BELMONT, N.C. — The Belmont Abbey baseball team scored four runs in the first two innings and used a steady rotation of pitchers to earn a 9-2 win over Mars Hill Tuesday at Abbey Yard.
 
The Crusaders jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first two innings en route to a third straight home win to begin the season. Belmont Abbey legged out a season-high 10 hits in the victory, led by three hits from Joe Whitaker.
 
Belmont Abbey improves to 3-3 on the season while Mars Hill is now 2-5.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Alex Sniffen got Belmont Abbey off to a good start on the mound, striking out four in his two ininngs of work .
• The first five hits of the game for The Abbey were extra base-hits. That included four doubles in the bottom of the first inning and a leadoff home run from Caleb Burr in the second.
• Connor Tucker, Todd Velotta and Whitaker all drove in runs in the first inning.
• After Mars Hill scored in the third, Tucker got the run back with an RBI double in the fourth for the Crusaders.
• The Lions added a run in the fifth but Whitaker responded by scoring a run off a wild pitch in Sthe bottom of the frame. He led off the inning with a single.
• Belmont Abbey capped the scoring with a three-run seventh inning highlighted by an RBI double from Whitaker and later scoring on a double-steal.
• Seven pitchers made an appearance for the Abbey in the contest, recording nine strikeouts.

 
UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey goes on the road to face Southern Wesleyan to open Conference Carolinas play.
• The series begins with a single game at 4 p.m. Friday followed by a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday.