Bruins Suffer Loss to #4 Illinois State in MVC Tournament - Belmont University (2024)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - - No. 7 Belmont (26-32) faced No. 4 Illinois State in an elimination game on Wednesday morning. Stifled by Illinois State's pitching, Belmont's offense made a late comeback but ultimately suffered a 6-4 loss and were eliminated from the MVC Baseball Championship.

Bruin Bullets

• Jordan Zuger threw a season-high six innings and tied his season-high for strikeouts with five.
• Pete Daniel's RBI single brought in Belmont's first run of the game.
• Blake Barton hit an RBI double and stole a base.
• Landon Godsey launched a two-run home run in the eighth inning.

Jordan Zuger came out firing on all cylinders for the Bruins. He struck out the side in the first inning. His fifth punch out in the third inning tied a season-high set in his previous appearance against Illinois State on May 18.

B1 | How ya doin'? Zuger keeps it moving!

23 striKKKes out the side!#ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/Bgsm6VV04H

— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) May 23, 2024

End of 3 | @JordanZuger records his 5??th strikeout to end the inning.

Zug ties his season high!#ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/w92MHcj7Xe

— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) May 23, 2024

Illinois State scored two runs in the fourth inning on a pair of two-out hits. The Redbirds took a four-run lead in the sixth on a two-run home run from Noah Rabin.

Blake Barton walked with one out in the eighth inning. He stole second and scored on Pete Daniel's RBI single up the middle. Landon Godsey followed with a two-run home run to left field. Belmont trailed 4-3.

T8 | @PeteDaniel13 with the RBI single!

Bruins are on the board ??

Redbirds up 4-1. pic.twitter.com/JRTPSXVbAo

— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) May 23, 2024

T8 | @GodseyLandon with a 2-run ?? to left??

Belmont is knocking on the ?? pic.twitter.com/GD3QRaPxpr

— Belmont Baseball (@BelmontBaseball) May 23, 2024

The Redbirds scored two runs in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back solo home runs.

Belmont trailed 6-3 in the top of the ninth inning. Mason Landers singled with one out through the left side. Landers advanced to second on a ground ball to the right side. Barton brought Landers in on a two-out double down the left-field line. Belmont failed to score again and lost 6-4. Belmont's second loss of the tournament put an end to their season. The Bruins finished with a 26-32 record.

Follow Belmont baseball on social media -@BelmontBaseballon X and@belmontbaseballon Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via theofficial app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.

#ItsBruinTime