Belmont Abbey holds off Baseball for 9-8 win Wednesday

Belmont, N.C. —- The Catawba College baseball team cut their deficit to a single run in the seventh inning, but Belmont Abbey held on for the win Wednesday afternoon. The Crusaders improve to 26-11 overall, while the Catawba Indians drop to 23-15.

Dylan Driver again went for three hits while scoring two runs and stealing a base. Jackson Price also went 3-for-5 and Harris Jackson hit two doubles and drove in a team-high three runs. Connor Tucker paced the Belmont Abbey offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Catawba put up three runs in the first inning for the second consecutive game, as Cameron Mills, Price and Jackson all produced RBI base hits to put Catawba up 3-0 before the home team got the chance to bat.

The Crusaders responded for four unanswered runs, taking a 4-3 lead after four innings. Driver and Mills produced back-to-back runs in the fifth to regain the lead, but the Crusaders took it back in the bottom half of the fifth, capped by Caleb Burr's three-run homer to turn a tie game into an 8-5 Crusader lead.

Jackson's two-run double in the seventh inning cut Catawba's deficit to a single run, but Belmont Abbey shut down Catawba's bats in the final two innings to hold onto the win.

Nic Aehlert earned the win for Belmont Abbey. Casey Gouge took the loss, allowing four runs in 1.1 innings. Drew Stegura picked up the six-out save for the Crusaders.

Catawba travels to Newberry this weekend to face the 6th-ranked Wolves, weather permitting. Game one on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m.