JACKSON, Miss. - In almost two years of NCAA Division III for Belhaven Athletics, there have been some key contests with ranked teams and recent champions; for Belhaven baseball, they earned a taste of that Saturday afternoon at Smith-Wills Stadium, as the Blazers defeated the reigning D-III National Champions of Trinity, 10-6. 

Trinity (2-2) pecked away early in the contest, scoring one run each in the first four innings off Blazers starter Shane Brown. 

Belhaven (2-0) was unable to get anything across in the first two innings, stranding runners in scoring position in the first and runners on first and second in the second. 

In the third inning, the Blazers finally broke the shutout, sending a total of 11 batters to the plate. Ty Dean started the inning with a single up the middle. After a Terrell Hodges fielder's choice and a Stephen Sexton double, Will Costinett singled to left field to bring Hodges and Dean across.

Following a Trinity pitching change and a Trip Benson pop fly, Daniel Ammirati and Kreg Garner each reached base on a free pass. The next batter, Reed Bolton, delivered to give the Blazers the lead. He singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. Both Costinett and Ammirati scored. 

After a pitching change, Garner scored on a wild pitch. Then the Blazers' 6th run of the frame JG Miley brought home Garner on an infield hit to make it 6-3 in favor of the Green and Gold. 

After a Trinity run to cut the Blazers lead to one in the top of the fourth, the Green and Gold answered with a run of their own in the bottom half. The Blazers started the inning with a Sexton walk, a Costinett double and Benson reaching on an error. During Ammirati, at bat, a wild pitch brought home Sexton. BU led 7-4 through four innings. 

In the fifth, the Green and Gold put the game out of reach of the seventh ranked team in the country. Miley started the frame with a double to left-center field. Dean, trying to advance Miley to third, reached base on a bunt where no Tiger defender was available to cover first. Following a pitching change, Hodges smashed a two-run home run off the scoreboard in left field to put the Green and Gold in double figures for the second straight game, leading 10-4 at that point. 

The Tigers added two runs in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to four, but BU held off TU to improve to 2-0. 

Tyler Wolfe (1-0), who relieved Brown in the fifth inning, earned his first career win with the Green and Gold. 

Chase Birch cleaned up an early ninth inning mess to convert his first save of 2017. 

Trinity opened the 2017 season ranked seventh in the D3Baseball Preseason Poll and 11th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll. 

The Blazers next host McMurry for a three-game series. Friday's doubleheader is set for 4 p.m. from Smith-Wills. 

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