The Flying Fleet lost a three game series 2-1 to Conference Carolina's opponent Belmont Abbey. The Fleet dropped the first game on Friday afternoon 8-5; on Saturday they picked up a win in the second game 7-3, but dropped the third game in the series 9-7 in extra innings.
Game One: Belmont Abbey was first on the board with a little help from an Erskine error, scoring one run in the bottom of the first. The Fleet managed to tie it up in the second off a single from
Trevor Lesane. The Crusaders pulled back ahead in the bottom of the third with two runs, but another single from Lesane brought in Reinoso and Yniesta to tie it up once more in the top of the fourth. This would be the last tie of the game, as Belmont Abbey would go on to post five more runs to the Fleet's two, giving the Crusaders the 8-5 advantage on the game.
Livan Reinoso,
Dayan Reinoso, and
Trevor Lesane all went 2-4, with Lesane bringing in three RBIs for the Fleet.
Game Two: The second game of the series saw the Fleet take an early lead, with
Justin Fox bringing in Lesane in the top of the second. The third inning also proved to be exciting for the Fleet, with Lesane bringing in two runners and a single from
Jaisen Randolph bringing in another. The top of the fourth saw another Erskine run when
Asher Smith was brought in off of a swing from Reinoso. The Crusaders would chip away at the 5-0 lead scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth and one in the fifth, but two more runs from the Fleet would finish off the game 7-3 for the Fleet victory.
Trevor Lesane went 2-3 and Randolph went 2-4. L. Reinoso, Lesane, and Fox each contributed 2 RBIs on the Erskine win.
Game Three: The third and final game of the series had a promising start for the Fleet, but the first inning would come to a close with three Erskine players on base and no runs. The Crusaders scored first in the game, but the top of the third would see three runs for Erskine, giving them the lead. A home run from Drew Yneista in the top of the fourth would increase the Fleet lead to 5-2. The Crusaders would manage to tie the score over the next few innings, until Erskine earned additional runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Down by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Crusaders would manage to bring in two runs to force extra innings. A Crusader home run in the bottom of the eleventh would be enough to take the game 9-7 and the series 2-1.
Xander Vizcarrondo went 2-4 and L. Reinoso contributed 2 RBIs. Yneista, D. Reinoso, and Carter would each contribute an RBI of their own.
The Fleet will step out of conference to take on Lenoir-Rhyne on February 25 in a 2pm matchup at Grier Field.
