Belmont Abbey CVAC Tourney

Belmont Abbey......5
Coker College......7 ..... 10 innings

WILSON, NC – Seventh-seeded Coker College scored two runs on two hits in the top of the 10th inning to top second-seeded Belmont Abbey 7-5 in the opening game of the 2007 CVAC Tournament. Coker rose to 20-29 overall while Abbey is 30-19.

The Abbey will play the loser of the #3 Pfeiffer vs. #6 Barton game at 1 p.m. Friday at Nixon Field while Coker will take on the Pfeiffer-Barton winner at 10 a.m. Friday morning in Fleming Stadium.

The Crusaders opened the scoring in the first on an RBI single to center by Will Breslin, scoring second baseman Alex Castellanos. The Cobras answered with two runs in the third to grab a 2-1 lead.

In the sixth, the Abbey scored twice to regain its advantage. After the first two batters were retired, third baseman Nick Popp extended the inning with a single to left, and moved to third on a double by Josh Cable. Patrick Atwell brought both men home with a single to right to give the Crusaders a 3-2 lead.

Coker responded with three runs in its half of the eighth to take a 5-3 lead, but the Crusaders tied it right back up with a pair in their half. Seth Waller and Josh Haire led off with back-to-back singles, and Popp moved them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Cable plated Waller with a groundout to trim the Cobras lead to one, and Atwell tied the contest at five with a single, scoring Haire with the tying run.

Neither team scored in the ninth to send the game into extra innings. In the tenth, Coker third baseman Eric Losten led off by reaching second on a double error by the shortstop. He went to third on a single and stole home when Brian Nally got himself caught in a rundown but safely retreated back to first base. After a double play, Ben Davidson launched a solo homer to left field for an insurance run to give Coker a 7-5 lead. The Abbey did not score in the bottom half as the Cobras held on for the win.

Brad Boob started on the mound for the Cobras and left after yielding five runs on 10 hits in eight innings. Chris Thomas (1-1) pitched the ninth and got the win while Kyle Strickland earned his third save by pitching the 10th inning.

Trey Summerlin (3-2) took the loss in relief of starter Andy Helms, who fired 7 1/3 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits.

 

Belmont Abbey.....3
Barton..............4.... 17 innings

WILSON, NC – Belmont Abbey and Barton battled through the longest game in CVAC Baseball Tournament history on Friday afternoon, and the Barton won the contest 4-3 in 17 innings.


After the sixth-seeded Bulldogs and the second-seeded Crusaders played to a 2-2 deadlock through nine innings, neither team plated a run in the next seven innings of their loser’s bracket game.

In the top of the 17th, the Abbey’s Alex Castellanos reached on a throwing error and moved all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt by Seth Waller. He scored on Will Breslin’s single to make it 3-2 Abbey.

With one out in the bottom of the 17th, David Bunn bunted his way aboard, Jimmy Metzinger beat out a slow dribbler to third base and Will Johnson walked to load the bases. Brett Norris came in run for Metzinger. Pinch hitter Ben Deese grounded the ball to short and Johnson was forced out at second. However, as Abbey tried to turn the double play, Johnson collided with the Crusaders’ second baseman, who threw the ball away at first base. Bunn had already scored and Norris rounded home as the ball bounded away.

Abbey was backing up the wild throw and fired the ball home, but in a bang-bang play, Norris just beat the tag at home plate for a 4-3 win.

The two teams managed 20 total hits and eight pitchers toed the mound. Brandon Brinson (7-4) was the winner for Barton and John Merritt (0-3) took the loss for Abbey.

In a key series of plays, Barton center fielder Travis Holloman robbed Alex Udwari of a home run in the top of the 15th inning by climbing over the fence at 385 feet, then ended that inning with a diving catch while racing in toward second base.

