Erskine scored the only run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth inning as the Flying Fleet defeated Belmont Abbey with a 1-0 win this morning in an elimination game of the 2012 Conference Carolinas Tournament. Erskine moves to 28-22 and will play tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., while the Crusaders season comes to an end with a record of 30-21.

Both teams combined for nine hits, all singles, and all of them coming after the fifth inning as Gabe Wallmeyer and Heath Gray combined to retire the first 23 batters of the game until Wallmeyer issued a two out walk to Drew Willingham in the bottom of the fourth. The extra inning game lasted just two hours and one minute.

Stephen Mullis provided the game's first hit with a single to center with two outs in the fifth, but he was left stranded, and Erskine put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the inning, but he was left stranded as well. The first five innings of the game expired after just 51 minutes.

The Crusaders threatened in the seventh as Justin Vasquez reached on a one out single and stole second, but was nabbed trying to steal third. Wallmeyer retired the side in order in the seventh, and the Abbey made noise in the eighth. Emilio Pagan led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Mullis. A Flying Fleet error off the bat of Gabby Amor moved Pagan to third with just one out, but a pop out on a bunt and a flyout to left ended the inning.

Wallmeyer worked around a one out single in the ninth to retire the side on a double play groundout to send the game into extra innings.

In the tenth, Mullis laced a seeing-eye single to right with one out and was removed for pinch runner Michael Vargas, but back-to-back flyouts to left ended the inning.

In the bottom of the frame Erskine seized the win as Willingham led off with a single and raced to second on a bunt single by Chase Corn. That prompted a pitching change as Pagan moved to the mound from third to try to end the threat. A sacrifice bunt by Will Huff that moved Willingham and Corn up one base led to an intentional walk to Logan Galiher that loaded the bases.

Luke Danielewicz entered the game to pinch hit for Brandon Wooten, and his fly out to center was deep enough to score Willingham for the winning run.

Wallmeyer was the tough luck loser as he carried a two hit shutout through nine innings. He gave up one run on four hits in nine plus innings, striking out three and walking two. Gray fanned six and scattered five hits over ten scoreless innings. He did not walk a batter.

Mullis had two of the Abbey's five hits, both singles. Pagan, Vasquez and Caleb Shore all had one hit. Erskine totaled four hits as Zac McCarthy led the Fleet with two. Willingham and Corn had one each, both in the tenth inning.