BELMONT, N.C. – The Barton baseball team (13-13, 8-7) lost both games of a doubleheader to Belmont Abbey (19-8, 10-4), 9-8 and 21-5, Saturday afternoon in Conference Carolinas action at Abbey Yard.
Game One – Belmont Abbey 9, Barton 8 (seven innings)
Trailing by 8-5 score entering the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs scored four runs to rally and take the win capped off by a two-run, walk-off single from Khale Rhame (Chapin, S.C.).
Belmont Abbey's Adam Overcash (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) opened the frame with a two-run home run to cut the margin to one before Rhame's heroics. Overcash finished with three runs batted in to lead the home team.
Barton lost despite solo home runs from senior infielder
Dylan Scaranda (Galloway, N.J.) and junior outfielder
Ryan McIsaac (Millville, N.J.) and four runs batted in from senior first baseman
Colby Warren (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.). Warren, however, fell to 0-2 after being tagged with the loss.
Belmont Abbey's Sean Johnson (Kansas City, Mo.) went four-for-four with three runs batted in while Austin Hunter (Roswell, Ga.) (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to pick up the win.
Game Two – Belmont Abbey 21, Barton 5
The Crusaders scored six runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to put the contest away early. Johnson was the start of the show, finishing three home runs including a grand slam in the fourth frame and totaling nine runs batted in.
Belmont Abbey scored a season-high in runs but Barton didn't help matters by walking 12 batters and hitting four others in the losing effort.
The Crusaders' Brendan Simonds (Pasadena, Md.) improved to 4-0 on the year after striking out 10 batters and allowing just three earned runs in six innings of work. Barton senior shortstop
Andres Machado (Coral Gables, Fla.) finished with three hits and one RBI but sophomore
Tanner Halvorson (Eau Claire, Wis.) (1-2) took the loss.
Barton looks to bounce back at home against Catawba on Tuesday beginning at 3:00 p.m., while Belmont Abbey hosts Coker Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.
