PEARL, Miss. - Facing elimination, Belhaven didn't waste any time taking control. The Blazers broke things open in the middle innings and rolled past Asbury, 17-1, Thursday afternoon at Trustmark Park to stay alive in the CCS Tournament. With the win, Belhaven advances and will return to action Saturday against an opponent to be determined.
For the first three innings, it felt like a tight postseason game. Belhaven scratched across the first run in the third after
Jake McCann worked a walk, stole second, and came around on an RBI groundout from
Nick Thornton. That gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead, but it was still anyone's game.
The fourth inning is where everything changed. Belhaven sent traffic to the bases immediately, loading them before breaking through.
JD Weed brought in a run with a single, and moments later McCann delivered again with a two-run double into the gap.
Blake McCarthy followed with another extra-base hit, and Thornton capped the surge with an RBI single. By the time the inning ended, Belhaven had scored six runs and turned a one-run game into a 7-0 lead.
Any momentum Asbury had was gone, and the Blazers weren't finished. Belhaven put the game out of reach in the fifth with its biggest inning of the day. It started with
Chess Parker driving in a run on a double, followed by another RBI single from Weed. McCann stayed hot with a base hit, and McCarthy came through again with a run-scoring double. Thornton added a two-run single, and the lineup kept turning over.
Austin Canale knocked in a run,
Parker Ryan drew a bases-loaded walk, and a sacrifice RBI pushed the total even higher.
By the end of the inning, Belhaven had scored eight runs and built a 15-0 lead.
On the mound,
Hayden Roberts gave Belhaven exactly what it needed in an elimination game.
The right-hander worked five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while navigating traffic in a couple of spots. His biggest moment came in the fourth, when Asbury loaded the bases with two outs. Roberts stayed composed and got out of the inning without damage to keep the lead intact. Asbury managed its lone run in the sixth after a leadoff walk and a wild pitch helped push a run across, but Belhaven quickly shut things down from there.
The bullpen took over and kept things clean. A key double play in the sixth helped erase another potential threat and kept the game firmly in Belhaven's control.
Belhaven added two more runs in the sixth to close out the scoring. McCann picked up another hit to start the inning, and Canale drove him in with an RBI single. A sacrifice fly later in the frame brought home another run to make it 17-1. McCarthy led the way with three hits and three RBI, while McCann had a four-hit day with four runs scored and two RBI. Thornton drove in four runs, and multiple hitters added multi-hit performances as Belhaven kept pressure on throughout the afternoon.
Belhaven keeps its season going and will return to the field Saturday in another elimination game, with the opponent still to be determined.
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