PEARL, Miss. - The No. 8 ranked Belhaven Baseball team was unable to hold an early lead as Rhodes used a pair of big innings to pull away for a 7-1 victory on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park.  

The Blazers fall to 14-3 overall as they now turn their focus toward the start of conference play on Friday vs. Maryville.

Belhaven had chances early and broke through first in the third inning.

After Austin Canale worked a leadoff walk and Nick Thornton followed with a single up the middle, the Blazers put immediate pressure on the Rhodes defense. Although a pickoff erased Thornton, Belhaven kept the inning alive as Blake McCarthy drew a walk to put two runners aboard.

With two outs, Hayden Roberts delivered, lining a single up the middle to score Canale and give the Blazers a 1-0 lead.  

Belhaven's pitching staff kept Rhodes in check early. Logan McNamara was sharp through the first four innings, allowing just three hits while working out of traffic in the fourth. After a pair of singles put two runners on, McNamara induced back-to-back pop ups to escape the jam and preserve the one-run lead.

The game shifted in the fifth inning.

Rhodes loaded the bases following a walk and two singles, and an RBI single tied the game at 1-1. Moments later, a two-run single into right center gave Rhodes its first lead of the night at 3-1.  

Belhaven nearly limited the damage after a fielder's choice cut down a runner at the plate, but the clutch hit with two outs proved to be the difference in the inning.

Rhodes extended its lead in the seventh inning on a two-run home run, pushing the advantage to 5-1 and putting Belhaven in a deeper hole.  

The visitors added two more runs in the eighth, capitalizing on an error and a pair of hits to stretch the lead to 7-1.

Belhaven was unable to generate offense late as Rhodes' bullpen combined to allow just one hit over the final 6.1 innings while striking out 12 hitters.

The Blazers return to action on Friday as the Blazers open conference play vs. Maryville in a three-game series. The first game will be at 6:00 PM on Friday, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday.

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