JACKSON, Miss. - After falling behind 7-0 in the first inning and later trailing 13-6 in the eighth inning, the Blazers baseball team pulled off the extra-inning victory in incredible comeback fashion against the Mississippi University for Women Owls, 14-13 on Wednesday night.
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INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Belhaven 14, MUW 13 (11 Innings)
Records: Belhaven 9-20 | MUW 17-11
Location: Smith Wills Stadium | Jackson, Miss.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- An error-plagued first inning quickly saw the Owls jump out to a commanding 7-0 lead. MUW added one more run in the bottom of the second inning to extend its lead to 8-0.
- With the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning, Evan Moore was hit by a pitch, keeping the bases loaded and scoring the first run of the game. Belhaven added two more runs to cut the MUW lead to 8-3 at the end of two.
- In the third inning, Tucker Calhoun singled to right field, scoring Will Costinett on the base hit. The Blazers trailed 8-4.
- The Owls Damian Benefield made the score 9-4 after hitting a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning
- Will Costinett hit into a fielders choice to the shortstop in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring Colton Fontana to bring the score back within four runs, 9-5.
- MUW put together a two-run sixth inning to give the Owls the 11-5 advantage.
- Belhavens Drew Bellipanni helped erase one of the two runs the Owls got in the top half of the sixth, by hitting an inside the park home run to centerfield. The home run put the Blazers behind 11-6.
- The Owls struck back once again, this time with a two-run double from Prince Tolbert to increase the MUW lead to 13-6 in the eighth inning.
- With the help of three hit by pitches, four singles, a double, and a couple of sac hits, the Blazers marked an incredible two-inning comeback in the eighth and ninth inning to tie the ballgame up at 13-13 and force extra innings.
- In the eleventh inning, Justin Acevedo reached first with a one-out walk and later stole second base to get into scoring position with one away. Reed Bolton delivered a one-out single through the left side of the field, scoring Acevedo from second and giving the Blazers the 14-13 comeback victory.
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KEY STATISTICS
- The Blazers scored seven runs in the eighth and ninth inning to tie the ballgame up and force extra innings.
- Belhaven tallied 17 hits as a team in the contest. Colton Fontana paved the way for the green and gold offensively, batting 4-for-6 with three runs scored and an RBI.
- Trip Benson, Justin Acevedo, Antoine Watts, each finished 2-for-5 at the plate. Tucker Calhoun also had two hits, finishing 2-for-4 on the day.
- Will Costinett was 1-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Costinett was also hit by a pitch two times in the contest. The Blazers were hit by a pitch a total of seven times in the game.
- Drew Bellipanni had one hit, which was an inside the park home run in the sixth inning.
- Reed Bolton had the game-winning hit in the bottom of the eleventh inning. He was 1-for-1 with two RBIs.
- Belhaven hit .386 as a team (17-for-44) against MUW.
- The Blazers pitching staff struck out a total of eleven batters on the afternoon. Tyler Dowdy (2-0) picked up the victory in relief.
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UP NEXT
Belhaven will stay at home this weekend to begin a three-game series against ASC opponent LeTourneau University. The Blazers and the Yellow Jackets will play a doubleheader beginning Friday with the first pitch slated for 3:00 p.m. David Hall and Hunter Sanford are the anticipated starters for the Blazers.
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