Box Score
Box score
Weston Clarke homered twice and was just a few feet from hitting
a third; but Carson- Newman scored three runs in the eighth inning
to beat Belmont Abbey 10-8 at Abbey Yard. The loss breaks a streak
of eight consecutive wins over South Atlantic Conference foes.
The first clout for Clarke came in the second as he timed a 2-0
fastball deep beyond the wall in left centerfield. The early run
gave Matt Davenport a 1-0 lead going to the third. Clarke's second
big fly sparked a three run fourth, as his leadoff blast was just
beyond the reach of left fielder Zach Long. The homer trimmed the
Eagles lead to 3-2. The seventh inning would be Clarke's final
at-bat, and he drove a ball down the left field line that short
hopped the wall for a leadoff double. The three extra base hits
was a career high for the Gainesville, FL freshman.
With the Abbey leading 8-5 through six innings, Carson- Newman
began to peck away at the Crusaders, scoring two in the seventh
inning, then ceasing control with a three run eighth. Trace Rogers
would single to right with one out off Crusaders reliever Emilio
Pagan. On the play, Rogers reached third on a fielding error.
After a Cody Fox walk, and a pickoff play that retired Fox, Jackson
Reid would tie the game at eight with a single that plated Rogers.
A Bryan Everhart single would bring Zach Long to the plate. Long
would then send a ball to the right centerfield gap to score Reid
and Everhart.
The rally would earn Evan Faithfull his second win of 2013, as
Daniel Sharp would come on to nail down his first save of the year,
but not without the Crusaders making it interesting in both the
eighth and ninth innings.
In the eighth, Kyle Buchanan doubled and would be followed by
Emilio Pagan and Matt Mazzolla drawing walks to the load bases.
Sharp would dig deep and strike out the next Crusaders batter to
squash the threat. The ninth saw John Pilla collect his second hit
of the day with a blooper to right. Ryan Allen hit a screamer back
to the box that was unable to be fielded by Sharp. The ball
ricocheted off Sharp's hamstring and came to rest on the infield
grass. Sharp would once again bear down and strike out the side to
end the game. Sharp would finish with five strikeouts in his two
scoreless frames.
Clarke was one of seven Crusaders to have multi-hit games.
The seven players with multi-hit games is a high watermark for the
club in 2013. Emilio Pagan was pegged with the loss for the
Abbey. The Crusaders begin a three game series at Coker with a
Friday opener at 3:30pm. WGNC 1450am and
www.wgnc.net will begin the broadcast
with a 3:15pm pregame show on the Abbey Sports Network. Follow the
Crusaders on twitter: @abbeyathletics, #raisethered .
Yard Markers
Double Your Pleasure- Kyle Buchanan hit his thirteenth double of
the season in the eighth inning against Carson- Newman.
Weston, Rinse, Repeat - Weston Clarke's multi-homer game was the
first of his collegiate career. The three extra base hits raised
his slugging percentage to .456 on the year, a .116 point increase
from the previous day.
Seven and the Ragged Tiger- Ian Vazquez, Pilla, Ryan Allen,
Anthony Dimino, Kennan Stanley, Clarke, Quinn Hawksworth each
collected two hits in the loss to Carson- Newman, and the 17 hit
outburst was a club high for 2013. The team batting average went
from .314 to .318.
