EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Belhaven Baseball team opened up their first ever NCAA Regional appearance with a historic win, taking down familiar foe Rhodes 14-1, behind an early offensive outburst and dominant pitching from Kade May.

After May delivered a shutdown top of the 1st inning, JD Weed wasted no time jump-starting the Blazers' bats, smashing a solo home run to right center field to open the scoring. Later in the frame, Austin Canale would launch the first homer of his Belhaven career, a grand slam to center field, and cap off a five-run first for Belhaven.

Kade May would continue to cruise on the mound while getting consistent in insurance from his offense. Tristan Pearson tacked on a run in the 2nd with an RBI single and then grabbed another RBI knock in the 4th. 

Belhaven would put the game away in the 6th and 7th, putting up multi-run frames in each inning. Belhaven plated three runs in the 6th taking advantage of some small ball hits and a couple of defensive miscues by Rhodes. Blake McCarthy would then help put the exclamation point on the win with a two-RBI hit in the 7th.

Kade May allowed just one run in the 4th en route to a complete game victory over the Lynx. His 10 strikeouts ties his career-high and sets a new high mark for the Florence native in the 2025 campaign.

Key Performances

Kade May (W, 8-1): 9.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 10 K
Hunter Harrell: 3-5, 2 2B, RBI
Tristan Pearson: 2-5, 2 RBI
Austin Canale: 2-5, HR, 5 RBI
Blake McCarthy: 2-2, 2 RBI, BB

The victory is a historic one for the Blazers, marking their first ever in the NCAA Tournament. It also sets the Blazers up with a winner's bracket game on Saturday against host Webster, the top seeded team in the regional. First pitch is set for 3:30 PM and the winner will book their spot in the Regional Final.

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