Box Score Game 1    Box Score Game 2
JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven baseball team powered it's way to two more Southern States Athletic Conference victories and a three game series sweep of 18^th ranked Auburn University-Montgomery Saturday afternoon at Smith-Wills Stadium. The Blazers edged the Warhawks in game one 3-2 followed by a 14-13 marathon win in game two.
 
The home run ball decided both games with third baseman Jason Hicks blasting a two run shot in the fifth inning of game one followed by first baseman Bud Britt's two run walk off home run in the 10^th inning of game two. The doubleheader sweep on Saturday put all three games in the win column for Belhaven after a series opening win Friday night 6-4. Belhaven has now won six straight league games and seven of the last eight. They are tied for sixth in the standings with Mobile and just 3.5 games out of first place after opening the SSAC schedule 1-5.
 
Game One
Belhaven (20-12, 7-5 SSAC) took the lead in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly off the bat of catcher Kyle Wheeler. Second baseman Ryne Cook was hit by a pitch with one out and went to third on a double by Hicks. Cook would score on Wheeler's sac fly to make it a 1-0 game.
 
Auburn-Montgomery (16-12, 5-7 SSAC) fought back to tie the game at 1-1 in the third on an RBI single by third baseman Wes Hughes and took the lead in the top of the fifth with an additional run. Leftfielder Hayden Hillyer served a two out single to left plating second baseman Chad Mansmann for the 2-1 advantage.
 
The Blazers answered quickly in the home half of the fifth to take the lead for good. Centerfielder Reagan Rutledge opened the inning with a base hit to right center and stole second base to get into scoring position. However, it ultimately didn't matter where Rutledge was on the bases thanks to Hicks two run blast over the wall in left.
 
Leading 3-2, it was up to the pitching staff to make the lead stand up and that's exactly what they did. Belhaven starter Chris Good fought his way through six innings before giving way to Josh Rogers who closed the game in the seventh. Rogers recorded the final three outs and picked up his first save after earning the win in relief on Friday.
 
Good took home the win and in the process improved his record to 8-2. Good tossed six innings and allowed two runs on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Good dealt with base runners all afternoon, but found a way to work out of the jams. The defense behind him turned two double plays and AUM ended up leaving 10 men on base in the seven innings. Good entered the weekend with an NAIA best seven wins on the season.
 
Hicks ended the first game with two hits, including the two run home run in the fifth. He was also credited with two runs batted in. Right fielder Emilio DeSilva notched two singles followed by Rutledge and shortstop Josiah Richard with one hit each.
 
Eran Franks suffered the loss on the mound for Auburn-Montgomery, dropping his record to 3-3. Franks allowed all three of Belhaven's runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched. Mansmann and Pooler each had two hits to pace the Warkhawks, who outhit the Blazers 9-6 in game one.
 
Game Two
Things took a dramatic turn in game two, at least when it came to both offenses. When the dust settled the two sides combined for 27 runs, 34 hits, and 20 stranded base runners. The Warhawks got the better of the Blazers in the hit department 19-15, but Belhaven was left standing on top in the run column.
 
The game started quietly with a scoreless first inning, but then in the second Belhaven took the initial lead. Wheeler was hit by a pitch and then with one out courtesy runner Ryne Cook swiped second base. Cook moved to third on a ground out by leftfielder Dominick Francia and scored on DeSilva's two out base hit up the middle.
 
Auburn-Montgomery didn't stay down for long, responding with three runs in the top of the third off Blazers starter Jonathan Thompson. Hughes ripped a two run single to left and an RBI bunt single by right fielder Shane Turner accounted for the Warhawks third run.
 
Trailing 3-1, the Blazers pulled back to within a run in their half of the inning on a sac fly to left by Hicks that chased home Richard. In the fourth, Belhaven reestablished the lead on an RBI triple to right center by Francia followed by a wild pitch allowing Francia himself to cross the plate. Britt scored on the Francia hit after starting the inning with a single.
 
Just when things appeared to be settling down for the pitchers, the flood gates opened up in the sixth. The only time both offenses were retired in order during the same inning in the game was the fifth, but little did everyone know the sixth would change the complexion of the contest.
 
The Warhawks put four runs on the board in the top of the sixth with three coming in on a bases clearing triple by Hughes off Drew Broyles. Belhaven used three pitchers in the inning before Broyles recorded the final out. AUM's other run crossed the plate on a squeeze bunt by first baseman Bryan Young.
 
All of a sudden Belhaven trailed 7-4, but they didn't panic. The Blazers two upped the Warhawks with six runs in the home half of the inning. DeSilva drove in the first when he got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded followed by a sac fly from DH Joshua Bouldin. Rutledge and Hicks both followed with two run singles to make it a 10-7 lead for the Green and Gold.
 
The Warhawks did not back down and promptly tied the game in the seventh with three more additional runs. DH Daniel Farrar and Hillyer roped back to back triples to start the inning followed by a sac fly from Turner and catcher Brett Wellman's RBI single.
 
AUM then regained the lead at 11-10 in the eighth on shortstop Brandon Pooler's RBI single to left field. Hughes scored on the play after Turner reached base on an error by Hicks that kept the inning alive with two outs. However, Hicks quickly got the run back in the bottom of the eighth when he blasted his second home run of the day down the left field line, knotting the contest at 11-11.
 
The game went to extra innings and it appeared that two runs by AUM would finally be the deciding factor. Young drove in one of the runs on a single to left and pinch hitter Blake Bearden cashed in the other RBI on a sac fly to center to make it a 13-11 game.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Blazers fought back to win the game in the bottom of the 10^th. Hicks got a fortuitous bounce on a ground ball that hit the third base bag and bounced down the line for a single. Wheeler followed with a triple into the right field corner setting the stage for the late inning dramatics. Facing a 1-2 count, Britt unloaded on a waist high pitch from Patrick Devault and cleared the wall in left for his sixth home run of the season, giving the Blazers the 14-13 win.
 
Andrew Gunn earned the victory on the mound as he goes to 3-1 in 2013. Gunn recorded two outs in the top of the 10^th. Thompson started the game and went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Belhaven used eight different pitchers in Saturday's second game.
 
Hicks finished the game with three hits and four RBI while Britt had four hits and two runs batted in at the plate for Belhaven. Hicks and Britt both had home runs while Francia and Wheeler notched triples. Wheeler, Richard and Rutledge had multi hit games with two each. Rutledge had two runs batted along with DeSilva.
 
Devault was tagged with the loss for Auburn-Montgomery and falls to 3-2. Devault gave up four runs on six hits in 2.2 innings. Hughes led all hitters with five runs batted in on three hits. Young also had three hits and two RBI followed by Turner with two hits and two runs batted in.
 
Belhaven will be back in action on Tuesday night at Millsaps for a Maloney Series game starting at 6:00 PM. The Blazers are 2-0 in Maloney Series contests so far this season.