BELMONT, N.C. – The Belmont Abbey baseball team got off to a good start with five runs over a two-inning stretch and it proved to be enough as the Crusaders came away with an 8-3 victory over Limestone Tuesday evening at Abbey Yard.
 
The Crusaders were led offensively by Carter DuHaime, who had a double and triple and drove in three runs, and Joey Humphrey, who also drove in three runs.
 
The Abbey also got strong work in relief from Nic Aehlert, who pitched an immaculate inning in the top of the eighth by striking out three Saints batters on nine pitches and finished with five strikeouts in relief.
 
Belmont Abbey is now 19-9 on the season while Limestone is now 9-17.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Grant Lohmeier got Belmont Abbey off to a good start by retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced. He finished with three strikeouts with three hits and a run in four innings of work.
• The Crusaders got on the board in the second with an RBI double from DuHaime to score Tucker.
• Humphrey and Caleb Burr added RBI groundouts in the inning for The Abbey.
• DuHaime broke the game open in the third with an RBI triple to drive in Ben Ferguson and Garrett Browder, who both reached with hits earlier in the inning.
• After the Saints got a run in the top of the fourth, Ferguson drove in Connor Powell with an RBI single to make it 6-1 Crusaders.
• Layton Dickerson got out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout to end the fifth.
• Humphrey's two-run single in the bottom of the inning gave The Abbey an 8-1 lead.
• Myles Hedgecock allowed just one hit in two innings of relief.
• Aehlert's immaculate inning resulted in three strikeouts, all of them swinging.

 
UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey opens a three-game Conference Carolinas series against Francis Marion Friday at Abbey Yard.
• The first game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start with a doubleheader to follow at 1 p.m. Saturday.