined to strike out 13 batters while only walking three through nine innings. Andrew Gunn earned the win to go to 1-1 on the season.

Left fielder Emilio DeSilva led the Blazers with two hits and also scored a run in the winning effort. Gilbert had a pair of RBI's while Rutledge went 1 for 3 with an RBI, three runs scored, and had four stolen bases giving him 17 on the season. Hicks' double and Britt's second home run of the season were the only extra base hits for Belhaven. The Blazers outhit the Choctaws 10-9 on Tuesday.

Starting pitcher Zac Tucker suffered the loss for Mississippi College dropping his record to 0-1 in 2013. Tucker allowed four runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings. Frierson led the Choctaws at the plate with two hits and two runs batted in while Blount and Perez each had two hits and one run batted in.

Belhaven will return to Smith-Wills Stadium on Friday to open a three game non-conference weekend series against LSU-Alexandria. The first pitch is slated for 4:00 PM.