How Belmont baseball won the OVC regular season championship on its way out of the league

Belmont baseball is leaving the Ohio Valley Conference with a blast.

For the first time since joining the OVC in 2012, the Bruins won the outright regular season championship and the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament after claiming two wins Friday at Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

It wrapped up Belmont's most successful regular season in program history. Belmont is leaving the OVC and joining the Missouri Valley Conference after the baseball season.

Belmont (37-19, 18-6 OVC) won the first game 12-11 in 11 innings and the second 6-2 after losing the opener in the series 5-4 on Thursday. The 11-inning game was the longest for the Bruins this season.

Belmont had a total of 20 hits and seven home runs in the two wins.

Carson Shacklett, John Behrends, Guy Lipscomb and Mason Landers homered in the first game. Lipscomb homered again in the second along with Brodey Heaton and Tommy Crider.

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Pitcher Kyle Brennan (3-4) got the win in the first game and Aaron Hubbell (2-2) got the second win.

The Bruins, who have won nine of their last 12 games, earned a double-bye in the OVC Tournament, which will be played next week at Wild Health Field in Lexington, Kentucky.

They face the winner of a first-round game  at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

The winner of the OVC Tournament earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Belmont wins the OVC baseball title on its way out of the league