PULASKI, Tenn. – The Belhaven baseball team split a conference doubleheader with Martin Methodist College on Friday, taking the opener 4-3 before falling 17-5 in the nightcap. The Blazers now stand at 27-16 on the season, including a 10-12 mark in Southern States Athletic Conference Action.
Ben Allison (6-2) started Game 1 on the hill for the Blazers, allowing just two earned runs on eight Redhawk hits while striking out six and walking one.
Zach Osha came on in the bottom of the sixth, earning a four-out save (8) to help Belhaven hang on to win 4-3.
James Peterson was the only hitter in the Belhaven lineup with a multi-hit game, while
Emilio DeSilva and
Adam Kowalczyk were the only ones credited with an RBI. The Blazers were outhit 8-7 but held on for their tenth conference victory.
Jake Shadix took his first loss of the season after pitching all seven innings for the home nine. The right hander allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out five, but his offense came up short.
The nightcap proved to be a much different story, as Belhaven's only offense came on home runs from
Gabe Wilson and Kowalczyk. The latter extended his hitting streak to nine games, two ahead of Peterson for the team lead.
Martin Methodist (19-12, 8-8 SSAC) combined eight walks with a dozen hits, including two home runs from Seth Staggs and another from Pat Lecroy. The Redhawks saw half of their hits go for extra bases, allowing the offense to carry them to a convincing conference win.
Starting pitcher
Chase Davidson took the loss for the Blazers, lasting just an inning before turning things over to the bullpen. Belhaven tallied seven pitchers in the run-rule shortened game, with the only scoreless frames coming from
Will Cockrell,
Jacob Byrd, and
Michael Wurster.
Blake Beavers improved to 7-1 for Martin Methodist, allowing five runs while striking out five through the first five innings of the game. Over the final two frames, Morgan Wilson surrendered just one hit, and the Redhawks maintained a .500 conference record.
The Blazers and Redhawks are slated to wrap up their three-game series on Saturday from Pulaski, Tennessee. First pitch is set for 1:00 pm.
