Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College freshman Hannah Jones tossed a six-hitter from the mound and helped herself with two important offensive contributions as the Lady Bulldogs claimed a 4-2 victory in the nightcap of a Conference Carolinas doubleheader Friday at Jeffries Field.
BC appeared poised to earn a sweep after also leading 5-1 heading into the sixth inning of Game 1, but the Lady Bulldogs committed two errors that led to a five-run inning and a 6-5 win for the visiting Lady Crusaders.
The split left Barton at 7-14 overall and 2-6 in conference play, while Belmont Abbey moved to 8-18 overall and 2-4 in the league.
Game 2 – Barton 4, Belmont Abbey 2
Jones (3-5) gave up just one earned run in the game, did not walk a batter and struck out five in the complete-game victory.
At the plate, the Huntersville, N.C., resident had a squeeze bunt to drive in the game-tying run in the bottom of the first, and added a leadoff double that resulted in Barton's final run of the game in the third inning.
Junior Megan Kelly also played a key role by helping manufacture the first run and driving in the second, the latter taking place in the second inning on what turned out to be the key moment in the contest.
Barton spotted the Lady Crusaders a run in the top of the first when a two-out fielding error at shortstop allowed Mackenzie Dziendziel to score all the way from first base.
Kelly, a Plymouth, N.C., resident, led off the bottom of the inning for Barton by drawing a walk from BAC starter Amelia Saldivar following a 12-pitch at-bat in which she fouled off six straight full-count pitches to stay alive. Kelly then stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Bowden and came home on the squeeze bunt by Jones, her third in the last four games.
In the bottom of the second, Barton used a one-out single up the middle by Crystal Britton and a double to left by Brittany Jacobs to put a pair of runners into scoring position. Saldivar got the second out of the inning without allowing a run in, but Kelly followed with a single to left to drive in Britton with the go-ahead score. When the left-fielder mishandled the ball, Jacobs continued to race home, just beating the throw after a collision at the plate with Belmont Abbey's catcher, who was ejected following the play.
Jones set the stage for Barton's final run in the third inning, leading off the frame with a double to left that ended Saldivar's day. Rachel Jordan moved Jones to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Liz White followed with an RBI groundout to drive her in.
The Lady Bulldogs managed just four more hits and no more runs off Belmont Abbey reliever Peyton Wilson, but Jones would give up just one more run herself, that coming in the top of the fourth when Sloane McPeak produced a leadoff double and later scored on a sacrifice fly.
The Lady Crusaders threatened in the fifth when a single and a Barton error brought McPeak, BAC's top hitter, to the plate as the potential go-ahead run. But Jones got McPeak to chase an off-speed pitch off the plate for an inning-ending strikeout to end the threat.
Game 1 – Belmont Abbey 6, Barton 5
Only two of the 11 runs scored in Game 1 were earned, as both sides committed three errors that accounted for almost all the scoring.
The Lady Crusaders helped Barton to four runs in the top of the second with a pair of errors, and the Lady Bulldogs gave Belmont Abbey one of those runs back in the top of the third with a two-out dropped fly ball in the outfield.
Barton scored its only earned run of the game in the bottom of the fifth when Kelly walked, stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice by Bowden and came home on a squeeze bunt by Jones.
Belmont Abbey starter Samantha Jacobs left the contest later in the inning trailing 5-1 despite having given up just one hit one earned run in the game. She walked three and struck out four in 4 1/3 innings pitched.
Wilson (2-0) took her place with one out and two runners in scoring position, but worked out of the frame with no more damage done. That effort would prove important, as the Lady Bulldogs would later regret not having those extra runs.
Barton starter White (4-8) scattered seven hits in the game and allowed just one earned run, walking three and striking out six.
However, Barton's defense would cost White in the sixth inning. Belmont Abbey should have scored just one run in the frame on Lauren Clifford's RBI single. However, a booted grounder at second base gave the Lady Crusaders one extra out, and a dropped throw at third base with two outs and the bases loaded extended the inning even more.
The miscues eventually allowed McPeak to bat with the bases loaded. The league's 2015 RBI leader and Freshman of the Year cashed in with a single to left, driving in two runs to put the Lady Crusaders into the lead for the first time in the game at 6-5.
Wilson then retired the Lady Bulldogs in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the rally for Belmont Abbey.
Barton had just three total hits in the game, two by Sydney Speight and one by Britton.
Selena Thompson had three hits by herself for the Lady Crusaders, and Clifford added a pair.
The Lady Bulldogs were scheduled to return to action on Saturday, but travel issues for BC's opponent, Converse College, forced those games to be postponed to a later date. Barton is now slated to return to the field on Monday at home against Southern Wesleyan University. Game 1 has a 2 p.m. start time.
