WILSON, N.C. – The Barton baseball team (11-9, 7-5) swept a Conference Carolinas doubleheader from Belmont Abbey (15-8, 4-8), 2-1 and 9-2, Saturday afternoon at Nixon Field to increase its winning streak to eight games.
Game One – Barton 2, Belmont Abbey 1 (seven innings)
Barton sophomore catcher
Chase Waddell (Lucama, N.C.) scored the game-winning run on a suicide squeeze play in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Bulldogs walked off with the victory.
Waddell drove in the other Bulldogs' run in the first inning while junior
Tanner Halvorson (Eau Claire, Wis.) (3-2) went the distance for the complete game victory, his fourth of the season. Halvorson also struck out eight batters.
For Belmont Abbey, Alex Sniffen (Wilmington, N.C.) (3-2) also went the distance but suffered the loss despite striking out eight batters and allowing just one earned run. Belmont Abbey's Todd Velotta (Sarasota, Fla.) drove in the Crusaders' lone run in the top of the seventh inning.
Game Two – Barton 9, Belmont Abbey 2
Waddell hit his team-tying third home run of the season while Halvorson drove in three runs as the Bulldogs took the nightcap from the Crusaders.
Barton senior
Connor Patterson (Randleman, N.C.) (1-0) pitched six scoreless innings to finish off the game to earn the win. Patterson limited Belmont Abbey to a pair of hits while striking out three batters.
Belmont Abbey's Ben Ferguson (Chandler, Ariz.) finished with a pair of hits and an RBI while Nic Aehlert (Itasca, Ill.) (3-1) was tagged with the loss.
Barton hosts Virginia State on Tuesday afternoon beginning at 3:00 p.m. Belmont Abbey, meanwhile, takes on Mars Hill on Tuesday in Mars Hill, N.C., starting at 2:00 p.m.
