BELMONT, NC- Trailing 8-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Belmont Abbey baseball team scored seven runs on seven hits, sending 13 men to the plate, and the Crusaders held off a ninth inning Barton rally as they won the series with a 13-10 win over the Bulldogs this afternoon at Abbey Yard. The Abbey improves to 19-12 overall and 10-5 in the CVAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 17-18 overall and 7-7 in the CVAC.

Barton scored the first six runs of the contest, getting three in the first, two in the second and one in the fifth to open up its lead. The Abbey got on the board in the fifth with two runs, as shortstop Josh Haire singled home Alex Castellanos, who had stopped at third on the play, until the Barton leftfielder bobbled the ball, allowing Castellanos to score. Later, leftfielder Tyler McKenzie singled home Haire to close the Bulldogs lead to 6-2.

Barton pushed the lead to 8-2 with two unearned runs in the sixth, but it would not score again until the ninth as the Abbey offense came to life. Castellanos trimmed the lead in half to 8-4 with a two-run homer in the sixth, his team leading 12th homer of the year, and rightfielder Alex Udwari closed it to two with a two run shot to right in the seventh.

After a scoreless top of the eighth for Barton, the Crusaders took the lead for good as they exploded for seven runs on seven hits, and took advantage of a Barton error. Seth Waller led off with a single. After a Castellanos popout, Haire tied the game at eight with a towering homer to left center.

A walk to Nick Popp and a pitching change followed, and pinch hitter Danny O'Brien kept the inning going with a grounder to first baseman Kevin Brosseau, who flipped to pitcher Jay Metzinger. Metzinger dropped the ball, allowing O'Brien to reach safely. Spencer Sobol entered the game to pinch run for O'Brien, and he would move to second when Metzinger plunked Patrick Atwell on the first pitch to load the bases. McKenzie, Udwari and Will Breslin, Waller and Castellanos all followed with singles, all but Castellanos driving in runs, as the Abbey grabbed a 13-8 lead. The Abbey scored 11 unanswered runs to grab the lead.

In the top of the ninth, reliever Trey Summerlin set down the first batter on a fly ball, but then hit a batter and allowed a single. Brosseau brought both men home with a double to left center to cut the lead to 13-10, but Summerlin ended the game with a groundout and a strikeout to preserve the win.

Abbey reliever Brett DiPasquale earned his second win of the week, as he allowed just two unearned runs on one hit in three innings of work. He fanned three and walked a pair. Brent Godwin, the second of four Bulldog pitchers, was charged with the loss. He allowed five runs on three hits in an inning and a third.

The two teams combined for 24 hits as the Abbey finished with 14. Castellanos finished 4-5 with two doubles and a home run. He drove in two and scored twice. McKenzie, Udwari, Breslin, Waller and Haire all finished with a pair of hits. Udwari drove in three.