NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont strung together a pair of singles, before Ty Allen connected on the go-ahead RBI ground out in the bottom of the eighth inning as Indiana State fell in the second game of the weekend series to the Bruins at E.S. Rose Park, 1-0.
 
The Sycamores (15-15, 5-3) and Bruins (12-20, 3-5) were locked in a pitcher's duel from the start as Indiana State's Ty Brooks and Belmont's Joe Ruzicka shut down the opposition's offense over the majority of the game.
 
Indiana State put runners in scoring position early but were unable to push across the early run in the contest. Nomar Garcia reached on an infield single in the top of the first inning and stolen both second and third base but was stranded as Ruzicka retired the final Sycamore on strikes to close out the opening frame.
 
The Sycamores threatened again in the second as Jackson Taylor drew a walk and advanced to second, but Ruzicka retired Sean McGurk on a grounder to second to keep it a 0-0 game early.
 
Belmont threatened in the bottom of the second as Jake Maddox connected on a soft line drive that landed fair down the left field line for a one-out double. However, Brooks bounced back to strike out Kaden Galason and the Sycamores caught Maddox out attempt to advance to third on the play to keep it 0-0.
 
Brooks and Ruzicka traded perfect innings through the third and fourth frames and continued to swap zeroes through the seventh as both pitchers kept the opposing teams off the scoreboard.
 
Brooks was relieved in the bottom of the seventh inning after surrendering a one-out single to Blake Barton. Gavin Morris (4-3) relieved the Sycamore right-hander and struck out Maddox before surrendering back-to-back walks to Gardner Lawrence and Michael Lareau to load the bases. Morris worked the full-count against Nolan Sergeant before getting the Belmont pinch-hitter to ground out back up the middle to Garcia to keep the game scoreless.
 
After the Sycamores were retired in the top of the eighth by Belmont reliever Ethan Harden (1-2), Pete Daniel and Charlie Davis opened up the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with none out. Allen followed with a grounder to Garcia at short allowing Daniel to cross the plate and give the Bruins the 1-0 lead.
 
Harden kept Indiana State off the board in the ninth to close out the contest for his first win of the season.
 
Garcia recorded two of Indiana State's three hits in the contest and added a pair of stolen bases in the loss. Carlos Pena kept his on-base streak alive with a single in the eighth inning.
 
Brooks went 6.1 innings on the mound as the Milford, Ind. native surrendered just three hits and two walks while striking out six in taking the no-decision. Morris worked the final 1.2 innings allowing two hits and a run while striking out one in taking the loss.
 
Maddox had two of Belmont's five hits in the win, including the lone extra-base hit in the contest with a double in the second inning.
 
Ruzicka worked 7.0 innings allowing two hits and three walks while striking out nine in the no-decision. Harden went the final 2.0 innings to claim the win, allowing just Pena's single while striking out two.
 
How They Scored

• Ty Allen followed back-to-back singles from Pete Daniel and Charlie Davis with an RBI ground out in the bottom of the eighth inning to push across the lone run in Saturday's game.

News & Notes

• Carlos Pena ran his on-base streak to 24 consecutive games after reaching on a single in the top of the eighth inning. He finished the game 1-for-3.
• Indiana State moves to 10-1 all-time against Belmont with Saturday's loss to the Bruins.
• Saturday marked the end of the Missouri Valley's longest active winning streaks in game twos of the weekend series as Indiana State fell in the second game of a conference weekend for the first time since May 14, 2022, when the Sycamores fell to Southern Illinois on the road. Indiana State had won their last 21 consecutive game twos in MVC play before seeing the streak end.
• Ty Brooks posted career-highs in innings pitched (6.1) and strikeouts (6) in Saturday's contest. 

Up Next
Indiana State and Belmont close out the weekend series tomorrow afternoon at E.S. Rose Park with first pitch set for 2 p.m. ET. The game is set to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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