The Belmont Abbey baseball team earned a split at Wingate University this evening, as Wingate used a seven-run fifth inning to top the Abbey10-8 in the first game while Belmont Abbey senior righthander John Merritt took a no-hitter into the seventh in game two. The Abbey improves to 25-19, while Wingate drops to 19-23.

In the opener, Bulldogs designated hitter Heath Weatherford had two homers and three RBI while senior infielder Aaron Knowles added a homer and three RBI to lead the Wingate attack. Senior catcher Dustin Hurdle was one-for-three with two RBI.

Tyler McKenzie was two-for-three with a homer to lead the Belmont Abbey offense. Justin Baxley was one-for-three with an RBI and a run scored for the Crusaders.

The Crusaders took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI groundout from sophomore outfielder Justin Vasquez. Wingate had the answer in the bottom of the inning, plating three runs. Knowles got it started with an RBI single. Weatherford followed with a two-run homer to right to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead.

Wingate added to its lead in the fifth, scoring seven runs with two outs. Freshman infielder Joshua Karr got it started with an RBI single, followed by an RBI double from senior outfielder Mark Letchworth. Knowles followed that with his eighth homer of the year, a two-run shot to center to make it 7-1. Weatherford blasted his eighth homer of the year to put Wingate on top by seven. Hurdle capped off the scoring with a two-run single to make it 10-1.

The Crusaders would not go away, scoring six runs in the sixth. The first three runs came across via a bases-loaded walk, a wild pitch and an error to make it 10-4. An RBI double from Baxley cut the lead to five. Freshman infielder Josh Frazier followed with an RBI groundout, followed by an RBI groundout from junior infielder Roland Rodriguez to make it 10-7. Belmont Abbey added one more run in the eighth on a solo homer from McKenzie, his third of the year.

Wingate pitcher Jim Ealy earned the win, allowing five runs on only two hits in five innings pitched while striking out six, improving to 2-0 on the year. Gray Carden got the save, allowing one run in one inning while striking out one. Michael Maples took the loss, allowing 10 runs (three earned) on nine hits in 4.2 innings, falling to 3-3 on the year.

In the nightcap, Rodriguez was two-for-five-with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored to lead the Belmont Abbey offense. Justin Vasquez added three hits for the Crusaders while senior infielder Carlos Vasquez was two-for-four with two RBI and a run scored.

The Crusaders got on the board in the first once again, getting a sacrifice fly from McKenzie. A two-run homer from Rodriguez in the second gave the Crusaders a 3-0 lead.

Belmont Abbey added four more runs in the third, getting two-run singles from Carlos Vasquez and Frazier to make it 7-0. An RBI single from freshman infielder Danny Brion gave the Crusaders an 8-0 lead.

Knowles broke up Merritt's no-hit attempt with a one-out triple off the left field fence in the bottom of the seventh. Alex Chapman followed with a sacrifice fly to get the Bulldogs on the board.

Merritt went the distance, allowing only one run on one hit while striking out eight, improving to 1-1 on the year. Blake Troutman took the loss, allowing five runs on five hits in two innings, falling to 0-2 on the year.