DeKalb and Bellmont met Thursday night in Decatur and each team pounded out ten hits against the other’s pitching staff in a classic NE8 battle.
It was the run column, though, where the difference was felt, as the visiting Barons won the game 9-3.
The Braves trailed for the entire game after DeKalb drove in runs with two outs on hits by Malachi Webb and Reagen Hess off BHS starter Layne LeMaster.
LeMaster led off the bottom of the first with a hit, but his courtesy runner was picked off first, killing the chances of a rally.
The Braves put two more on in the second, but both were left stranded.
DeKalb again scored with two outs in the third, putting more pressure on the Braves and taking pressure off starter Bo Minehart, who pitched into the seventh to score the win.
The theme continued in the fourth when Bellmont left the bases loaded, giving DeKalb momentum when they came to the plate in the top of the fifth. By the time Drake Hall touched home on his home run at the end of that half inning, the Barons had built a 9-0 lead.
After Bellmont grounded into a double play in the fifth, Oliver Werling got a two-out hit and his courtesy runner, Kasey Teeter, scored on a wild pitch for the first BHS run.
Matt Bleeke set down the last six batters in order for a relief outing of 2.2 innings, striking out four.
Beau Baker drove in the Braves’ final two tallies with a double in the team’s final at-bats. The senior is second on the team in RBI this season with eight.
The Braves are 1-5 in the NE8 with one game to play. They’ll take on last-place East Noble on the road on Tuesday.
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