Photo: Belmont sophomore southpaw Nate Espeline.
Break up the Marauders!
After its 3-0 shutout win Monday afternoon, April 25 over Woburn behind another stellar outing from sophomore southpaw Nate Espelin (a two-hit, six strikeout workmanlike afternoon), Belmont High Baseball has been playing some of the best baseball in the state.
Monday’s victory at the Grant was Belmont’s sixth win in as many games this season and atop the Middlesex Liberty Division, a place Marauders head coach Jim Brown is happy to be in.
“You always want to be 6 and 0,” he said.
A little over a third of the way through the season, Belmont has found a little pop in its bats which serves an impressive pitching staff – sophomores Espelin and Max Meier, both 2-0, have complimented last year’s Middlesex MVP Cole Bartels who has a 0.00 ERA in his two wins, striking out an average of 13 batters per game.
In its six games, the pitching staff has given up just two earn runs. And this is with senior starter Joe Shaughnessy on the shelf with a tweaked shoulder.
“Our young pitchers are throwing strikes and not getting into trouble. That’s a nice thing to have,” said Brown.
Espelin got all the runs he needed with two outs in the first with the big blow coming from centerfielder Bryan Goodwin who singled in two runs, part of a four hit barrage started by catcher Cal Christofori’s double and followed by singles from Belmont’s big boys, first base Dennis Crowley (with the rbi) and DH Ryan Noone.
It was left up to the lefty to hold the lead. Espelin never faced more than four batters in the innings he pitched, giving up just a pair of singles.
Next up for the Marauders is Lexington, a team they have had difficulty beating in the last three years, at home on Wednesday, April 27 at 3:45 p.m. The Minutemen will be matched up against Bartels.
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