The Belmont Abbey baseball team clubbed two homers that led to five runs in the second inning as the Crusaders bolted ahead for good and earn a 12-4 win at Mars Hill this afternoon at Henderson Field. The win moves the Abbey's record to 26-15, while Mars Hill falls to 16-29.

Belmont Abbey, playing its first game in a week due to the Easter break, stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the second as Kyle Buchanan ripped a two-run homer, followed by a three run shot by Gabby Amor. Ten men came to the plate for the Crusaders in the frame.

Buchanan made it 6-0 in the fourth. Amor led off with a single to left, and after a pair of fly outs, Joey Frabasile moved Amor to second with a single to center, followed by Buchanan's single to center, scoring Amor, to make it 6-0.

Two frames later the advantage grew to 9-0. Frabasile ripped a one out single and moved to third on a double by Buchanan. Shore plated Frabasile with a single to left, and Buchanan scored on Stephen Mullis's sacrifice fly to center, which also moved Shore to second. After Shore stole third, he scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 9-0.

Mars Hill cut the advantage to 9-3 in the bottom of the frame, two coming on a double by Michael Bueker, and the other on a sacrifice fly by Jake Wooten. Mars Hill struck again in the eighth on an RBI single by Tommy Scala that plated Wooten, but the Crusaders answered with three in the ninth, two coming on an RBI single by Justin Vasquez and the other on a Mars Hill throwing error that scored Amor.

Matt Parish retired the side in order in the ninth to nail down the win.

James White earned the win in two innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits, striking out one. Starter Nate Cudney worked the first four scoreless innings, scattering three hits, striking out five and walking a pair. Mars Hill starter Tim Crawford took the loss. He yielded six runs on seven hits in five innings, walking five and fanning four.

Belmont Abbey totaled 11 hits as Frabasile and Buchanan both led the way with three each. Buchanan and Amor both drove in three runs. Buchanan fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Vasquez drove in a pair of runs. Six of the nine Abbey starters had at least one hit.