Opening day scores

Belmont Abbey......18
Mars Hill...............17

Belmont Abbey sophomore third baseman Jordan Pegram capped off a five-run Crusader ninth inning with a single to left, scoring junior first baseman Will Breslin as the Abbey erased a 16-6 deficit by scoring 11 of its 18 runs in the final three innings to earn an 18-17 season-opening win over Mars Hill this afternoon at the Abbey Yard.

Junior righthander Trey Summerlin, the fifth and final Crusaders pitcher of the day, earned the win after allowing a lone run in the ninth inning, while striking out one. Mars Hill reliever Tyler Greene, the fourth of five pitchers, suffered the loss after allowing five runs on three hits in the ninth, facing just five batters.

The Crusaders bolted out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Mars Hill responded by scoring four in the second. Belmont Abbey tied it back up in the fourth on a homer by senior All-American rightfielder Alex Udwari, a high towering drive down the rightfield line.

Mars Hill would score eight unanswered runs, plating one in the fourth and seven more in the fifth to surge ahead 12-4, and the lead grew to 16-4 when it added four more in the sixth. The Abbey would begin to claw into the deficit, scoring two runs in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by senior third baseman Nick Popp, scoring designated hitter Seth Waller, who opened the frame getting hit by a pitch.

Freshman second baseman Alex Castellanos, who had singled after Waller’s at bat, moved to third on a single by junior catcher Kyle Smith, and scored on a double by sophomore centerfielder Patrick Atwell to cut the lead to 16-6.

Senior shortstop Josh Haire made it 16-7 in the seventh, ripping a double to center, scoring Breslin, who led off the inning getting hit in the leg with a pitch. In the eighth, the Crusaders exploded for six runs to close within three, with two runs coming on a single by Breslin and the other two coming on a two-run shot by Castellanos.

Mars Hill would push the lead to 17-13 in the ninth on a two-run homer by first baseman Matt Carter, but the Abbey would get the runs they would need in the bottom of the ninth.

Greene came on in relief of Matt Dameron and promptly gave up a double to catcher Danny O’Brien, who blasted a double off the top of the wall in right. After O’Brien was lifted for pinch runner Spencer Sobol, Greene hit Atwell and third baseman Tyler McKenzie on consecutive pitches to load the bases for Udwari, who ripped a single to left center, scoring Sobol easily from third. Breslin followed with a single to right, scoring McKenzie and Atwell to trim the Mars Hill lead to one at 17-16.

Greene was lifted for Cody Branton, who yielded a sacrifice fly by Haire to right, deep enough to allow Udwari to score easily from third to tie the score at 17. Breslin, who stayed at first on the play, moved to third on a single to left by Waller and to third on a deep flyout to right center by Castellanos. Pegram followed with a seeing-eye single through the hole and into leftfield, allowing Breslin to score the winning run.

The Crusaders pounded out 21 hits as Atwell and Breslin both finished 4-5. Atwell had two doubles and a triple, while Breslin had three singles and a double. Mars Hill leadoff hitter Austin Boehme finished 2-6 with two grand slams (eight RBI) and a pair of runs scored. It finished with 13 hits. Both teams were error-free defensively.

The Abbey is back in action tomorrow at noon when it goes on the road to face Francis Marion in a doubleheader.

 

Belmont Abbey 18 Mars Hill 17

Elon-transfer Austin Boehme hit 2-grand slams in a losing effort for Mars Hill.

A football score played in football weather. Let's hope The Super Bowl is this good Sunday night.

 

It was really a good game..