Sophomore lefty Aaron Leasher fired his first career complete-game shutout Saturday, and the Morehead State offense came to life in the late innings as the Eagle baseball team won the series over Belmont with a 9-0 victory at Allen Field.
MSU moved to 14-9 overall and 5-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while Belmont slid down to 13-10 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
Leasher, from Mt. Pleasant, Mich., struck out a career-best 12 Bruin batters and only allowed three hits and three walks in going the distance to improve to 3-0. Only two Belmont base runners reached second base in the contest. MSU dropped the series opener Thursday but won 12-11 Friday and finished off its first-ever series win over Belmont today since the Bruins started OVC play in 2013.
"Aaron worked extremely hard in the summer and fall to get in better shape," said Head Coach Mike McGuire. "About this time last year is when he made his first career start (at Belmont), and it didn't go so well. He keeps getting better every time he goes out this season. We needed that today because it's tough to win series, even at home, and we have struggled over the years against Belmont."
Leasher and Belmont starter Tyler Vaughn got locked in a duel through five frames before the hosts broke the stalemate in the sixth with two runs.
Junior third baseman Alex Stephens, who was 3-for-4 with four RBI, got the rally going in the sixth with a run-scoring single, and freshman designated hitter Trevor Snyder started a four-run inning in the seventh with a solo home run. Stephens added a two-run double in that frame.
Three consecutive singles through the left side in the eighth led to a pair of sacrifice flies later in the stanza by junior centerfielder Ryan Kent and Stephens to round out the nine runs.
"Alex (Stephens) sometimes gets himself out by not being smart at the plate, but today he took what was given to him and didn't try to do too much," McGuire added. "He is a very good hitter when doesn't try to hit home runs every single time."
Vaughn got through the fifth with six strikeouts but ended up being charged with five total runs allowed and slipped to 2-1 this season.
Junior rightfielder Will Schneider saw his 14-game hitting streak halted but he did haul in two deep fly balls down the line in right, moved a runner over to third with less than two outs and reached via a hit-by-pitch.
"Yes, Will's streak came to a close, but he did the little things that lead to wins like moving a runner over and making some great defensive plays," said McGuire.
Snyder, along with Kent and sophomore second baseman Braxton Morris contributed to the Eagles' 11-hit day with two each.
Morehead State hosts Miami (Ohio) at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday and entertains Marshall, a team the Eagles lost to in 12 innings last week, on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Both games, pending weather, are slated to be carried live on the OVC Digital Network.
