The Belmont Abbey baseball team was swept in a doubleheader at
the hands of Carson Newman this afternoon at the Silver Diamond.
The Abbey dropped the first game 5-4 and fell in the seven inning
nightcap, 6-4. The Crusaders are now 28-18 on the year.
Adam Kefauver's RBI single to left broke a 4-4 tie as the Eagles
claimed Game one of the doubleheader. Belmont Abbey took the early
lead when third baseman Nick Popp blasted a two-run homer to
leftfield off Eagle starter Wes McIntyre for a quick 2-0 Crusader
lead in the second inning. The Eagles rallied in the third inning.
Mills Rogers was hit by a pitch to lead off that inning. Two
batters later, Langdon Potts tripled to score Rogers and cut the
Abbey lead to 2-1. With runners at first and third with one out,
Derek Long hit an RBI groundout to third to score Potts and allow
the Eagles to tie the game at 2-2.
The Crusaders reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning. Danny
O'Brien drove in the first run of the inning with his two-bagger
while Kyle Smith's sacrifice fly scored Popp for a 4-2 Crusader
lead.
The Eagles claimed a run in the bottom of the fourth on a Rogers
sacrifice fly, but didn't tie the game until Nick Achberger hit a
solo home run, his fourth of the season, in the eighth inning.
Brett Hontz (3-1) earned the win after giving up just one hit in
5 2/3 innings and recording eight strikeouts. Jason Cline took the
loss after giving up the winning run in the ninth.
In the second game, Carson-Newman grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first
after Potts singled and stole second. After Achberger walked,
Derek Long reached on an error. Two batters later, Kefauver ripped
an RBI single to score Potts for the one-run lead.
The Crusdaders tied the game on a Will Breslin solo home run in
the second inning, but the Eagles scored four runs the next two
innings.
The Crusaders fought back with three runs in the third inning. An
RBI single by Alex Udwari, an RBI double by Seth Waller, and a
bases loaded walk to catcher Josh Cable gave Abbey a 4-3 lead. In
the bottom of the third, Long hit a leadoff single and advanced to
second on a passed ball. Michael Brown drove in Long with an RBI
single to tie the game at 4-4. Brown advanced to second and third
on sacrifice bunt and error, respectively. He later scored on a
passed ball to give the Eagles a 5-4 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning, Mark Carroll gave up a leadoff
walk and a single to put two runners aboard with no outs. Breslin
flied out to center to put runners at the corners with one out, but
Carroll got Popp to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game
and secure an Eagle victory. Carroll earned his seventh save of the
season while Arial (2-1) got the win after going 1 2/3 innings with
no runs and three strikeouts.
