Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Belhaven baseball team (40-17, 18-13 SSAC) picked up a key victory in the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday, defeating Auburn University-Montgomery by a final of 5-4. The Warhawks (28-24, 14-17 SSAC) now will take on the top-seeded Faulkner Eagles on Friday afternoon, with the loser going home and the winner playing the Blazers at 7:00 Friday evening.

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"Our guys scared me the whole night, but this was a typical game for us," Belhaven Head Coach Hill Denson said. "The great thing about this ball club is that we keep finding ways to win."

Belhaven started the scoring in the second inning, when Brayden Dykes followed a three-base error with an RBI single. Another error in the third frame allowed Michael Wurster and Paul Pickerell each to score, and Pickerrell's fourth-inning sac fly ended the Blazers' scoring for the night.

Trailing 5-0, the Warhawks began to chip away in the bottom of the fifth, plating two runs before repeating the feat two innings later. A 5-4 deficit was much more manageable, but AUM went in order in the bottom of the ninth, giving Belhaven their second victory of the tournament in as many days.

Boomer Scarborough (9-6) turned in a strong pitching performance for the Blazers, surrendering two unearned runs and striking out seven through his six innings of work. Andrew Gunn allowed the only other two Warhawk runs in the seventh but managed to get through the inning with the lead intact. Left hander Josh Rogers overcame a base hit in the eighth, turning things over to a familiar face in an unfamiliar situation. A night after throwing more than 130 pitches as a starter, the Blazers elected not to use Tyler Akins and instead went with Austin McCann. The sidewinding sophomore responded with a perfect ninth and recorded his first save of the year.

AUM's Richard Nason (6-7) no-hit Belhaven for more than seven innings last Thursday, but this Thursday night proved to be a much different situation. After allowing six hits and four unearned runs, the righty was chased after just three innings. Daniel Farrar was the first man out of the Warhawk bullpen, surrendering the final Belhaven run before Chance Hicks and Britt Wilson combined for the final five innings. The Blazers' offense was held in check for the most part, but AUM was unable to overcome five defensive blunders in the field.

Individually, Dykes paced the Belhaven lineup with two base hits and a pair of runs driven in, while James Peterson contributed two singles of his own. Pickerrell, Hunter Sutton, and Dominick Francia each added a hit, while Akins, Pickerrell and Reagan Rutledge combined to draw seven walks.

Middle infielders Lance Wilson and Trevor Sprowl each gave the Warhawks a pair of hits, with the former driving in three of the team's four runs in the contest. Auburn University-Montgomery swiped three bags in their first loss of the tournament but were bested by Belhaven's five as a team.

The Warhawks now will have to defeat the tournament's top seed for the second time in three days if they are to earn another shot against the undefeated Blazers. Regardless of opponent, Belhaven will play at 7:00 Friday night from Patterson Field.

"Everybody in this tournament can beat everybody else, and tomorrow is just another game," Denson said. "We have to play one at a time and hopefully we can keep rolling."