BELMONT, N.C. -- Belmont Abbey Softball used an impressive offensive attack Wednesday afternoon to sweep a doubleheader from William Peace on opening day at Crusader Field. The Crusaders won the opener 10-2 in six innings before taking the nightcap by a 4-0 count.

The games were moved to Wednesday from Friday due to impending weather.

THE OPENER

• Five different Crusaders -- Hallie Mele, Payton Whitley, Abby Craver, Cameron Cooper and Mackenzie Sprinkle -- had two hits each as The Abbey tallied 10 runs and 14 hits in the contest.
• Mele drove in four runs, including three on a bases-clearing double that broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth.
• Each team scored single runs in the first and third innings. Mele reached and scored on errors to even the game at one, while Craver later made the score 2-2 after three with a two-out RBI double to right center.
• The Crusaders ended the game early with five runs in the sixth. Cooper led off with a home run, before Mele stroked a run-scoring single that made the score 7-2. After an RBI groundout increased the lead to 8-2, Kellee Branham walked the game off with a two-run double.
• Craver (1-0) earned the win with a complete-game six hitter. She walked one and struck our seven in her first collegiate appearance.

THE NIGHTCAP

• Mele had two of the team's six hits in the contest with Emma Frye, Bailey Presley and Cooper adding the others.
• Mele and Cooper both hit solo homers in the first inning, while Sidney Pon singled with two outs to cap the three-run outburst.
• The Abbey added a run in the sixth after Emma Frye led off with a single before Mele earned her sixth RBI on the day on a double to left.
• Alanah Browne (1-0) scattered six hits over seven innings to earn the complete-game victory. She walked three and struck out six.

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders continue their season-opening homestand on Saturday when Elizabeth City State comes to town.
• First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Crusader Field.