MARSHALL, Texas – Belhaven (3-2) dropped the series opener on Friday night, falling 11-3 to No. 10 East Texas Baptist (2-5) at Woods Field at Tiger Ballpark. Despite a late push in the eighth inning, Belhaven was unable to overcome an early deficit as ETBU earned the series-opening win.

The Tigers struck first in the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to take an early lead. The hosts continued to apply pressure, adding another run in the second and extending their lead to 4-0 by the fourth inning.

Belhaven's offense remained quiet until the sixth when Tristan Pearson walked and later scored on a two-out double by Cole Fletcher. However, ETBU responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh to maintain control.

The Blazers made their biggest push in the eighth. Trey Flettrich's RBI double and Hunter Harrell's RBI triple cut the deficit to 6-3, but hopes of a comeback were dashed when ETBU exploded for five runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Belhaven finished the game with nine hits, led by multi-hit performances from Harrell (2-for-4) and Blake McCarthy (2-for-4).

The Blazers and Tigers will battle tomorrow in a doubleheader starting at 11:00 AM.

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