Eastern Kentucky University won its second consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference baseball series with an 11-3 victory over Bellarmine on May 15. The Colonels have now taken the first two games of the series and have won six of their last eight contests.
This win is significant for Eastern Kentucky, as it continues a strong run in conference play and improves their recent record. The final game of the series has been rescheduled to Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Colonels started quickly, scoring five runs on seven hits in the first inning. With two outs, David Alvarez singled through the left side after having five hits in game one. Khaleel Pratt followed by hitting a home run to right field, giving Eastern Kentucky a 2-0 lead. Ricco Longo and Jackson Cauthron then hit back-to-back singles, followed by three more singles from Silas Shaffer, Julius Scearce, and Kobe Benson that each drove in a run for a 5-0 advantage.
Alvarez and Pratt contributed again during a three-run second inning. After Dylan Littlefield was hit by a pitch to start the frame, Alvarez doubled him home before Pratt tripled down the right field line and later scored on Cauthron’s sacrifice fly to make it an 8-0 game.
Bellarmine (19-33 overall) scored its first run in the fourth inning with AJ Swader’s solo home run but could not close the gap significantly. In response, Longo added another run for Eastern Kentucky with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Alvarez finished his night going four-for-four at bat with three runs scored and three RBIs; he also hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to extend EKU’s lead further.
Pratt went two-for-three with a walk, home run, two runs scored, and three RBIs while Scearce collected three hits as well. Starting pitcher Jack Briese allowed just one run on five hits over five innings without issuing any walks and striking out two batters.
