BELMONT – No team likes to win a game by forfeit, but the Belmont Braves baseball team extended their current winning streak to five games on Monday night after a slew of ejections to Potosi players led to the Chieftains forfeiting the game over the Braves.
    Potosi came out swinging hot bats with Dylan Pluemer bashing a three-run home run and Logan Schmitz following with a solo blast to put the Chieftains ahead 5-0 before the Braves (7-2 overall, 5-2 SRC) even had a chance to bat.
    The hosts answered back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first on a RBI-single by Colin Austin and a two-run base hit by Travian Rucker to slice the deficit back to two.
    Potosi plated single runs in the second and third frames to build up a 7-3 advantage, but the Braves struck back with two runs in the bottom of the third inning on a home run by Riley Christenson and then added five more runs in the fourth to grab a 10-7 lead.
    Earlier in the fourth frame, Schmitz was called out following his second solo home run when it was ruled he missed second base while rounding the base. In the bottom of the fourth, Jacob Amenda homered for the Braves, leading to catcalls that he, too, had missed a base.
    Connor Wiegel lined a two-run single in the fourth, and Rucker drilled a two-run double to put the hosts into the lead
    With his team trailing by three runs with one down in the top of the fifth inning, Potosi’s Jake Eastlick launched a solo home run to cut the Belmont lead to 10-8. However, while rounding the bases, Eastlick mockingly touched first base with his hand drawing the ire of the umpires and was promptly ejected from the game.
    His ejection wasn’t well received by the Potosi dugout or their fans in the stands, leading to further ejections to several of those fans as well as four more players, forcing the Chieftains to forfeit the game at that point.
    “It was a great game. It was back and forth all game with both teams moving the baseball well at the plate. We had two freshman step up big for us and drove in some clutch runs to get us back in the game,” said Belmont head coach Trevor Kattre. “We have a lot more confidence in ourselves compared to where we were a year ago. We tell our guys to control what they can, and focus on one pitch at a time. We make sure we take it one game at a time and focus on ‘winning the day’, in practice and in games. Our guys are buying in and seeing success. It’s really a great thing to see happen with such a young team.”
    Rucker finished 2-for-3 at the plate with four RBI to lead the Braves, while Christenson drove in two runs and scored three times and Wiegel added two RBI and a run in the win
    Amenda (3-2) picked up his second pitching victory in eight days, working four and a third innings and allowing eight runs (six earned) on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
    Belmont registered a 10-5 Six Rivers West win at Cassville on Tuesday, April 24, and then swept a Six Rivers crossover doubleheader from Monticello/Albany, 7-2 and 15-0, at home on Friday, April 27.
    Wiegel went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Ethan James was 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the win over the Comets. Luke Kamps and Justan Ernst added two hits, a RBI and a run apiece in Tuesday’s game.
    Brady Wedig had a double with two RBI and two runs scored in the game one win over the Ponies, while Christenson made his first varsity start at pitcher a memorable one by tossing a four-inning no-hitter with just one walk and seven strikeouts.
    “Riley is a such a great athlete. His dedication and work ethic is unreal. We have been trying to develop him into a catcher and pitcher, and he has been doing such a tremendous job for us,” noted Kattre. “It was great to see the hard work he has put in his bullpen (sessions) show up in his first varsity start as a pitcher. He throws hard for a freshman, and he will continue to get better. We are so excited for the future he has in our program.”
    Wedig was 2-for-2 in game two with a double, three RBI and a run, while Colin Austin drove in three runs and scored twice and Amenda went 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and three runs scored for the Braves. Kamps and Rucker each scored twice in game two.
    The Braves host Barneveld in a doubleheader on Friday, May 4, at 4:30 p.m., and will stay at home to host Darlington in a non-conference game on Monday, May 7, at 5 p.m. The Braves return to Six Rivers West action at Highland on Tuesday, May 8, at 5 p.m.
 
Belmont…….. 110  215 0 – 10  11  4
Cassville……. 110  000 3 –   5    7  6
Leading Hitters: B– Ethan James 2x3, Connor Wiegel 3x4, Luke Kamps 2x4, Justan Ernst. 2B- Ernst. C– Reynolds 2x3. 2B- Hauk.
W- James (4IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 4K, 2BB). L- Jensen (4IP, 5H, 4R, 1ER, 7K, 0BB).
S- Colin Austin (3IP, 2H, 3R, 0ER, 4K, 1BB).
At Cassville, on Tuesday, April 24
 
GAME ONE
Mont/Alb……. 001  001  0 – 2  2  2
Belmont…….. 100  321  x – 7  7  2
Leading Hitters: M/A– None. B– Colin Austin 3x3. 2B- Brady Wedig.
W- Jacob Amenda (5IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 8K, 1BB). L- McCoy (4.33IP, 4H, 5R, 2ER, 4K, 2BB).
 
GAME TWO
Belmont…….. 154  5 – 15  8  4
Mont/Alb……. 000  0 –   0  0  3
Leading Hitters: B– Jacob Amenda 2x3, Brady Wedig 2x2. 2B- Amenda, Wedig. M/A– None.
W- Riley Christenson(4IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 7K, 1BB). L- Fermite (1IP, 3H, 4R, 3ER, 0K, 1BB).
At Belmont, on Friday, April 27
 
Potosi……….. 511  01 –   8  5  2
Belmont…….. 302  5x – 10  6  3
Leading Hitters: P– HR- Pluemer, Schmitz, Eastlick. 2B- Carbone. B– Travian Rucker 2x3. 2B- Jacob Amenda, Riley Christenson. 2B- Rucker.
W- Jacob Amenda (4.33IP, 5H, 8R, 7ER, 5K, 3BB). L- Pluemer (3.67IP, 6H, 10R, 5ER, 6K, 6BB).
At Belmont, on Monday, April 30