MARSHALL, Texas – The Belhaven Blazers Softball team officially opened up its NCAA and ASC eras on Friday with a 10-6 victory over No. 4 ranked East Texas Baptist University in an offensive showdown.
 
Senior Carly Yasses led the charge for the Blazers, knocking in five runs, with a 3-for-4 day at the plate.
 
Eight different Blazers had hits in the game and five different Blazers knocked in runs.
 
"We played with a ton of confidence tonight," said head coach Kevin Griffin. "The competition we've played in year's past really helped us.  ETBU is a great team and when you play quality opponents like them, you want the game to slow down for you.  I thought we executed about as good as we could in RBI situations.  To beat great teams, that's the way you have to play the game."
 
Yasses started the scoring in the top of the first with a two-RBI single that scored Brooke Laigast and Dani Craft.
 
Craft and Laigast would then both pick up RBI singles n the second inning, which put Belhaven ahead 4-1.
 
After ETBU tied things up in the bottom of the second, it was Yasses driving in another run with her bat, hitting a solo homerun to give the Blazers a 5-4 lead.
 
Belhaven wasn't finished in the inning, as Taylor O'Dell had an RBI single that scored Savannah Lyon and put the Green and Gold up 6-4.
 
ETBU would get one run back in the third and add another run in the fourth to tie things at six.
 
After a scoreless fifth inning, the Blazers took control in the sixth. First, Makenzie Hawkins hit a two-RBI single with the bases loaded that scored Craft and Hannah Holloway.
 
Yasses then capped off the game in the next at bat, picking up her third hit to score Laigast and Hawkins and give the Blazers a 10-6 lead.
 
Laigast also had a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, to go along with her two runs scored.
 
Julienne Broussard struggled in the circle early on, but silenced the high-powered offense of the Lady Tigers over the final three innings to help the Blazers to the victory. Broussard tossed all seven innings, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits. She also had three strikeouts in the game.
 
The Blazers will return to Taylor Field tomorrow to play games two and three against East Texas Baptist. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.