Box Score JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven baseball team claimed a 5-2 mid-week victory against cross town rival Tougaloo College Wednesday night at Smith-Wills Stadium. The Blazers, ranked 11th in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, rallied for four unanswered runs en route to the win. Belhaven Head Coach Hill Denson eclipsed the 500 win mark at Belhaven with his 501st Wednesday. Tyler Akins also set a new single season school record with his 15th save.
 
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"I thought we did a good job adjusting today late in the game against their tough left handed pitcher," Denson said. "Five innings into the game were able to make some adjustments that generated some base hits to get us the lead and eventually the win."
 
Belhaven (32-11) gained the early advantage with a run in the bottom of the second inning on a two out RBI single to center off the bat of third baseman Gabe Wilson. The edge was short lived with Tougaloo (8-27-1) striking back for the equalizer in the top of the third. First baseman Joshua Swords found a gap on the left side of the infield for an RBI base hit to knot the score at 1-1.
 
The Bulldogs went on top in the fifth when Swords doubled home shortstop Riki Vasquez who was hit by a Will Cockrell pitch to start the inning. The Belhaven bats finally heated up in the sixth when first baseman Tyler Akins cashed in second baseman Paul Pickerrell to tie the game at 2-2.
 
The Blazers reclaimed the advantage in the seventh with two runs on the strength of three hits. With one out shortstop Josiah Richard set the table with a double followed by RBI singles from center fielder Reagan Rutledge and right fielder Emilio DeSilva. Belhaven tacked on an insurance tally in the eighth on Wilson's second RBI single of the contest.
 
Akins did the rest out of the bullpen, striking out the side in the ninth for his record setting 15th save. Austin McCann (4-1) earned the victory out of the pen thanks to a scoreless seventh frame. Ben Allison started the game and pitched three innings before giving way to Chris Good in the fourth.
 
"Our bullpen has been strong all season and they get a lot of wins for us," Denson added. "Once we get to the late innings we have confidence that our pitchers will go out there and get the job done."
 
Six Blazers had multi-hit performances at the plate on Wednesday against Tougaloo. Leftfielder Dominick Francia led the pack with three followed by Rutledge, DeSilva, Pickerrell, Wilson, and Richard with two each. Wilson had a pair of runs batted in while Akins, DeSilva, and Rutledge drove in one apiece. As a team, Belhaven outhit the Bulldogs 15-7.
 
John Alford tossed 6.1 innings for Tougaloo and was charged with the loss. He surrendered four runs on 13 hits with two strikeouts. Swords powered the Bulldog offense with two hits and two runs batted in. Vasquez ended the night with a pair of hits and two runs scored.
 
The Blazers will travel to Southern Polytechnic State University this weekend for a three game Southern States Athletic Conference series. The series opens on Friday afternoon at 1:30 PM CDT.
 
"We have to play good baseball and find a way to generate some big hits in order to be successful this weekend," Denson said. "If we play good defense, our pitchers continue to perform well, and we play our game we can hopefully come out of there with at least two out of three."