Friday, May 27, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Derek Hamblen’s two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth lifted No. 6 seed Belmont to a 6-4 victory against fourth-seeded Mercer on the third day of the Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship on Friday at Lipscomb’s Dugan Field.

The Bruins (35-24) advance to their first tournament championship game since 2007 with two chances of capturing their first A-Sun tournament title. They will play Mercer, Jacksonville or Stetson at 1 p.m. CT Saturday. The Bears (38-19) will play the winner of the Stetson-Jacksonville matchup at 7 p.m. CT on Friday.

With the victory, Belmont set a program record for wins in a season and became the first sixth seed to reach the championship round since Jacksonville in 2003. The Dolphins also won the crown that year but the Bruins will attempt to become the first No. 6 seed to go undefeated in the tournament since UCF in 1997.

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Read the Atlantic Sun Insider Column: Belmont's Run Highlights A-Sun Depth

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Belmont’s Jon Ivie had to wriggle out of a ninth-inning jam. With runners on first and second and one out, Jacob Tanis flied out to deep right center for the second out. Pinch-runner Nate Moorhouse was at first but had rounded second base on the fly out. He headed back to first to avoid getting doubled off at first, but as he came back around he apparently failed to touch the bag, which by rule he has to if he already crossed second. Belmont appealed the play and first baseman Josh Davis tagged Moorhouse to end the game.

The drama-filed ninth inning opened with Belmont’s Hamblen, the team’s lead-off hitter, smoking a pitch from Mercer closer J.T. Odom for a two-run home run over the left-field wall. The home run, his 11th of the season was the third of the game for the Bruins.

Mercer scored single runs in the first, second and fourth innings to take a 3-1 lead. But Belmont tied it with Matt Zeblo’s two-run home run in the sixth inning off Russell Moses. Zeblo has two home runs, five hits and six RBI in three tournament games. The Bruins took their first lead of the game in the seventh on an RBI-groundout by Dylan Craig. Mercer got the run back though when pinch-hitter Matthew Black delivered a two-out single to score Tanis in the eighth.

Garrett Fanchier (3-3) picked up the win, pitching 2 2/3 innings in relief of starting pitcher Nate Woods. The right-hander allowed just one run on one hit with two strikeouts and two walks. Ivie earned his 12th save and Odom (2-2) collected the loss. Odom has pitched in all three games of the tournament, striking out eight and allowing just two hits and two runs in seven innings of work.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts five of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.