NASHVILLE, Tenn.—A pair of big fifth innings did in the visiting University of Evansville baseball team on Saturday, as the Belmont Bruins were able to sweep a doubleheader from UE by scores of 13-12 and 7-6 at Shelby Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

Belmont used a seven-run fifth inning in the first game of the doubleheader to grab an early 9-4 lead, before eventually winning the opener in the bottom of the ninth on a passed ball with two outs. The Bruins would then rally from an early 3-0 deficit in the nightcap with a six-run fifth inning en route to a 7-6 victory and a series sweep over UE.

 

“The big innings really hurt us today,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “In both games, we were able to jump out early and grab an early lead, only to give up those two big innings and then we had to play from behind the rest of the way.

 

“The guys really battled back today and fought hard, but it is tough to have to dig out of a big hole with only three or four innings to do it in. Still, despite the losses today, there were a lot of positives on the weekend. We just need to build off of those positives and learn from our mistakes and not repeat them as we go along. It’s a 56-game season, so there is still plenty of baseball left to be played.”

 

In the opener, Evansville jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by freshman catcher Chris Pearson, his first as a Purple Ace. UE would take a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, when Belmont exploded for seven runs in the frame to grab a 9-4 lead.

 

UE would quickly answer back to tie the game at 9-9 with a five-run sixth inning thanks to RBI base hits by junior outfielders Greg Wallace and Nate Smith, sophomore second baseman Trentt Copeland, and junior third baseman Cody Fick. The Bruins would answer back with a run in the bottom of the sixth to retake the lead, before the two teams traded two-run frames in the seventh. UE would tie the game in the eighth on another RBI single by Copeland, but the Bruins would snap a 12-12 tie in the bottom of the ninth with a passed ball with a runner on third and two outs.

 

In the nightcap, Evansville would once again jump to a 3-0 lead with a three-run third inning highlighted by back-to-back RBI doubles by Copeland and senior first baseman Tom Heithoff. Belmont would get a run back in the fourth inning on a solo home run by catcher Vinny Casha, before once again exploding in the fifth inning with six runs to take a 7-3 lead. UE would battle back with a solo home run in the seventh inning by Heithoff and back-to-back RBI base hits by senior outfielder Alex Acheson and freshman shortstop Eric Stamets in the eighth inning to trim the Belmont lead to 7-6, but the Bruins’ Tim Egerton struck out UE’s Shawn Kuester in the bottom of the ninth inning and the potential tying run on third base to secure the victory.

 

With the doubleheader sweep, Belmont swept the season-opening three-game series from UE. The Purple Aces will go in search of their first victory of 2010 next weekend, when UE travels south to Macon, Georgia to battle Mercer in a four-game series. The series begins Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.