The Skyhawk baseball squad (9-11) traveled to the Music City to take on the Belmont Bruins (8-12) on their home turf, but an offensive surge by Belmont in the third and fourth innings proved to be too much for the Skyhawks to overcome in a 9-8 loss.
Freshman designated hitter (DH) Christian Hall was the most productive bat for the Skyhawks’ offense, as Hall led the team with four RBIs and crossed home base twice, in addition to being one of the four Skyhawks to record two hits. Senior OF Sean Dixson also had a solid outing, recording two hits and two runs at four at-bats.
For the Bruins, the star of the show was infielder (IF) Brodey Heaton, as the first baseman recorded four RBIs, two hits, and a run at four at-bats. Fellow IF Logan Jarvis and OF Carson Shacklett both recorded two runs each.
The Skyhawks struck first, with junior IF Casey Harford RBI-single to Belmont’s short stop (SS) was enough for Dixson to cross home plate for an early 1-0 lead. Junior IF Blake Daniels’ RBI-single to right field in the second inning sent junior OF Houston Wright home to push the Skyhawks to 2-0, but this lead would soon be blown out of the water.
After Bruins’ DH Drew Lowry stole home in the bottom of the second to close the gap to 1-2, the Skyhawks’ failed to respond in the top of the third. Shacklett opened the bottom of the third with a single, but he would advance to third after two sacrifice hits. IF Brody Heaton’s RBI-single to third sent Shacklett home and allowed Jarvis to advance to third. With Belmont in another scoring position, the Skyhawks sent freshman right-handed pitcher (RHP) Eli Martin out to relieve fellow freshman RHP Ryan Insco.
Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, the substitution proved ineffective. Belmont IF Jack Capobianco doubled to left field at the next at-bat to send Heaton and Jarvis home. After a walk, a flyout to center field ended the inning for the Skyhawks, who were now down 2-4.
After another uneventful inning for the Skyhawks, the Bruins once again poured on the runs in the bottom of the fourth. Martin struggled, allowing a run and a bases-loaded scenario before senior RHP Matthew Shunk relieved him. Still with no outs, Shunk walked the next Belmont batter to send another Bruin home. Disaster struck at the following at-bat, as Heaton’s triple-RBI to left-center put Belmont up 9-2. Capobianco flew out at the following at-bat, prompting Shunk to strike out the next two batters to get the Skyhawks out of that nightmare inning.
The fifth inning saw the bats go quiet for both teams, but Hall’s double-RBI home run in the sixth inning sparked some life back into the Skyhawks. Hall once again struck in the seventh inning with a double-RBI single to close UTM’s gap to 6-9. The Skyhawks managed to narrow their deficit to 8-9 after freshman OF Wil Lafollette smashed a double-RBI homer in the seventh.
The Skyhawks were one the precipice of tying the game in the final inning as freshman IF Will Smith advanced to third off a wild pitch. However, two straight outs by UTM ended the team’s chance of a comeback, and the Skyhawks fell 8-9.
Insco (0-1), who struck out three but allowed four earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched, was given the loss. Freshman RHP Reed Tucker was the strongest Skyhawk pitcher of the game, allowing zero runs and striking out three in four innings pitched.
The Skyhawks will next travel to Thibodaux, Louisiana to take on Nichols State (11-12) in a three-game series spanning from April 1-3.
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