PEARL, Miss. – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas returned to winning ways Friday as they swept a doubleheader at Belhaven.
UST won both games by identical 7-6 scores, though the games themselves proved to be very different. The Celts came from behind in a back-and-forth game in the opener, while game two saw the visitors jump out to a 7-0 lead before Belhaven attempted a comeback in the late innings that fell short.
With the wins, UST (4-10) claimed their first series victory since the final three-game series in 2021 when the Celts took two out of three from Schreiner at the University of Houston's Schroeder Park.
The Celts also handed Belhaven (7-7) its first series loss since the Blazers were swept at East Texas Baptist to open the season.
St. Thomas and Belhaven conclude their series Saturday at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
GAME ONE: Celts 7, Belhaven 6
The Celts snapped their five-game losing streak against fellow NCAA Division III opponents as they outlasted the Blazers 7-6 in a seven-inning contest.
Cameron McClure and Tristan Pitkin batted in two runs apiece to lead the Celts to the win. The Celts knocked ten hits in the game, with eight of the team's starting nine collecting hits in the opener.
Starting pitcher Landon Murray brushed aside defensive miscues behind him and came away with a well-deserved victory for the Celts. The junior from Spring, Texas, scattered nine hits and allowed only one earned run while striking out five batters over six and two-thirds innings. Caleb Desilets induced a flyball out on Belhaven's final batter to pick up the save.
After falling behind 3-0 after two innings, the Celts responded with three runs of their own in the top of the third, with Pitkin hitting home two of those runs with a triple to right-centerfield that scored Noah Martinez and Kyle Bearden. Moments later, Pitkin crossed the plate on Erik Garza's sacrifice fly.
UST added two more in the fourth when McClure singled home Hunter Pachal and Bearden to give the visitors a 5-3 lead.
Belhaven briefly reclaimed the lead, only to see the Celts recover and score the tying and winning runs in the top of the sixth. Knight Newcomb reached base on an error to lead off the inning and, after stealing second, scored on Martinez' RBI double. Bearden then doubled home Martinez with the game-winning run.
GAME TWO: Celts 7, Belhaven 6
A five-run second inning helped the Celts build a 7-0 lead that proved to be just enough to turn away a late rally from the Blazers.
Pitkin batted in a total of three runs for the Celts in game two, which included a two-RBI single in the second inning that scored Martinez and Bearden. Garza sent home two runs with sacrifice flies in the second and fourth innings.
Pachal opened the scoring in the second inning with a triple that scored Newcomb and then scored on McClure's RBI single.
Brady Watson frustrated Belhaven hitters throughout his five innings pitched en route to the victory. He struck out six batters and scattered only four hits.
In the ninth inning, Myles Simmons entered the game with two runners on and struck out two batters to claim the save and preserve UST's triumph. He struck out the last batter while Belhaven had the tying and winning runs in scoring position after the Blazers had already scored twice in the inning.
