BELMONT – Belmont and Black Hawk each notched a victory to open the season after splitting their Six Rivers Conference doubleheader at BHS on Friday, April 7.
    The Braves (1-2 overall, 1-1 SRC) got the best of the Warriors (1-1, 0-1) in game one, winning the league contest by a score of 9-1, while the Warriors rebounded to take a high-scoring, non-conference affair in game two by holding on for a wild 17-16 decision.
    Jacob Amenda earned the win on the mound for the Braves in game one, working six strong innings and allowing one unearned run on a hit and a walk with 10 strikeouts; and he helped himself at the plate by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored for Belmont.
    Trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the third, the Braves struck for four runs to grab a 4-1 lead. Then, they added for insurance runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to run away with a 9-1 decision.
    Colin Austin went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a RBI, while Connor Wiegel ripped a double and had an RBI and scored twice in game one. Brady Wedig and Justan Ernst drove in two runs apiece for the Braves.
    In game two, the Warriors got their bats working, smashing two home runs and four doubles among their 16 hits to outscore the Braves in a see-saw battle. Belmont plated runs in six of their seven turns at the plate, while Black Hawk scored in five of their six turns at-bat.
    Jett Rufenacht’s two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning put the Warriors ahead 10-7, and then a grand slam home run by Josh Meier in the home-half of the fifth extended the lead to 14-8.
    Belmont fought back to even the score once more at 14 all with a six-run outburst in the top of the sixth, but the Warriors had an answer once again plating three runs in the bottom the sixth to go ahead 17-14. Rece Shelton drilled a two-run single and later scored on an error to put Black Hawk ahead to stay at 17-14.
    The Braves made things interesting in the top of the seventh, scoring two runs and loading the bases until Meier got a strikeout for the final out to preserve the victory.
    Meier finished 4-for-4 at the plate with a homer, two doubles, six RBI and three runs scored. He also earned the save after recording all three outs in the seventh with three Ks.
    Shelton was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs. Jason Treuthardt was 2-for-4 with a double, a RBI and three runs, while Brody Milz went 2-for-5 with a double, a RBI and three runs. Rufenacht was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run, and Michael Flanagan went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and he earned the win in relief.
    Austin was 3-for-5 with three runs scored for the Braves. Kolton Westemeier went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs, and Wiegel went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run. Ernst had four RBI and three runs scored, and Ethan James walked four times and scored three runs for the Braves, who walked 17 times and added 12 hits– all singles– in the loss.
    At Belmont, on Monday, April 10, the visiting Potosi Chieftains scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie and pull away for an 8-4 Six Rivers West victory.
    Potosi’s Will Bierman doubled in a run and scored another to help put down the Braves.
    James singled in a run and came around to score in the bottom of the fifth to trim a 4-1 deficit down to 4-3, and Dylan Runde evened the score at four all with a RBI-single in the sixth.
    Zack Reuter was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI, and he earned the win after tossing two scoreless innings in relief for the Chieftains. Starter Jacob Eastlick gave up one earned run over five innings and recorded seven Ks while driving in two runs. Alex Udelhofen went 3-for-3 with a run scored for the guests.
    Next up, Black Hawk has a Six Rivers East game at Monticello on Tuesday, April 18, starting at 5 p.m.
    Belmont has upcoming games at Southwestern on Monday, April 17, at 4:30 p.m., and at Highland on Tuesday, April 18, at 5 p.m.
 
GAME ONE
Black Hawk… 100  000  0 – 1    3  4
Belmont…….. 004  410  x – 9  10  0
Leading Hitters: BH– 2B- Preston Bevins. Bel– Colin Austin 2x3, Jacob Amenda 2x3, Connor Wiegel 2x3.
WP- Amenda. LP- Jayden Stietz.
 
GAME TWO
Belmont…….. 204  116  2 – 16  12  6
Black Hawk… 304  343  x – 17  16  3
Leading Hitters: Bel– Colin Austin 3x5, Kolton Westemeier 2x4, Connor Wiegel 2x4. BH– Josh Meier 4x4, Rece Shelton 3x4, Jason Treuthardt 2x4, Brody Milz 2x5, Jett Rufenacht 2x4, Michael Flanagan 2x4. HR- Meier. 2B- Meier (2), Treuthardt, Milz.
WP- Flanagan. LP- Luke Kamps. S- Meier.
At Belmont, on Friday, April 7
 
Potosi………. 000  310  4 – 8  7  3
Belmont……. 001  021  0 – 4  5  1
Leading Hitters: Potosi– Alex Udelhofen 3x3, Zack Reuter 2x4. 2B- Will Bierman, Reuter, Udelhofen. Belmont– None.
WP- Reuter. LP- Jacob Amenda.
At Belmont, on Monday, April 10