The Beloit College baseball team dropped their first game of the RussMatt Invitational in Auburndale, Florida with a close 4-3 loss to Illinois Institute of Technology.
IIT opened the scoring in the top of the second inning. After a leadoff double and a walk, a four-bagger gave the Scarlet Hawks a 3-0 lead. An inning later, Beloit responded with a run of their own.
Senior Mark Christine (Huntington Beach, Calif.) led off the inning with a single to left field. Christine stole second and junior Brice Call (Northbrook, Ill.) drew a walk to put two runners on for the Buccaneers. Junior Jalen Davis (Chicago, Ill.) tagged a single up the middle to score Christine from second and narrow the gap to 3-1.
The Bucs got in on the long ball action in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Ethan Conley (Albuquerque, N.M.) took first on a hit-by-pitch. In the next at bat, senior Joe McKay (Bolingbrook, Ill.) touched them all with a two-run homer to left field to knot the game 3-3.
The Bucs defense took over getting out of jams in the top of the sixth and seventh innings. With one out and two runners in scoring position in the sixth, sophomore right-hander Danny Belling (Plainfield, Ill.) got out of the inning with a strikeout and fly out. In the seventh, first-year hurler Keith Haina (Mililani, Hawaii) issued a walk to load the bases with one out but forced a groundball in the next at bat that led to a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning.
IIT scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth to make it 4-3.
The Bucs threatened in the bottom of the inning but senior Jeremy Dutton (Plainfield, Ill.) was stranded at third after drawing a one-out walk and stealing his way to third. BC put another base runner on in their final at bats but the Scarlet Hawks' defense held.
Belling scattered five hits while fanning four in six innings of work on the mound. Junior righty David Harrison suffered the loss allowing one run on just one hit in two innings on the mound.
The Bucs return to the diamond tomorrow (Sunday) to face Wheaton College (Mass.) for a double header beginning at 2:45 p.m.
