JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven baseball team earned a split in Friday's doubleheader at Smith-Wills Stadium, defeating Hardin-Simmons in the opener 7-0 before losing 13-4 in the nightcap. 

In game one, the Blazers got on the board in the second inning. The inning started with back-to-back doubles by Stephen Sexton and Daniel Ammirati. After the Queens, N.Y. native brought Sexton home, Julyan Urena moved him over to third base on a bunt. Kreg Garner brought Ammirati home on an RBI single. 

In the bottom of the third, the Green and Gold added two more runs in the frame. After a JG Miley and Ty Dean reaching on an error and a stolen base to put runners at second and third, Terrell Hodges had an opportunity to score a run 90 feet away, but a shallow fly ball to center field kept the runners put. However, Sexton got the ball deep enough to right field for Miley to score on the sac fly. 

Ammirati brought home Dean on an RBI single to give the Green and Gold the 4-0 advantage through three innings. 

The Blazers would add three insurance runs late in the contest. In the fifth, Urena delivered an RBI single, but in the sixth, Ryan Wesson put the game out of reach with a two-run dinger to left field for his first Blazer home run to make it 7-0. 

Tanner Cable (1-0) had yet another improving start and missed the complete game shutout by two-thirds of an inning. The Southaven, Miss. native posted 6.1 scoreless innings, striking out a season-best eight batters, while allowing five hits and three walks. Austin Douglas completed the contest by getting Taylor Cooling to ground into the inning-ending double play to secure the first game. 

In game two, the bats of Hardin-Simmons came to life. After a scoreless first, the Cowboys (4-5, 1-1) got a leadoff triple by Cody Berryman. HSU scored the run off a sacrifice fly. 

The floodgates broke open for the HSU offense in the middle innings, scoring a combined eight runs, including five in the fifth inning to lead 9-0 through five innings. 

In the sixth, BU (6-3, 1-1) would chip into the lead and break the shutout. With Hodges and Dean at second and third, respectively, Sexton delivered the first run of the game with an RBI single. 

After an Ammirati walk and a Cowboys pitching change, Gabe Veith earned a pinch hit RBI single to bring home Hodges for the second run of the frame. 

Trip Benson would deliver a fielder's choice to bring in Sexton for the third run, and an errant throw by HSU's second baseman brought Ammirati home for the fourth run. 

However, the Cowboys would prevail with two runs each in the seventh and the ninth. 

Shane Brown (1-1) took the loss for BU in the nightcap, going 2.2 innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs and struck out three.

The Blazers will look to take the rubber match on Saturday against the Cowboys. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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