Box Score JACKSON, Miss – The Belhaven baseball team (7-1) opened the Belhaven Invitational Tournament on Thursday evening with a 9-2 win over the University of St. Francis (Ind) (0-1) at Smith-Wills Stadium. With the victory, the Blazers extended their win streak to seven games.

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Belhaven starting pitcher Boomer Scarborough entered the game with a 1-1 record on the season, including a 1-0 victory against Culver-Stockton College last Friday. Before turning things over to the Blazer bullpen, Scarborough allowed two runs on six hits through 4.1 innings while striking six and walking four.

"He had pinpoint control last week, but he didn't have his best stuff today," Head Coach Hill Denson said. "What he did well was battle, and that made us want to keep sending him back out there."

Andrew Gunn was the first man out of the pen for the home nine, and he eventually wound up as the pitcher of record. Through 1.2 innings, the lefthander struck out four and saw the Blazer bats come alive to help him record his first win of the year.

The bottom of the sixth saw Belhaven's lineup break a 2-2 tie with an explosive five-run inning that turned the tide of the ballgame. The Blazers added two more in their half of the eighth inning and left Smith-Wills with their hot streak intact.

The offensive attack was led by first baseman Tyler Akins and catcher Hunter Sutton, who each had two hits and drove in a run. Despite a 1-5 effort at the plate, Junior Paul Pickerell added a game-best three RBI to become the eighth Blazer to record a hit in the game.

Austin McCann, Richard Richardson, and Josh Rogers recorded a scoreless inning apiece out of the bullpen. Rogers allowed the only hit by any of the three, but struck out three of the four batters he faced.

For the visiting Cougars, pitcher Kyle McKay had a two-hit game and an RBI, and the only other run plated was by third baseman Zach Vanlandingham. McKay lasted 5.2 innings on the mound, allowing four earned runs on four hits while striking out four.

Belhaven returns to action on Friday against Campbellsville University, who dropped their first game of the tournament by a final of 13-3 to Missouri Baptist on Thursday. First pitch is slated for 4:00 from Smith-Wills Stadium.

"Campbellsville didn't have a great game today, but every day is different," Denson said. "Everyone wants to get after the home team, so we will see what happens tomorrow."