BELMONT, N.C. --- Danny Cruz went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles including his RBI two-base hit in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive in the go-ahead run to lead Belmont Abbey to a 10-9 win over 11th-ranked Tusculum Wednesday at Abbey Yard.
The Crusaders (18-11) overcame an early five-run deficit and rallied from a 9-7 hole in the eighth scoring three times as the Pioneers (25-9) had its three-game winning streak snapped.
Belmont Abbey popped off 15 hits including three home runs and Cruz' two doubles as the Crusaders defeat their second ranked opponent this spring.
Adam Overcash went 3-for-4 with four runs scored including a home run, while Kale Rhame tallied three singles and posted three RBI in the victory.
Bryson Ford led the Pioneers with his 3-for-4 effort, while Zane Keener went 2-for-4 in the loss.
Tusculum got on the board in the first inning as Brandon Trammell belted his South Atlantic Conference-leading 12th homer of the season. His two-run blast to right field gave TU an early 2-0 lead.
Belmont Abbey scored a run in the bottom of the second on Ben Gobbel's one-out solo blast to left field to make it a 2-1 game.
TU responded with four runs in the third including a two-run homer by Daalen Adderley, his fifth home run in the last three weeks (11 games).
Trailing 6-1, the Crusaders chipped away at the deficit scoring two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings. M. Dodd tied the game in the sixth with his solo homer to left and Overcash gave the Crusaders at 7-6 lead with his lead-off homer in the seventh.
The Pioneers broke through in the top of the eighth inning scoring three runs without the use of a base hit. Adderley and Trey Hinton led off the inning with back-to-back walks. Both runners moved up a base after a wild pitch. D. Smith got a strikeout for the first out, but pinch-hitter Wes Reynolds was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the top of the order. Daulton Martin walked to bring home Adderley with the tying-run and Ford was hit by a pitch to score Hinton with the go-ahead tally. Smith struck out Murphy Flood for the second out, before Fuzzy Furr drew the fourth walk of the inning to bring in Reynolds for a 9-7 TU lead.
In the bottom of the eighth with a runner at first and two outs, TU closer Mitch McCain took over. Overcash was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Kale Rhame hit a RBI single to left to cut the TU lead in half. Matt Bapst tied the game with his RBI single and Cruz followed with his double to left as the Crusaders took the 10-9 lead.
Adderley drew a lead-off walk to start the top of the ninth, but pitcher Dylan Smith struck out Hinton and Wullenweber for the first two outs. Adderley moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Smith ended the game with a fly out to center field.
Smith moved his record to 2-1 as he went two innings, where he allowed one run, walked three and struck out four. McCain suffered the loss to fall to 2-2 on the year.
Trammell's 12 home runs this year are tied for the 10th most in a TU single-season. He also drove in his 51st and 52nd RBI of the campaign which leads NCAA Division II.
Ford also extended his Division II leading statistics with his 49th and 50th runs scored this season. He also posted the 50th stolen base of his TU career which is one away from tying the all-time mark held by TU Sports Hall of Famer Josh Wolff (2003-2006).
The Pioneers finished the game with eight walks to give them 211 on the season, which leads the country and are already the sixth-most in Tusculum history. TU added on two more hit batters to its DII-leading tally of 76, which is five shy of the school single-season mark (81) set in 2019.
Tusculum returns home to close out the regular season when the Pioneers host SAC newcomer Limestone for a four-game series. The weekend set begins on Saturday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader followed by Sunday's 1 p.m. twin-bill. Tusculum will honor its 18 seniors on Saturday prior to the series opener.
