SALISBURY, NC -- Belmont Abbey's Danny O'Brien (Maiden, NC) hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Crusaders to a 12-11 win over host Catawba in baseball action on Wednesday night at Newman Park. Belmont Abbey improves to 31-20, while the Catawba Indians fall to 31-19.

Alex Castellanos (Miami, FL) led off the ninth with a single and went to second on a groundout. He advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt. Nick Popp (Baltimore, MD) drew a two-out walk and pinch-runner Derek Swilley (Lexington, NC) swiped second before O'Brien stepped in as a pinch-hitter and lined a 1-2 pitch into right center to plate both runners.

Craige Lyerly (Salisbury, NC) doubled with one out in the Catawba ninth and moved to third on a groundout, but Ryan Query (Kannapolis, NC) popped up to first to end the game. Brett DiPasquale (Kingsville, MD) earned the win, tossing a perfect inning of relief in the eighth. Andy Helms (Locust, NC) earned the save. Matt Seabolt (Asheboro, NC) took the loss for Catawba, despite allowing just three hits with six strikeouts over four innings.

Catawba scored in each of the first seven innings, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first on three home runs. Chad Baker (Jamestown, NC) hit a lead off homer and Jerry Sands (Clayton, NC) connected on a two-run shot. David Thomas (Winston-Salem, NC) followed with the first of his two solo homers.

The Crusaders picked up a pair of unearned runs in the second and scored four times in both the fourth and fifth innings. Josh Haire (Mooresville, NC) and Josh Cable (Charlotte, NC) had RBI hits in both innings. Cable's double in the fifth gave Belmont Abbey its first lead at 9-8.

Catawba got a two-run homer from Query in the second and tallied single runs in the third through seventh frames. Thomas would homer for the second time in the fourth and crossed the plate for the 199th time in his career as the junior broke Matt Smith's mark for career runs scored.

Thomas would triple for a record-tying fifth time this season in the sixth to tie the score and Kevin McMillan (Salisbury, NC) homered in the seventh to give Catawba an 11-10 lead. Seabolt kept the Crusaders off the board after entering in the sixth until the two-out hit in the ninth. The first two Crusaders reached base in the seventh, but the junior got out of trouble by turning a third to first double play on a bunt back to the mound. He struck out the side in the eighth.

Castellanos went 4-for-5 for Belmont Abbey and scored four times. Haire and Popp each had three hits. Query had four hits for Catawba and scored three times. Thomas and Baker each had two hits. Catawba out-hit the visitors 16-14, but Belmont Abbey scored three unearned runs off four Tribe errors.