LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. - The No. 19 ranked Belhaven Baseball team closed out its weekend series at Covenant on Saturday, dropping a back-and-forth contest 9-7. The Blazers move to 20-8 on the season after winning the first two games of the series.  

Covenant struck first in the opening inning with a sacrifice fly, but Belhaven answered midway through the game after a quiet start.  

The Blazers broke through in the fourth. Parker Ryan and Chess Parker reached base and created pressure on the bases, leading to a run scoring on a throwing error. Moments later, another run came home on a wild pitch to even the game at 2-2.  

Covenant had taken a 3-0 lead earlier with a two-run third inning, using timely hits with runners on base, but Belhaven's response shifted the momentum back to even.  

Belhaven grabbed control in the fifth.

Blake McCarthy was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and Nick Thornton followed with a double to bring him in. After Thornton moved up on a wild pitch, Austin Canale delivered a sacrifice fly to give the Blazers a 4-3 lead.  

The pitching staff worked out of a key jam in the bottom half. With runners on and two outs, a lineout ended the threat and preserved the lead.  

Covenant answered again in the fifth and sixth innings to regain control.

After tying the game in the fifth with a run on a double, Covenant took the lead in the sixth with a two-run sequence that included an RBI extra-base hit and a run scoring on a passed ball to make it 6-4.  

Belhaven had chances to respond but was kept off the board in the sixth and seventh, stranding multiple runners.

The Blazers cut into the deficit in the eighth. Jake McCann singled, and McCarthy followed with an RBI base hit to make it 6-5 and bring the tying run into scoring position.  

Covenant responded with a decisive eighth inning, stringing together extra-base hits to plate three runs and extend the lead to 9-5.  

Belhaven made one final push in the ninth. Canale led off the inning with a solo home run, his second of the season, and later in the frame Owen Abney drove in a run with a double to cut the deficit to two. The Blazers loaded the bases to bring the tying run to the plate, but a strikeout ended the rally.  

Belhaven returns home next week to host LaGrange in a three-game series as the Blazers continue CCS play.

For the latest news on Belhaven Blazers athletics, follow @BelhavenBlazers on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook. To support Belhaven Athletics check out Team Green Giving.