ANDERSON, S.C. -- Cody Nye delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning and Gib Bethea pitched five shutout innings in relief to lead Anderson College to a 7-6 CVAC victory over Belmont Abbey Sunday afternoon at Anderson Memorial Stadium. Anderson, 19-27 overall and 7-13 in the CVAC, trailed 4-1 after two innings and left the bases loaded in the first, fourth, and sixth before finally managing to tie the game at 6 in the seventh. Anderson finished the game with 15 hits against four Belmont Abbey pitchers, but the Trojans stranded 15 runners. The Crusaders, 24-26 overall and 7-14 in the CVAC, scored four times in the top of the second to take a 4-1 lead. Two walks helped set up an RBI double by Derek Brown and an RBI single by Seth Waller. After Belmont Abbey scored a single run in the top of the third, Anderson answered with two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the Crusader lead to 5-3. Tony Graham led off with a single and scored on a double by Donavon Schmidt. Schmidt scored on a two-out single by Nye. Graham, who entered the game in the first inning after Jonathan Pitts was injured running the bases, finished the game 3-for-3 with one run scored. Bethea, a sophomore from Saluda, entered the game in the fifth and shut down the Crusaders. Bethea retired the first 11 batters he faced and did not allow a hit until the ninth. Anderson scored a single run in the sixth to cut the Belmont Abbey lead to 6-4 on a lead-off single by Caleb Owen, two walks, and a sacrifice fly by Schmidt. The Trojans finally tied the game at 6 in the seventh. Jeremy McCauley led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Jessie Whiteside singled to put runners at first and third, Owen delivered a sacrifice fly. After a pop out, Graham singled to put runners at first and second. An infield error on a ground ball by F.A. Vildosola allowed Whiteside to score the tying run. In Anderson eighth, Clint Neville led off with a double to chase David Rue, the third Belmont Abbey pitcher of the game, and bring on Zach Keppler. Nye greeted Keppler with a single to left to score pinch-runner Josh Harrison. Belmont Abbey finally got something going against Bethea in the ninth. With one out, Josh Haire doubled and Alex Udwari walked. After a pop out, Chris Brake singled to left, but Owen's throw to Graham at third base cut down Haire, who slipped coming around the base. In five innings, Bethea allowed just two hits, struck out three and walked two to earn the victory. Nye finished the game with three hits, while Owen, Schmidt, Neville, and Whiteside all had two hits apiece. Haire and Yero both had two hits apiece for Belmont Abbey, which finished the game with eight hits. The victory gives Anderson a one-half game lead over Belmont Abbey in the race for the eighth and final spot in the CVAC Tournament at Wilson, N.C., Apr. 22-24. Anderson, Belmont Abbey, Pfeiffer, and Barton will stage a four-way battle next weekend for final three spots in the CVAC Tournament. Next weekend, Anderson is at Barton, Belmont Abbey is at Coker, and Pfeiffer is at Mount Olive. Box Score: Anderson 7, Belmont Abbey 6 Anderson College Baseball Season Statistics