The Belmont Abbey softball team lost both of its Sunday games at the Limestone Softball Classic, taking a 13-5 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan in five innings, and a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Alderson-Broaddus. The Crusaders are now 4-5 on the year.

"Today we played better but just didn't have what it took to beat these strong West Virginia teams," Head Coach Ellie Hanover said. "We need to learn from our mistakes this weekend. The true test comes with how you react to the tough losses. I think we are ready to put this weekend behind us and prepare for Mars Hill and Coker. I have faith that we will bounce back."

In the opener, West Virginia Wesleyan bolted out to a 5-0 lead after an inning and a half before the Abbey got on the board in the bottom of the second. Kathleen Pasquarella led off with a double and scored on a single to left by Alysia Stewart.

Wesleyan responded with two runs in the top of the third and three more in the fifth to move its lead to 10-1. The Abbey mounted a charge in the bottom of the fourth with four runs. Pasquarella led off with a walk, followed by a double from Carol-Anne Sherrill. Brittany Southard laced another double, scoring Pasquarella and Sherrill. Carly Kensinger came in to pinch run for Southard, and she moved to third on a single to center and scored when the ball was misplayed. A walk to Emily Peek came before a Brooke Baliles single to right that scored Stewart.

That run cut the Abbey deficit in half to 10-5, but Wesleyan plated three runs in the top of the fifth to extend its lead to 13-5. Down to its final three outs to keep the game alive, the Crusaders went down in order.

Hillary Perez-Ashley picked up the win in five innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits. Emily Self was charged with the loss. She allowed five runs on six hits in two and one-thirds innings.

Pasquarella and Stewart each had two of the Abbey's seven hits. West Virginia Wesleyan totaled 15.

In game two, against Alderson-Broaddus, Pasquarella staked the Crusaders to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a run-scoring single that plated Chelsea Elmore, who led off the inning with a single.

Alderson-Broaddus got the run back in the top of the second on a solo home run by Mary Mayer, but the Crusaders jumped ahead again the bottom of the fourth. Pasquarella led off with a single, moved to third on a single and defensive error off the bat of Sherrill, and scored on a throwing error on a grounder by Stewart.

The lead was short lived, as A-B plated three runs in the top of the fifth, using a two-RBI single by Heather Vestal and a Lisa Boswell RBI double.

Both teams went down in order in their next at bats, and after the Crusaders went scoreless in the sixth, Alderson-Broaddus added two insurance runs in the seventh to pad its lead to 6-2, which was the final.

Kat Powell picked up the win in a complete-game effort, striking out eight and walking none while holding the Abbey to two runs (one earned) on eight hits. Sami Michaelis took the loss. She yielded four runs on four hits in four and one-thirds innings, striking out five.

The Crusaders finished with eight hits as Elmore and Pasquarella both finished with two.