HOLLAND – The first time Mason Belmore faced Kalamazoo College this season, it got pretty ugly.
But the Hope College senior pitcher found his groove and dominated the MIAA rival in an 11-7 win on Wednesday.
“I felt good,” Belmore said. “When I was in the bullpen (before the game), there were a few things that I had to make adjustments on. Then getting on the big mound, I just shut everything out and got that tunnel vision.”
The 6-foot-3 right hander out of Battle Creek Lakeview gave up three earned runs in seven innings, striking out six batters and walking just one.
“Belly shows up every day,” first-year coach Ryan Dorow said. “He’s been an anchor – whether it is in the bullpen or starting – and he had his good stuff today. He’s a leader on this team and continues to do a good job.”
When Belmore faced Kalamazoo College on April 1, he gave up six earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings.
The offense got going on Wednesday, too.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Hope’s Cade Seabaugh drilled a home run over the right-field fence for a two-run home run. The junior from Ballwin, Missouri, was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
“It felt really good,” said Seabaugh, who has a team-high four home runs. “I’ve been slumping a little bit and I was working on my swing earlier today. It felt good to fire up the dugout and get the guys going.”
Seabaugh, a left-handed hitting first baseman, is hitting .273 with a .911 OPS.
“Cade has been coming off a really good season last year,” Dorow said. “He’s being pitched a little differently and he’s really coming into his groove right now.”
Hope (4-8 MIAA, 9-21) led 11-3 going into the top of the ninth inning. But Kalamazoo scored four runs – three unearned – on two errors.
The Flying Dutchmen finished with 14 hits, including a 3-for-4 day by Dylan Kleinelder, who also drove in two runs.
Grand Rapids native homers for Kalamazoo
Through the first eight innings, Kalamazoo’s only offense was by its star first baseman Ryar Rhinehardt, who was 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. The Grand Rapids West Catholic grad now has 11 home runs this season, to set the school record.
“Props to him,” Belmore said. “He’s been a great hitter the past three years facing him. You’ve got to respect a kid like him.”
Local connections
Kalamazoo College freshman Austin Keur entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seven inning. The Zeeland East grad was 0-for-2, but reached base on an error in the ninth inning. In 14 games played, Keur is hitting .340 with 15 runs scored and seven RBIs. He also has six stolen bases.
The head coach of Kalamazoo is Mike Ott, who is the school’s all-time winningest coach.
Ott was the coach at Holland Christian High School from 2005-2012 where he won district titles in 2006 and 2011.
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