The Belmont Abbey baseball team scored the first five runs of the game and three Crusaders pitchers limited King to just two runs on seven hits as the Abbey clinched the Conference Carolinas Western Division Championship and the second seed in next week's conference tournament with a 5-2 win today.

The Abbey dropped the first two games to the Tornado and needed to win today's game to claim the title outright as it improves to 30-19 overall and 18-9 in Conference Carolinas, while King drops to 27-17 overall and 16-11 in Conference Carolinas.

Crusaders starter Nate Cudney surrendered a pair of runs in six and two-thirds innings, and Matt Parish held King to just three hits over one and one-thirds scoreless innings. Emilio Pagan nailed down his conference-leading 13th save aftter working a scoreless ninth.

Belmont Abbey jumped ahead 2-0 in the top of the third, using a sacrifice fly by Gabby Amor that scored John Cucchiarella, and the other when Justin Vasquez stayed in a rundown long enough to score Ian Vazquez to pad the lead to 2-0.

Stephen Mullis made it 3-0 in the fourth as Caleb Shore reached on a two out single, stole second and scored on Mullis's opposite field double to left center.

Two innings later, the advantage grew by two as Vasquez led off with a triple and was chased home on Joey Frabasile's single to right. Two batters later, Shore singled home Frabasile.

King got on the board in the seventh on a solo homer and an RBI single, and neither team scored again as Pagan worked around a one out walk, ending the game on a fly out to center and a groundout to second base.

Cudney earned the win in six and two-thirds innings of work, allowing two runs on four hits. Pagan recorded his 13th save. Wesley Houser suffered the loss after yielding five runs, three earned, on seven hits in six innings.

Shore and Mullis both led the Abbey with two hits as the Crusaders totaled seven.

The Abbey will begin the Conference Carolinas Tournament as the two seed Thursday at a time to be determined.