NEW ALBANY, Miss. - The Belhaven baseball team defeated Blue Mountain College 8-3 on Friday night, picking up a victory in their first Southern States Athletic Conference contest of the year. The Blazers improved to 8-2 on the season with the win, while the Toppers dropped to 6-3 overall. 

"Every win in this league is huge, so it's always nice to pick up a win in conference play," Head Coach Hill Denson said. "We started the way wanted to, and we're hoping it can carry over to tomorrow."

First baseman Adam Kowalczyk extended his hitting streak to ten games with an RBI single in the first inning before adding two more hits before the night ended. Leftfielder Dane Gecina hit his first homerun of the year in his first at-bat, a three-run shot over the wall in right-center. 

The Blazers turned to senior right hander Ben Allison on the hill, and the Batavia, Illinois native responded by pitching into the seventh inning. After scattering three earned runs over 6.1 innings, Allison turned things over to the Belhaven bullpen, who gave the Blazers another strong outing. 

Jim Tom Copeland got the Green and Gold out of a slight jam in the seventh before Zach Osha and Tanner Moulder each hurled a scoreless frame. In all, the bullpen delivered 2.2 innings without surrendering a Blue Mountain hit. 

Reed Davis took the loss for the Toppers, allowing six earned runs over six innings while walking four and fanning two. Manning James pitched the final three innings, giving up just one hit over the final third of the ballgame. 

Offensively, rightfielder Cody Shrewsbury paced the team with three RBI after a homerun in the third frame. The Blazers had more hits, walks, and stolen bases in their first road game, as well. 

Belhaven and Blue Mountain return to action with a doublheader on Saturday from BNA Park. First pitch is slated for 1:00 pm.