 

Seven Crusaders Earn All-CVAC Honors

WILSON, NC- Seven Belmont Abbey baseball players were named to the 2007 all-CVAC teams, with freshman second baseman Alex Castellanos, junior designated hitter Seth Waller, senior rightfielder Alex Udwari and junior starting pitcher Andy Helms named to the first team. Junior first baseman Will Breslin, senior shortstop Josh Haire and sophomore leftfielder Tyler McKenzie were named to the second team.


Castellanos pieced together one of the finest seasons in recent memory, as he entered the tournament with a .452 batting average with 22 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs and 47 runs batted in. As of the latest NCAA statistical report, he is ranked second in the nation in home runs , third in slugging percentage, eighth in batting average, and ninth in home runs per game. He is also ranked 27th in doubles per game and 14th in runs per game. He carried a 20-game hitting streak at one point in the and has 26 multi hit games (11 games with two hits, 11 games with three hits and four games with four hits) ... and 26 multi RBI games (six games with two, three games with three, two games with four and one game with at least five). 39 of his 85 hits have gone for extra bases. His batting average has been as high as .491.


Waller, one of the most dangerous hitters in the CVAC, entered the tournament ranked third in the nation in home runs, ninth in runs batted in 13th in home runs per game and 27th in doubles per game. He carried a 13-game hitting streak at one point during the season and leads the team with 28 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games He was named the CVAC Player of the Week on March 27 after batting .458 in five games, with a double, three home runs, 13 runs batted in and seven runs scored. He is batting .397 with 22 doubles, 15 home runs and a team leading 65 runs batted in.


Udwari, a preseason All-America selection, earns first-team honors for the second-straight season after hitting .341 with 14 doubles, 15 home runs and 54 runs batted in. He is ranked fourth nationally in home runs, 53rd in toughest to strikeout, 80th in runs per game, 62nd in RBIs and 18th in home runs per game. He has 23 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games. Defensively, he has not committed an error in 98 chances and has not been charged with an error in the last two seasons. He is the school’s all-time leader in hits, doubles, home runs, and runs batted in.


Helms, the 2005 CVAC Freshman of the Year, leads the Abbey with eight wins in ten appearances. He worked a complete-game five hit shutout in 1-0 win over Coker, striking out five. He is ranked 11th nationally in wins and 89th in strikeouts. He entered the tournament with 53 strikeouts in 79.2 innings pitched.


Breslin earns his first CVAC honor after registering a .389 average with 24 doubles, 12 home runs and 51 runs batted in. He is ranked fourth in the nation in doubles per game, 16th in home runs, 25th in slugging percentage, 40th in runs per game, 41st in home runs per game, 57th in runs batted in and 99th in times hit by pitch. He was named CVAC Player of the Week on March 14 after hitting .529 with four doubles, two homers and seven runs batted in. He has 22 multi-hit games and 16 multi-RBI games.


Haire is the school’s all-time leader in career triples and fifth in career runs. A second-team selection last season, Haire earned second team honors again after hitting .307 with 15 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 49 runs batted in. He is ranked 50th nationally in home runs and has 18 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games.


McKenzie picks up his first postseason honor after batting .368 with eight doubles, two home runs and 29 runs batted in. He is ranked 42nd nationally in times hit by pitch and has 15 multi-hit games and nine-multi RBI games.

 

Where has Castellanos been the past few years. I noticed that he is a 23 year old freshman.

 

Alex turns 21 in August. He had some academic issues that he's worked hard to improve. He enrolled & red-shirted at Belmont Abbey last year.

He is 3 years out of high school now. I suspect Alex will be drafted & play for pay this summer. I hope not for selfish reasons, but the kid is a wonderful talent: speed, athletic, & a lasher. He can go off the plate 6 inches & drive the ball with the flip of his wrist. And he's a fine teammate who shows up everyday.

 

The Observer article said he was 23. Go figure. He has put up some very impressive #'s. I saw him play in two games this season. Quite an athelete! Here's wishing him the best!!!