The Belmont Abbey softball team picked up two crucial wins at St. Andrews Presbyterian this afternoon, winning the opener 5-2 and earning the sweep with an 8-2 win in game two. The Crusaders improve to 14-22 overall and 8-8 in Conference Carolinas, while the Knights drop to 4-26 overall and 2-12 in Conference Carolinas.

"Today was a very important day for us," Head Coach Ellie Hanover said. "The girls stepped up and played well. Our bats came alive and the defense was great. Emily did a great job of keeping their batters off balance. I was pleased today. We have Erskine on Saturday and we really need to gear up for a tough road ahead with the tournament coming up. But this is what we have worked for all year. We are excited."

In game one, the Crusaders took advantage of five St. Andrews errors as they opened the scoring in the top of the third. Katie Childers worked a leadoff walk and moved to second on an infield single by Kinsey McClure. Childers then scored when Chelsea Elmore reached on a throwing error by the catcher. After a ground ball double play that moved Elmore to third, Smart singled home Elmore to move the lead to 2-0.

The Knights tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on a two run homer, but the Crusaders reclaimed the lead for good in the fifth, getting an RBI single from Kelly Schweizer and back-to-back RBI doubles from Becca Rothrock and Carol-Anne Sherrill.

Both teams finished with seven hits as Schweizer and Rothrock both had two. Elmore, Schweizer, Smart, Rothrock and Sherrill all had one RBI. Emily Self picked up the win in four innings of relief. She gave up two runs on two hits, walking one. Sami Michaelis worked the first three innings, holding the Knights scoreless on three hits, fanning two. Ashley Disque was the tough luck loser, as she allowed five unearned runs on seven hits in seven innings, fanning five.

In the nightcap, Anna Smart homered twice as the Crusaders earned the sweep. The Abbey jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first on a bases loaded walk to Alysia Stewart that brought home Schweizer. The Knights countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-run shot by Tiffany Harris, but those were the only runs of the game for St. Andrews.

In the top of the second, Smart put the Abbey back on top for good with a three run shot, scoring Elmore and Kathleen Pasquarella. Pasquarella led off the inning getting hit by a pitch and Elmore drew a walk. Smart's round tripper moved the Crusaders ahead 4-2.

In the third the advantage moved to 5-2 as Sherrill led off with a single and moved to second when Stewart was hit by a pitch. Kelsey Spangler sacrificed both runners up one base, and Pasquarella's safety squeez scored Pasquarella.

In the fourth Smart struck again, blasting a two out, two run homer to widen the gap to 7-2. The Crusaders closed the scoring in the fifth as Schweizer reached on a fielding error by the first baseman that allowed McClure, who had walked earlier, to score.

The Abbey finished with five hits as Smart drove in five runs on two hits. Self picked up the win in a complete-game effort, holding St. Andrews to two unearned runs on five hits, striking out five and walking none. Disque took the loss. She gave up eight runs, seven earned, on five hits in seven innings. She walked eight and struck out one.