Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven baseball team rallied for two one run Southern States Athletic Conference victories over 24th ranked William Carey University Saturday afternoon at Smith-Wills Stadium. The Blazers trailed by three runs in both games and pulled out wins in the final at bats. Belhaven took game one 6-5 and game two of the day 5-4. The Blazers nearly had three comeback wins, but the Crusaders held on for a 5-4 decision Friday in game one of the series.

(Box Score-Game 1) (Box Score-Game 2)
"They were typical Belhaven and William Carey games, going all the way down to the wire," Head Coach Hill Denson said. "It was big for us to get two wins in a doubleheader especially after losing the opening game of the series on Friday. We were able to find a way to rally and win both games and hopefully that's an indicator of good things in the development of our ballclub."

Game One
Chris Good got off to a rocky start when William Carey second baseman JC Cassidy greeted him with a leadoff home run to open the contest. Trailing 1-0, Belhaven (11-3, 2-1 SSAC) went to work right away in the home half of the first to knot the ballgame. Centerfielder Reagan Rutledge doubled with one out and then first baseman Tyler Akins reached base after being hit by a Gavin Culpepper pitch. Rutledge and Akins attempted a double steal with two outs and on the throw to get Akins at second, catcher Clint Ambrosch fired the ball into center allowing Rutledge to score.

William Carey (7-8, 2-4 SSAC) posted three more runs in the second to build a 4-1 advantage, thanks to two hits and a pair of Blazer errors. Left fielder Tyler Bonaventure blasted a home run to lead off the frame, accounting for the first run. Two throwing errors by second baseman Paul Pickerrell gave the Crusaders extra outs that led to the other two tallies. Centerfielder Jeremy Ferguson was credited with an RBI on a fielder's choice and on the same play courtesy runner Aaron Brady crossed the plate on the second error of the inning.

The Blazers began to chip away at the deficit in the third on a sacrifice fly by Akins, but the Crusaders quickly got the run back in the fourth. Ferguson doubled home Brady to push the lead back to three runs at 5-2.

The game stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh when Belhaven rallied to force extra innings. With one out and runners on first and second, Pickerrell delivered an RBI single to make it 5-3. Akins walked to load the bases for catcher Brayden Dykes, who was hit by a pitch from reliever Hunter Phillips. Dykes was credited with an RBI and suddenly the Blazers were within a run at 5-4.

The equalizer came off the bat of third baseman Gabe Wilson on a sacrifice fly to right field. Pickerrell scored on a bang bang play at the plate after Scott Fabre made a strong throw home. Pickerrell just beat the tag to send the game to the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth with two outs, Rutledge blasted a hard ground ball up the middle for the winning hit off Vito Perna. Pinch runner James Peterson touched the plate to give Belhaven the 6-5 win.

Good battled his way through seven innings on the mound and ended up with the no decision after giving way to Austin McCann in the eighth. McCann (1-0) kept the Crusaders off the board en route to his first win of the season. Rutledge had a huge game at the plate with three hits, an RBI, and two runs scored. He also racked up two more stolen bases, giving him 11 on the year.

Phillips (0-2) took the loss in relief for William Carey with 0.2 innings in the scorebook. He was charged with the winning run after hitting right fielder Walt McCullough to open the eighth. Cassidy, Bonaventure, and Ambrosch each had two hits for the Crusader offense.

Game Two
The night cap had a familiar script, especially in regards to the second inning. William Carey scored three runs in the second for the third time in the series to power in front 3-0. Ambrosch doubled in the first run with a gap shot to right center and then with two outs Ferguson single in two more.

The Blazers finally cracked the scoreboard in the fourth with two runs of their own. Wilson chased home Akins with a single to center and then catcher Hunter Sutton cashed in Dykes with a sacrifice fly to center field. Those two runs drove starting pitcher Cody Deckwa from the game with two outs in the inning. Brandt Bourgeois recorded the final out to preserve a 3-2 lead for the Crusaders.

William Carey tacked on a run in the top of the fifth against Belhaven starter Rayko Bellmas. Perna doubled in Fabre who had walked with one out to make it a 4-2 contest.

With time running out, the Blazers found a way to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. This time it was Sutton who stepped up to deliver the game changing hit. Sutton drove the ball to the base of the right field wall off Larson Barkurn, plating Akins and pinch runner Dominick Francia. Akins was the spark plug that got things going, doubling down the right field line to open the inning.

After a quiet seventh and top of the eighth for both teams, Belhaven notched the game winning run in the eighth. McCullough dropped a leadoff double down the left field line setting the table for shortstop Josiah Richard. Richard hit a chopper just past and to the right of the pitcher's mound for a base hit. In an attempt to throw out Richard at first, pitcher Barnes Bankston threw the ball into right field allowing McCullough to score the game winner.

Bellmas tossed the first 4.1 innings for the Blazers and was charged with four runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout. Akins (1-0) would eventually get the win in relief by moving from first base to the pitcher's mound. Akins fired the final 1.2 innings and did not allow a run or a hit. In the process, he struck out three and did not issue a walk.

At the plate, Sutton drove in three runs and finished the game 1 for 3 with a run scored. Wilson followed with one hit and one run batted in. Belhaven pounded out seven hits including three doubles with one each by Akins, Sutton, and McCullough.

Bankston (0-1) took the loss on the bump for William Carey, allowing a run on three hits in 1.2 innings. Ferguson had two hits and two runs batted in to pace the Crusaders at the plate. Ambrosch finished the game with two hits and one RBI.

The Blazers will be back on the field Tuesday when they host Talladega College in game one of a two game mid-week series at Smith-Wills Stadium. The two teams will play game two on Wednesday with the first pitch for each scheduled at 4:00 PM.