GASTONIA, N.C. – On a day that was delayed due to weather, Barton College and Belmont Abbey College both won elimination games in the 2025 Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship to setup another match on Sunday. Young Harris College capped the day by advancing to Monday’s championship contest with a win over Emmanuel University.

No. 3 Belmont Abbey defeats No. 1 Francis Marion 15-4
Belmont Abbey rebounded from Friday night’s defeat by scoring in each of the first four innings to eliminate top seed Francis Marion University. Jackson Risk ripped a home run in the first inning before Justin Herrera plated a two with a single in the second inning. The Crusaders added two more runs in the fourth inning on a Caleb Burr double to take a 6-0 lead.

The Belmont Abbey lead grew to 7-0 in the seventh before a pair of Francis Marion runs on a Caleb Oakley two-run triple. Noah Stout then lifted a two-run home run to pull Francis Marion within 7-4 after eight innings. However, the Crusaders put the game out of reach with eight runs in the ninth inning to take the contest 15-8.

No. 6 Barton defeats No. 4 North Greenville 5-4
For the second straight game, Gideon Antle lifted an early home run as his second-inning blast gave North Greenville a 1-0 lead. The advantage remained the same until a Brett Blomquist double stretch the Trailblazer lead to 2-0 in the sixth. Barton cut the deficit in half with a Luis Sauri sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. The Bulldogs then took the lead on a two-out, two-run double from pinch hitter Ian Murphy in the eighth inning.

Following weather delay of one hour and 24-minute delay, North Greenville came back and scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Antle drove in one with a single before a Payton Howard sacrifice fly gave the Trailblazers a 4-3 lead. Barton loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, and with two strikes, Gavin Gilmore singled up the middle to plate two and give Barton a 5-4 lead. Following a leadoff walk and two outs, Barton cut down the game-tying run at third base trying to go from first to third on a single, giving the Bulldogs the 5-4 victory.

No. 2 Young Harris defeats No. 8 Emmanuel 25-1
Young Harris jumped ahead on a Kade Smallwood single in the first inning. The Mountain Lions broke the game open following the third inning, scoring five runs in the third, five in the fourth, two in the fifth and eight in the sixth. Emmanuel plated a run in the fourth, but Young Harris won the contest 25-1. Seven Mountain Lions posted at least two hits with Jonny Smith leading the way with four hits. He also scored four times while Mark Castle and Jack Enrico each drove in five for Young Harris. Enrico hit two home runs in the contest. Smallwood drove in four and scored three on three hits.

In Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship games, Young Harris set what is believed to be the record with 25 runs, topping the previous mark of 23 set in 2021 by Barton. It is also only the seventh game in tournament history since 2000 with at least 20 runs.

Due to weather the schedule for the final four contests of the 2025 Conference Carolinas have been altered. The Barton-Belmont Abbey elimination contest has been moved to Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The winner of that contest with then take on Emmanuel at 4:00 p.m. The championship game has been moved to 11:00 a.m. on Monday with the if necessary game to follow.
 

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2025 Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship
CaroMont Health Park | Gastonia, N.C.
 
Play-in Round – Wednesday, April 30
Game 1: No. 8 Emmanuel defeats No. 9 Shorter, 9-6 BOX SCORE
Game 2: No. 7 Mount Olive defeats No. 10 King, 9-6 BOX SCORE
 
First Round - Thursday, May 1
Game 3: No. 8 Emmanuel defeats No. 1 Francis Marion, 15-8 BOX SCORE
Game 4: No. 4 North Greenville defeats No. 5 UNC Pembroke, 3-2 (at Sims Legion Park) BOX SCORE
Game 5: No. 2 Young Harris defeats  No. 7 Mount Olive, 11-10 (F/10) BOX SCORE
Game 6: No. 3 Belmont Abbey defeats No. 6 Barton, 8-5 BOX SCORE
 
Second Round - Friday, May 2
Game 7: No. 1 Francis Marion defeats No. 5 UNC Pembroke, 16-12 BOX SCORE
Game 8: No. 6 Barton defeats No. 7 Mount Olive, 7-3 (at Sims Legion Park) BOX SCORE
Game 9: No. 8 Emmanuel defeats No. 4 North Greenville, 8-5 BOX SCORE
Game 10: No. 2 Young Harris defeats No. 3 Belmont Abbey, 6-5 BOX SCORE
 
Semifinal Round - Saturday, May 3
Game 11: No. 6 Barton defeats No. 4 North Greenville, 5-4 BOX SCORE
Game 12: No. 3 Belmont Abbey defeats No. 1 Francis Marion, 15-4 (at Sims Legion Park) BOX SCORE
Game 13: No. 2 Young Harris defeats No. 8 Emmanuel, 25-1 BOX SCORE
 
Championship - Sunday, May 4
Game 14: No. 3 Belmont Abbey vs. No. 6 Barton, 1:00 p.m.
Game 15: No. 8 Emmanuel vs. Winner Game 14, 4:00 p.m.
 
Championship – Monday, May 5 (If Necessary)
Game 16: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 15, 1:00 a.m.
Game 17 – Loser Game 16 vs. Winner Game 15, 45 minutes after game 16