Belmont edges Little Rock in low-scoring affair; series concludes Sunday

Runs were hard to come by for both teams during Saturday's contest at Gary Hogan Field, but visiting Belmont managed to edge out Little Rock for a 3-2 victory. The finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1:05 pm and will be available for live streaming on ESPN+.
 
The Trojans (5-9) and Bruins (4-11) combined for just a dozen hits as pitchers from both sides kept offense to a premium. Each team went scoreless during the front three and back three innings, with all five runs in the game coming during the middle frames.
 
Brody Bunting (1-3) had a strong start despite the loss, throwing 4.1 innings with four strikeouts while giving up just five hits, three runs and five walks. Joe Ruzicka (1-1) got the win for Belmont, tossing six strong innings with just three hits and one earned run allowed. The Trojans got top quality relief outings from both Malcolm Brown (4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) and Preston Davis, who entered in the ninth and got Little Rock out of a jam with consecutive strikeouts.
 
Belmont opened the scoring with a run-scoring double in the fourth, but Sammy Harris tied the game in the bottom half on a single to center field that sent Ryan Geck across the plate. The Bruins quickly responded with two more runs in the fifth for a 3-1 lead, and the Trojans answered in the sixth on run by Cooper Chaplain.
 
Little Rock had the tying run at second in the ninth as Geck led off the inning with a single before advancing on a sacrifice bunt by Aiden McGinnis. But pinch hitter Jayce Blalock grounded out and Andrew Pickering hit into a game-ending fielder's choice.
 
Chaplain, Geck and Harris each had a hit in the game. Zach Henry also had a hit before leaving the game in the middle innings after coming up with a lower body injury after hustling for a fly ball. Reed Willbanks replaced him and finished with a hit.