Box Score by Benny Benton
BELMONT, N.C. – Junior Avery Harper had three hits, including his first home run of the season, and sophomore Ricky Jernigan finally got rewarded for a pitching performance as Barton College completed a three-game series sweep of host Belmont Abbey College Monday with a 5-3 victory at Abbey Yard.
Harper produced an RBI single in the second inning and led off the fifth with a solo homer down the left field line. The former Hunt High School standout had three hits in each of the last two games against the Crusaders (13-22, 4-11).
Jernigan (1-4), who ranked among the league leaders in ERA all season but had no wins to show for it, earned the victory after limiting Belmont Abbey to two runs on nine hits over six innings of work.
The win gave Barton (11-21, 6-6) its first conference series sweep on the road since the Bulldogs took three at Coker College during the 2010 season.
More importantly, it kept the Bulldogs in fifth place in Conference Carolinas, which takes the top six teams to the league tournament. The sweep put Barton three and a half games up on Belmont Abbey, which is currently in seventh.
Belmont Abbey, which trailed throughout Sunday's doubleheader, finally took its first lead in the series in the bottom of the first. Anthony Dimino reached on a two-out double after the ball was lost in the sun in left, and Weston Clarke followed with an RBI single to left-center to give the Crusaders the 1-0 advantage.
However, the lead would only last one more inning, as the Bulldogs struck for two runs in the top of the third. Mitchell Wheeler singled to lead off the frame, then stole second and moved to third when the catcher's throw went into the outfield. Harper followed with a single to left, driving in Wheeler to tie the game at 1-all.
Snooter Merryman followed with a single, moving Harper to second, and Belmont Abbey starter Aaron Rumberg (2-2) issued a walk to Jacob Willis to load the bases. Phillip Cotten hit a grounder back to the pitcher, who forced out Harper at the plate. However, the catcher's throw to first to complete an inning-ending double play hit Cotten in the back, allowing Merryman to score to put Barton up 2-1.
The Bulldogs added a single run in the fourth when Tyler Garrett walked and later scored on a wild pitch, and added another run in the fifth when Harper took the first pitch of the inning from Rumberg over the fence in left, putting Barton up 4-1.
Belmont Abbey responded in kind in the bottom of the sixth, as Levi Wright took Jernigan's first pitch of that inning out of the park in left for his fourth homer of the year, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
Both teams then added runs in the eighth, Barton scoring on another wild pitch following a pair of walks, and the Crusaders taking advantage of a two-out error to keep the inning alive for Jon Pilla's RBI single off reliever Zach Breen.
For the third straight game, Barton called on Merryman to close out the game, this time while protecting a two-run lead instead of a four-run cushion. The junior right-hander issued a two-out walk to Belmont Abbey's best hitter, Dimino, to bring the potential tying run to the plate in Clarke, but Merryman got a fly ball to left to end the game and record his fifth save in as many chances.
Dimino, Wright, Pilla and Quinn Hawksworth each had two hits for the Crusaders in the game, while Wheeler and Andrew Webster each had a pair for the Bulldogs to complement Harper's three-hit day.
Barton was slated to play at Chowan University on Tuesday, but that doubleheader has been postponed so Chowan can make up conference games missed due to inclement weather. No makeup date has been announced.
The Bulldogs will now return to the field on Friday at home against rival University of Mount Olive. Barton will also play a doubleheader on Saturday against the Trojans, ranked No. 27 in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll.
