Brandon McCall went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in two runs in Belmont's 9-8 come-from-behind win against Lipscomb. Image courtesy of ASunPhotos.com
Date Posted: 5/22/2008
DeLAND, Fla. – Down by seven entering the top of the seventh, Belmont scored the final eight runs to stun top-seeded Lipscomb, 9-8, in game five of the 2008 Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship Presented by Progress Energy from Stetson’s Melching Field at Conrad Park.
No. 3 Belmont (24-33) trailed 8-1 and had registered only four hits off Lipscomb’s starter and First-Team performer Brandon McClurg when Derek Hamblen stepped to the plate with two away in the seventh. He doubled in Nate Woods and after Packy Elkins walked, Woods scored on a Brandon McCall single. Carlo Testa drove in the first of his three runs by singling home Elkins. Kyle Tognazzini replaced McClurg and temporarily quelled the rally by inducing Derek Wiley to fly out to the warning track.
After Lipscomb (29-28) went quietly in the eighth, the Bruins put together a string of seven consecutive hitters reaching base following a lead-off single by Daniel Wagner and a Woods fly out. Matt Zeblo walked; Vinny Casha reached on an infield single loading the bases for Hamblen. He delivered a single up the middle, plating Wagner. Elkins singled through the hole on left side, allowing Zeblo to score. McCall blooped a single to center as Casha scored. Chris Burnett relieved Tognazzini to face Testa. On the second pitch, Testa drove a double to right field, completing the comeback as Elkins and Hamblen scored. Testa improved to 7-for-11 (.636) with the bases loaded this season.
“We knew we could do it the whole time,” Testa said. “All we had to do was get something started. We’ve been down before, so we knew we could fight back”
The Bisons put rallies together in both their halves of the eighth and ninth innings, loading the bases with one out in the eighth against Chris Manning only to see Shane Simpkins strike out and Ryan Wilkins pop out to third. In the ninth, Branden Cadavid led off the frame with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice. However, Jo Jo Gutierrez struck out looking and Allen Bolden grounded out to short with Derek Wiley successfully scooping the throw out of the dirt to end the threat.
“For Chris Manning I couldn’t be more proud,” Belmont head coach Dave Jarvis said. “He’s had a difficult year. He’s been our closer throughout his career and done a tremendous job for us in that role and was our closer the first half of this season, but he was struggling. In all honesty, the job that he came in and did for us today is reminiscent of what he has been capable of the last two or three years.”
The Bruins advance to face Campbell in game eight of the A-Sun Championship, set for 3:00pm while Lipscomb will take on the loser of the Gardner-Webb / Stetson game at 11:00am on Friday. Both games as well as all A-Sun Championship games can be seen on ASun.TV.
Notes: The Bruins won for just the fourth time in 30 games in which they trailed after six innings and for just the third time in 28 games which they trailed after seven innings…Third seeds have won the last four meetings with the top seed…Simpkins and Wilkins are a combined 2-for-17 (.118) with the bases loaded…the one-run game marked the first of the 2008 A-Sun Championship, the second-latest into a championship for the first one-run game to occur in the last 16 years; In 2005, the first one-run game did not occur until game 7. The Bisons evened their season record with the Bruins at 2-2. They have not beaten Belmont three times in a season in baseball since 1992.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
