Bullpen Throws Five Shutout Innings, but Baseball's Winning Streak Halted in Series Finale at Belmont

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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Three Morehead State pitchers combined to shut out host Belmont for its final five at-bats Sunday, but the Eagle offense was also held in check as MSU fell 4-2 to Belmont at Rose Park.

The Eagles, who still won the series, moved to 13-6 overall and 5-1 in the OVC. Belmont is now 8-10 overall and 3-3 in the conference race.

"I still like the way our club is coming together," said head coach Mike McGuire. "We didn't get enough quality at-bats today, but I felt like we still hit the ball well especially in the middle innings. We hit several deep balls but didn't get anything to show for it because the ballpark played big today. Our bullpen is coming together nicely. We now have several options down there who we can use for specific matchups I feel."

Freshman Jake Zielgelmeyer tossed three scoreless frames, while junior Seth Boyle and senior Cable Wright stymied Belmont for the final two innings. Starter Curtis Wilson (2-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing four total runs (three in the first inning) and seven hits.

Morehead State trimmed its deficit to 4-2 in the seventh as sophomore catcher Hunter Fain scored when junior Eli Boggess was hit by a pitch from Klay Klotz with the bases loaded. A fielder's choice ground out by sophomore shortstop Reid Leonard pushed across the final Eagle tally.

Connor Etheridge recorded seven of the Bruin pitchers' eight strikeouts in moving to 2-0 on the year.

Senior centerfielder Ryan Kent collected half (three) of the Eagles' hits as he moved to third place on the MSU all-time singles list with 160. Fain had two hits, and junior Chase Teter had a late-inning double down the right field line.

Morehead State steps out of league play Tuesday at Ohio University. Game time is set for 3 p.m. ET.