Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Cory Guinn
BELMONT, N.C. – The Barton baseball team lost game one 6-1 and fell victim to a late-inning comeback in a 7-6 loss in game two to No. 16 Belmont Abbey College on Saturday afternoon at Abbey Yard.
With the two losses, Barton record fell to 26-14 overall and 12-9 in Conference Carolinas play, while Belmont Abbey's record improved to 30-8-1 with an 18-3 mark in the league.
Game One: No. 16 Belmont Abbey 6, Barton 1 (7 inn.)
The Crusaders scored two runs each in the first, second and fifth innings of play as Barton left 11 runners on base in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Sophomore Hunter Pearre led off the second inning with a single and later stole second and third with two outs on the scoreboard. After a walk, Pearre raced home to score Barton's lone run on a wild pitch.
Sophomore Trent Fennell (4-5) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts, but struggled with his control, hitting four Abbey batters over four innings. Freshman Blake Helms pitched the final two innings, allowing two hits and striking out two.
Redshirt-junior Chris Davis led the BC offense with a 3-for-4 performance, while Tyler Garret was 2-for-4 at the plate.
Game Two: No. 16 Belmont Abbey 7, Barton 6
Belmont Abbey once again held an early lead after scoring four runs on five hits in the first inning. However, junior starter Kerry Walker settled in and allowed just one hit in the second through seventh innings.
Davis put Barton on the board with an RBI single in the fourth inning before the Bulldogs scored five runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-4 lead.
Freshman Charlie Vaughan reached base in the fifth with a one-out double and later scored on an RBI single by Garrett. Junior Andrew Webster singled to left field, driving in another run for BC before a wild pitch allowed junior Calvin Hawke to score from third and tie the game at four-all. An RBI double from Davis brought two runs across the plate and put Barton ahead by two with four innings to play.
Barton's lead remained intact until the eighth inning when Belmont Abbey rallied for three runs on just one hit and two Barton fielding errors.
The Crusaders' first run of the inning scored on a throwing error before the tying run scored from third on a Walker wild pitch. Abbey's Nick Beinlich gave his team the lead with a solo home run, his eight long ball of the season, before Walker was pulled from the game.
The Bulldogs were able to get a runner to third in the top of the ninth inning but the game ended with a strikeout and Belmont Abbey on top by a run.
Walker (4-2) was hit with his second loss of the season after allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven hits over 7.1 innings with a career-high seven strikeouts. Helms finished the final 2/3 of an inning without allowing a hit in his 11th appearance of the season.
Davis was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI on offense, while Garrett and Vaughan were each 2-for-4 at the plate.
Barton travels to Pembroke, N.C. for a non-conference matchup with UNC Pembroke on Tuesday, April 12 at 6 p.m.
