NEW ALBANY, Miss. - The Belhaven baseball team salvaged a split in Saturday's doubleheader to improve to 2-1 in Southern States Athletic Conference play and 9-3 overall. The Blazers dropped the first game against Blue Mountain College by a tally of 6-5 before responding with a convincing 19-4 victory in the nightcap.
"We wanted to sweep this first series, but we will settle for winning two out of three," Head Coach
Hill Denson said. "I would like to see us become more consistent, but we're pleased with the way we've started."
Adam Kowalczyk and Dan Ammirati each hit their first Belhaven home runs in Game One, while
Reagan Rutledge contributed two singles from the leadoff spot.
Joey Harris drove in two runs on a double down the right field line to tie the game at five apiece in the top of the seventh, but the Toppers stormed back in the bottom half to claim the 6-5 victory.
Zach Osha was hit with the loss in Game One as the fifth Blazer pitcher of the contest, despite not allowing an earned run. Jose Delmar recorded only two outs for the Toppers but picked up the home team's only win of the series on the mound.
A day after being held hitless, designated hitter Leo Delmar paced the Toppers with three base hits. Catcher Cole McBride added a pair of doubles, driving in a run on each occassion.
The offense erupted for the Blazers in the nightcap, as the team combined 16 hits with 11 walks to score 19 runs, a new season high. Kowalczyk, Harris, and Sutton each drove in three runs, while Belhaven matched their 2014 season total for home runs with
Will Mullen's two-run shot in the fifth.
Offensively for Blue Mountain, shortstop Brandon Berry was the only player with a multi-hit game, driving in two runs from the leadoff spot. Southpaw Collin McRory got saddled with the loss after surrendering five earned runs on four hits and five walks through the first 4.2 innings.
Belhaven returns to action on Tuesday, when they will travel to Lousiana to take on LSU-Alexandria in non-conference play. First pitch is slated from 4:00 pm.
