Parker Pillsbury doubles.
John Bolton
CENTRAL — Southern Wesleyan fell to the Belmont Abbey Crusaders in the final two games of the series in 13-3 and 15-5 final scores.
The Warriors collected six hits in game one with Josh Asbill leading the team with two hits. Parker Pillsbury doubled. Pillsbury brought in all three RBIs the Warriors recorded. Southern Wesleyan walked four times and Chance Fogel stole a base. Sean Sutay started game one and pitched 4.1 innings while striking out three batters. Devyn Bond, Josh Fenton and Aidan Evans all came in to pitch in relief.
Southern Wesleyan had six hits in the second game. Both Ty King Richards and Dawson Posick recorded two hits. Will Pitts led the team two of the three RBIs. The Warriors walked six times and both King Richards and Josh Asbill were hit by pitches. TJ McEvilly started game two on the mound. Aaron Bennett led the team with two strikeouts in the game.
Game One
Belmont Abbey took the first run of the game in the top of the first inning. They went on to score in the top of the second and third innings to put them ahead 4-0.
The Warriors countered in the bottom of the third inning. Josh Asbill led off with a single to center field. With two out, Chance Fogel walked to advance Asbill to second. Ty King Richards bunted the ball to sacrifice himself and advance both Fogel and Asbill ninety feet. Parker Pillsbury doubled down the left field line to bring both runners in to score to put Southern Wesleyan down 4-2.
The Crusaders continued to push ahead as they brought three more runs in to score in the top of the fourth inning. They took a 13-2 run lead after scoring runs in the top of the fifth and sixth innings.
Southern Wesleyan scored their final run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jordan Montgomery led off the inning with a single up the middle. With two outs, Chance Fogel walked. A single to short stop by Ty King Richards loaded up the bases. Parker Pillsbury was then hit by a pitch to bring Montgomery in. However, Belmont Abbey went on to win the first game 13-3.
Game Two
Belmont Abbey charged out of the gate in the second game as they brought six runs in to score in the top of the first inning.
Southern Wesleyan countered in the bottom of the first inning. Chance Fogel led off with a walk and then advanced to second as Ty King Richard was hit by a pitch. A fielding error by first base allowed Parker Pillsbury to reach first and brought Fogel in to score. The Warriors continued to press as Josh Galloway grounded out to bring King Richards in to score.
The Crusaders put four more runs in to score in the top of the third inning. They pushed further ahead with runs in the top of the fifth.
The Warriors continued to battle as Chance Fogel led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk. A single up the middle by Ty King Richards allowed Fogel to advance to third base. With Caden Cotton pinch running for King Richards, Zach O’Malley walked to advance Cotton to second. With two out, Josh Asbill was hit by a pitch. Dylan Carter came in to pinch run for Asbill. A wild pitch allowed Fogel to come in and score. Will Pitts then singled to left center to bring both Carter and Cotton in to score to put the Warriors within six runs of the Crusaders.
However, Belmont Abbey scored in the eighth and ninth innings to win the game 15-5.