GASTONIA, N.C. – Freshman Joe Whitaker made the most of his second collegiate appearance by hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Belmont Abbey baseball team a 10-9 victory over Coker on a chilly Friday night at Sims Legion Park. The game was moved from Abbey Yard due to the inclement weather from Thursday.
 
Whitaker, who entered the game in the sixth inning as a pinch hitter for Jackson Risk, earned his first collegiate hit with the bases loaded to score Patrick Taylor. Taylor scored three runs in the game and got the Crusaders going offensively with a one-out single in the inning.
 
Joey Humphrey led the way offensively for The Abbey, going 2 for 4 with a home run and five runs batted in.
 
Belmont Abbey won its second straight game and moved to 2-0 on the season while Friday's contest marked the season opener for Coker.   
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nic Aehlert got the night started well for Belmont Abbey by retiring six of the first seven batters that he faced.
• Carter DuHaime led Belmont Abbey off with a single in the bottom of the first inning and later scored on an RBI double by Risk.
• After Coker took the lead in the third inning, the Crusaders earned two runs on consecutive at-bats to regain the lead. Risk drew a walk with the bases loaded while Connor Tucker was hit by a pitch. Humphrey capped off the inning with an two-run single.
• Humphrey continued his strong night at the plate with a three-run home run to center field in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend the Belmont Abbey lead to 8-3.
• Myles Hedgecock made his first appearance with the Crusaders and pitched two innings that was capped off by striking out the side in the sixth inning.
• The Crusaders held off a Coker rally in the seventh inning when the team was able to throw out the Cobras runner at home plate on an attempted double steal to end the inning.
• After falling behind 9-8 in the eighth, the Crusaders tied the game in the bottom of the frame when Taylor scored on a wild pitch. He led the inning off by reaching on a fielding error.
• Ben Ferguson was intentionally walked three times in Friday's game.
• Aidan Brown and Josh Mruk both made their first appearances on the mound for the Crusaders.
• Ethan Wilson earned the win after retiring all five batters that he faced in the ninth and 10th innings.

 
UP NEXT

• The series concludes with a doubleheader against the Cobras at 2 p.m. Saturday at CarolinaBank Field in Florence, S.C.
• The start of the doubleheader was pushed back an hour due to Friday's game going into extra innings.