JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven University baseball team split the first two games of a doubleheader against ASC conference opponent Howard Payne on Friday night.
The Blazers won in game one by a score of 8-0, and then slipped in game two 8-5.
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INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Belhaven 8, Howard Payne 0 (Game one) Â Â Howard Payne 8, Belhaven 5 (Game two)
Records: Belhaven 4-11, (2-6, ASC) | HPU 9-3 (1-1, ASC)
Location:Â Smith-Wills Stadium | Jackson, Miss. |
Get Social: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram | @BelhavenBlazers | www.blazers.belhaven.edu
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- Game one
- With two outs in the first inning, a Will Costinett double allowed Blazers catcher Kreg Garner to score from first base, giving the green and gold a 1-0 lead.
- Third Baseman, Josh King, drove in Trip Benson from third base with an RBI single to left center, extending the lead to 2-0.
- After a steal attempt that put Justin Acevedo in scoring territory, Kreg Garner doubled to left field, scoring Acevedo from second base and pushing the lead to 3-0.
- Miscommunication in the field by the Yellowjackets helped allow Kreg Garner to score from third base on a missed fly ball in shallow left field. The Blazers took a 4-0 lead on the error.
- Aggressive base running from left fielder Justin Acevedo helped aid Belhaven in jumping out to a 5-0 lead.
- Three more runs crossed the board in the bottom half of the sixth inning with the help of a wild pitch and a single from Justin Acevedo that scored two runs on the hit. At the end of six, the Blazers led 8-0.
- Belhaven went on to win game one by a final score of 8-0.
- Game two
- The YellowJackets jumped off to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning from a two run home run off the bat of Blake Laney.
- The Blazers answered in the bottom half of the first when a Kreg Garner single to centerfield scored Evan Moore to make the score 2-1.
- Ben Lewis added another home run for the YellowJackets in the top half of the second inning to bring the YellowJackets lead to 3-1.
- A Tucker Calhoun score in the bottom half of the third inning cut the YellowJacket lead down to 3-2 after a fielders choice.
- Belhaven tied things up at 3-3 in the fourth inning when Cale Hollingsworth flew out to right field, scoring Colton Fontana from third base.
- Blake Laney singled up the middle, scoring Jacob Rodriquez to give Howard Payne the 4-3 advantage.
- In the top half of the seventh inning, the YellowJackets added two more runs to their lead, giving them a 6-3 lead.
- The momentum began to slightly shift in the bottom of the eighth inning, as a sac fly to right field from Justin Acevedo allowed two runs to score, with the help of a throwing error. The runs brought Belhaven back within one run, 6-5.
-Â Jacob Rodriquez of Howard Payne singled to right field in the ninth inning, pushing one more run across the board to make the score 7-5. A wild pitch added one more run to the board for the Yellowjackets in the ninth inning. Â
- Howard Payne claimed the victory in game two, 8-5.
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KEY STATISTICS
- Game one
- Justin Acevedo batted 3-for-4, two runs scored, two RBIs, and two stolen bases.
- Kreg Garner finished 1-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored, one RBI, one walk, and a double.
- Josh King, Will Costinett, and Trip Benson each collected a hit and an RBI.
- David Hall (1-3) earned the start an the win on the mound. Hall pitched a complete game and allowed four hits, two walks, no runs, and struck out seven batters.
- Belhaven hit three doubles as a team and collected seven total hits.
- Game two
- Kreg Garner ended game two 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base.
- Tucker Calhoun batted 2-for-4 and had two runs scored.
- Will Costinett, Antoine Watts, and Evan Moore each had one hit. Moore walked twice in the ball game and scored two runs.
- The Blazers collected seven hits as a team in game two.
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UP NEXT
Belhaven will play at Smith-Wills tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. for the series finale against Howard Payne University.
For the latest news on Belhaven Blazers athletics, follow @BelhavenBlazers on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
