The Belmont Abbey baseball team took the first two games of a Conference Carolinas baseball series with 3-2 and 5-3 wins at Coker this afternoon in Harstsville. Both games saw great pitcher performances on both sides of the field, but it was Abbey that managed to get the big hits when they were needed earning them the victories.

In the opener, Abbey starting pitcher Steven Thiele tossed a compete game three hit shutout, striking out seven, to lead the Crusaders to a 2-0 win. Sean Tracy pitched very well for the Cobras as he scattered eight hits, allowed just two runs and had seven punch outs.

The Crusaders gave Thiele the only run he would need in the top of the first. Roberto Sanchez led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a walk to Kyle Buchanan. He scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Joey Frabasile.

The lead doubled in the fourth as Chris Vazquez led off with a double and scored on a single by Tim Dye.

That was all Thiele would need, as he allowed just one runner to reach third, on a Jake Frazier triple in the sixth. He retired the final eight batters of the game, five by strikeout.

Justin Vasquez was Abbey's leading hitter with three hits, while Dye and Frabasile drove in a run apiece. Sanchez was the only other Crusader hitter with multiple hits, he had two.

For Coker, Matt Ammons, Frazier and Daniel Hiatt each had a hit.

In game two both sides saw a bit more offensive production, but in the end it came down to pitching. Coker took a 1-0 lead in the second, Buchanan answered the Cobras run with three runs for the Crusaders thanks to a three-run double in the top of the third. Both teams exchanged two run half innings in the sixth, but the Crusaders held on for the 5-3 win in the seventh.

Cody Stull (4-0) got the win with a solid five inning performance. He allowed three runs on four hits with a strikeout. Jonathan Gainey (1-1) took the loss going six innings allowing five runs on seven hits with a strikeout. Joey Kopp and Jordan Cudney combined for two innings of scoreless baseball in relief for the Crusaders, securing the win. Cudney struck out the final batter of the game against the only batter he faced.

At the plate, Hiatt was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Tyler Witzel also had two hits for the Cobras. Buchanan finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs and a double and Vasquez had a double and a triple with an RBI and a run scored for the Crusaders.

The Cobras and the Crusaders will complete their three-game series with a single game on Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m.