PEARL, Miss. - The Belhaven Baseball team split a pair of thrilling contests against Hanover on Saturday, falling 2-1 in 10 innings in the opener before grabbing an 8-7 walkoff win in the second game of the day.

GAME ONE

The opening game of the day proved to be a pitcher's duel throughout the contest with runs coming at a premium. Brett Sanchez put on a masterclass for the Blazers, recording a career high 16 strikeouts on the day.

The visitors would open up the scoring with a run in the top of the seventh to take a 1-0 lead. Owen Abney would answer as the Madison, Mississippi native continues to shine in big moments, launching a solo shot to tie the game in the home half of the seventh. The Blazers battled with the visitors in extras but would unfortunately fall 2-1 to a 10th inning run from Hanover.

Notable Performances

Brett Sanchez: 10.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 16 K
Owen Abney: 1-4, HR, RBI

GAME TWO

The final game of the series proved just as even and thrilling as the first two of the series. Hanover got on the board quickly with an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead in the first. The Blazers would fire back with two runs in the second to grab a 2-1 advantage over the visitors.

Eli Britt helped extend the Blazers lead as the Petal, Mississippi product drove in a run with an RBI double in the fourth. The teams traded scoreless frames in the middle innings with the Blazers still holding on to the lead.

In the top of the seventh, of what was a seven inning game, the visitors flipped a 3-1 Belhaven lead into a 5-3 Hanover advantage scoring four runs with two outs. On the wrong side of the scoreboard, the Blazers once again responded, this time picking up two runs of their own to send the game into extras.

Hanover would score twice more in the top of the 8th, putting Belhaven on the brink, but the Blazers rallied one final time as Cole Fletcher drove in a run to put the Green and Gold within a run. Then, with runners in scoring position, Josh Neutze would capitalize with a thrilling two-run walk-off hit to seal the series finale.

Notable Performances

Kade May: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 5 K
Josh Neutze: 2-4, R, 2 RBI
Eli Britt: 2-3, 2B, 3B, R, RBI
Hunter Harrell: 2-3, R, RBI

The Blazers will return to action on March 20th as they face Millsaps in the first game of the annual Cowboy Maloney Series. First pitch at Trustmark Park is set for 6:00 PM.

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