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Abbey edges Knights baseball in CVAC series
March 11, 2007 LAURINBURG, N.C.—Belmont Abbey College, ranked No. 9 in the NCBWA South Atlantic Regional Poll, only out scored St. Andrews Presbyterian College by two runs but took the three-game, weekend series at Clark Field by winning two of the three CVAC games. The Knights finished the weekend with a 10-15 overall record and a 3-6 mark in the CVAC while the Crusaders maintain a 15-10 overall ledger and an 8-4 record in the conference. GAME 1: Belmont Abbey 5, St. Andrews 4 BAC held on for a 5-4 victory in the series opener on Saturday afternoon. The Crusaders jumped out to a 5-0 lead with a five-run outburst in the second inning including runs batted in by four different Abbey batters. St. Andrews chipped away at the lead with one run in both the fifth and seventh. The Knights added two more runs in the eighth to get to within one but Crusader closer Trey Summerlin closed the door on the game with a scoreless ninth inning. Sophomore Ivan Rodriguez (New York, N.Y.) led the Knights with three hits including a triple, an RBI, and a run scored. Junior Eric Stone (Laurinburg, N.C.) collected a pair of hits. Seth Waller led the Crusaders with three hits including two doubles. Andy Helms earned his fourth win of the season pitching eight strong innings. GAME 2: St. Andrews 5, Belmont Abbey 4 St. Andrews split Saturday’s doubleheader by taking the nightcap 5-4. The Knights rallied from an early 2-0 deficit with the next five runs and held on for the one-run victory. Waller gave the Abbey the early advantage with a two-run double in the first inning. SAPC bounced back with a run in second, another run in the third, and three more in the fourth. The Knights rallied behind three Crusader miscues with four of their five runs being unearned. Senior Cliff Allred (Franklinville, N.C.) had the only RBI for St. Andrews. Senior leftie Ryan Curley (Emmaus, Pa.) collected his second win of the season. Curley (2-2) had four strikeouts while allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and four walks in five innings of work. Belmont Abbey pulled to within one on a two-run home run by Josh Haire in the sixth but freshman Jordan Cudney (Charlotte, N.C.) pitched a flawless seventh inning to stop the Crusader rally. Cudney’s save for the Knights was the first of the season for any SAPC pitcher. GAME 3: Belmont Abbey 3, St. Andrews 1 The Abbey pulled out the series victory with a narrow 3-1 victory in the rubber game on Sunday. The Crusaders got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the fourth but SAPC answered back with a score in the home half. Allred ripped his third home run of the season to tie the contest at 1-1. A Will Breslin double in the sixth put Belmont Abbey back on top for good while the Crusaders added an unearned insurance run in the eighth. David Rue tossed 8 1/3 innings in the win from the mound. Rue (2-0) fanned a game-high six while allowing just three hits and one run. Summerlin notched his fifth save of the season. Junior B.J. Horne (Hamlet, N.C.) was effective for the Knights scattering seven hits and three runs (one earned) over seven innings. Stone led the Knights in the three-game series with four hits. |