MARSHALL, Texas—In cold conditions on a Friday night for the home opener, no. 9/10 East Texas Baptist University secured a decisive 11-3 win over Belhaven University. ETBU accumulated 12 hits and 11 runs while committing no errors, marking the eighth consecutive win over Belhaven. They maintained their unbeaten record at home against them, now standing at 11-0. ETBU is now 2-5 on the season.
Carson Livesay had an impressive showing with a home run, three hits, and two RBIs, leading to an OPS of 1.800. His performance was highlighted by hitting his first home run this season in his first at-bat in the first inning.
Luke Finn and
Ben Lea both contributed two hits and two RBIs. Also adding a RBI were
Connor Massimini,
Hunter Rumachik,
Nicolas Chavez, and
Joaquin Costa.
Matthew Irwin delivered a strong performance on the mound, pitching six innings with seven strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.17, allowing just one run on four hits. These seven strikeouts were a career-high for Irwin, topping his previous best of five during the NCAA Championship Tournament win over Salisbury in 2023. Costa excelled defensively with six assists at second base.
Carson Speegle contributed two innings, striking out three, as Noah Bushko pitched a scoreless ninth inning, recording two strikeouts and giving up one hit.
In the first inning, ETBU took an early lead when Livesay hit a solo home run, making the score 1-0. This initial offensive effort set the tone for the rest of the game. During the second inning, ETBU extended their lead by one when Rumachik, after being hit by a pitch, stole second base and was driven home by Chavez's single, bringing the score to 2-0.
ETBU added two more runs in the fourth inning. Finn scored on a Costa single, and Chavez's walk was followed by another RBI single from Livesay, increasing the score to 4-0. The eighth inning saw a significant offensive surge from ETBU, highlighted by Lea's two-RBI double and Finn's two-RBI single, which propelled the team to a five-run inning. ETBU scored runs in six of the eight innings, finding their offensive swag.
They will face Belhaven in a double head on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
Top Performers
C. Livesay
- 3 hits, 1 home run
- 2 RBIs
- OPS: 1.800
B. Lea
- 2 hits, including 1 double
- 2 RBIs
- Stole 1 base
L. Finn
- 2 hits, 2 RBIs
- OPS: 1.467
- 2 walks
M. Irwin
- 6.0 innings pitched
- 7 strikeouts
- WHIP: 1.17
J. Costa
- 2 hits, 1 RBI
- 6 assists
