Furman used a big ninth inning and more brilliant pitching by its top two starters to clinch its sixth consecutive series win Friday. Grant Schuermann and Will Gaddis combined on a shutout as the Paladins defeated Belmont 6-0.
The game was scoreless until the ninth when Furman (29-25) broke through in a big way. Landon Kay and Cameron Whitehead had one-out walks then pulled off a double steal. They scored on an RBI-single by Sims Griffith and a run-scoring groundball by Bret Huebner. Jabari Richards added an RBI-single before Carter Grote capped the inning with a three-run home run.
Furman ace Will Gaddis, who made his second career relief appearance when he entered in the eighth, struck out a pair of batters in a 1-2-3 ninth to end the game. Gaddis (8-3) had his weekend starting turn skipped in preparation for next week's Southern Conference Tournament.
Schuermann started Friday's game and, for the second week in a row, worked seven scoreless innings. In his last four starts, Schuermann has allowed three earned runs in 30 innings (0.90). Schuermann scattered six hits, struck out four and had one walk - his first free pass since April 8. Over his last six starts (42 2/3 innings), Schuermann has 35 strikeouts and one walk.
Ben Kocher went 3-for-3 to lead the Bruins (27-27), who didn't have an extra-base hit.
Furman goes for the road series sweep in the regular season finale Saturday at 2 p.m.
Scoreboard watching: Western Carolina defeated Mercer 3-2 Friday, while Samford topped UNC Greensboro 7-1. Those two results secured a second-place finish in the SoCon for Western Carolina (15-8 league record). Furman (14-10) slid into third place, a half-game ahead of UNCG (13-10).
A UNCG win Saturday at Samford would give the Spartans the third-place seed in the SoCon Tournament as a result of holding the tie-breaker advantage over the Paladins.
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