College Scores Week ending 4/8

Belmont Abbey.......8....11 innings
Augusta St..............7


BELMONT, NC- Belmont Abbey senior rightfielder Alex Udwari drove in junior catcher Kyle Smith with a one out sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Crusaders defeated Augusta State 8-7 this afternoon. The Abbey improves to 27-15, while the Jaguars fall to 22-13.

In the bottom of the 11th, Smith led off the frame with a triple to the gap in right centerfield. After a groundout, second baseman Alex Castellanos was intentionally walked, and then moved to second on a wild pitch. Derek Swilley was then intentionally walked to load the bases for Udwari, who lifted a high fly ball to medium rightfield, allowing Smith to score the winning run without a play.

Freshman Joey Will earned his first collegiate win after holding the Jaguars hitless in the 11th. He was the fifth Crusaders pitcher of the day. Ryan Emmett, the third of four Augusta State pitchers, fell to 3-2 after allowing three runs on six hits in four and two-thirds innings.

The Jaguars scored the first four runs of the contest, getting one in the second and three more in the fourth to build a 4-0 lead.

The Abbey got on the board in the fourth on designated hitter Seth Waller’s first homer of the day, a two run shot to dead center. Augusta State got one of those runs back in the sixth to widen the lead to 5-2, but the Crusaders would tie the game at five after they scored four times in the sixth, with the last three coming on senior third baseman Nick Popp’s sixth homer of the year, which tied the game at five.

Augusta State regained the lead in the seventh, using an RBI single by Tyler Marzofka that scored Michael Fritz, but the Abbey answered in the eighth as Waller drilled his second homer of the day, ripping a line drive off the scoreboard in left centerfield to knot the game at six.

The Jaguars answered again in the ninth, as designated hitter Tim Rawlings drilled the first pitch of the inning well over the leftfield wall, allowing Augusta State to regain the lead at 7-6.

Down to its final three outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Abbey saw its first two batters retire before Castellanos sent it to extra innings with a homer to left. Swilley followed with a single and moved to third on a single to right by Udwari, but a flyout ended the threat.

In the 11th, Wall issued a leadoff walk, but was negated with caught stealing attempt. That set up the contributions in the bottom of the inning leading to the Abbey win.

The Crusaders finished with 11 hits as Castellanos finished the day 4-5, hitting for the cycle. After a groundout in the first, he hit a single, a double, a triple and a home run (in that order) in his next four at bats. Waller finished 3-4 with two homers and a single.

 

Davidson got smacked around by Duke yesterday 17-12. Devils hit four homers in the game. Cats under .500 for the first time this year after dropping their fifth straight game. Next up is a tough Western Carolina squad.

 

Belmont Abbey.......9
Presbyterian.............4

BELMONT, NC- Belmont Abbey freshman second baseman Alex Castellanos broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth, as he ripped his team-leading 16th homer of the year to give the Abbey the lead for good, as it went on to defeat the Presbyterian Blue Hose 9-4 this afternoon. The Crusaders improve to 25-18, while the Blue Hose slip to 16-32.

Abbey starting pitcher Andy Helms improved to 7-2 in the win, as he allowed three runs on three hits in five innings of work. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. Helms, Brett DiPasquale and Trey Summerlin combined to strike out 11 batters and no walks. Daniel Hill was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in two innings of work.

The Blue Hose jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second, but the Crusaders answered with two runs in their half of the third to take a 2-1 lead. Consecutive walks to Derek Swilley and Castellanos, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Tyler McKenzie, put both men in scoring position for rightfielder Alex Udwari, who laced a single to right, driving both men home for a 2-1 Abbey lead.

Senior shortstop Josh Haire made it 3-1 in the third with a solo homer to right, but Presbyterian tied the game at three after scoring a pair of runs in the sixth.

The game did not stay tied for long as Castellanos opened the bottom of the fifth with a towering homer to left center. McKenzie followed that up with a single to right, and Udwari stretched the lead to 6-3 with a towering homer down the rightfield line, his 14th round tripper of the year.

The Blue Hose would get one in the sixth, but Abbey answered with two runs in its half, as pinch hitter Spencer Sobol blooped a double down the rightfield line, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Swilley, and scored on a groundout to short by Castellanos. McKenzie followed with a double to left center, and scored on an infield single by Udwari to increase the lead to 8-4.

Castellanos added an insurance run in the ninth when he singled home catcher Kyle Smith, who led off the frame with a single back up the middle and moved to second on a groundout.

The Crusaders finished with 11 hits as Udwari and Castellanos both tallied three. Udwari drove in five runs and scored once, while Castellanos drove in three and scored twice.