Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College baseball team swept both ends of a doubleheader over Lincoln Memorial at Newman Park on Saturday, extending their lead atop the South Atlantic Conference standings. The Catawba Indians improve to 25-9 overall, 14-4 in SAC play and 17-1 inside Newman Park this season.
GAME ONE | Catawba 7, Lincoln Memorial 5
TEAM STATISTICS
- Lincoln Memorial out-hit Catawba 9-7
- The Railsplitters recorded four of six extra-base hits
- The Catawba Indians committed both errors in the game
- Catawba had all three steals in the contest
- Catawba's pitchers allowed three earned runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out eight; LMU's staff allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and eight walks, striking out six
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Payne Stolsworth earned the win on the mound, improving to 7-1 on the year, going eight strong innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and just one walk, punching out six
- Hayden Simmerson closed the game in the ninth, allowing no earned runs with two Ks
- Dylan Driver was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored
- Sam Hunter went 3-for-4 with two runs driven in
- Levi Perrell provided a key three-run triple
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- LMU recorded two back-to-back doubles to start the game, but Catawba threw out the leadoff batter at the plate to keep the top of the first clean
- Driver scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the inning to take an early lead
THIRD INNING
- Driver ripped a two-out double to center field in the third
- Hunter drove him in on an RBI single to double the lead
FOURTH INNING
- LMU loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth
- Collin Goda drew a hit-by-pitch to get LMU on the board
- A fielder's choice came home for the first out before a 6-4-3 double play ended the inning to limit the damage
- Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with two outs for Catawba in the bottom half
- Perrell capitalized, driving a bases-clearing triple the opposite way to take a 5-1 advantage
SIXTH INNING
- A leadoff double and an infield single had runners on the corners with nobody out for LMU in the sixth
- Ryan Kurth's RBI base knock trimmed the Catawba lead to 5-2
- Deatric Alexander Jr.'s sac fly brought the 'Splitters within two
EIGHTH INNING
- A hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Catawba in the eighth, looking for insurance
- Driver drew a bases-loaded walk to return the lead to three
- Hunter poked an RBI single up the middle to advance everyone 90 feet for what turned out to be a crucial insurance run
NINTH INNING
- A two-out error loomed large for Catawba in the ninth, as SAC batting leader Carson Boles drove a two-run double to right to cut the lead in half and bring the tying run to scoring position
- Simmerson stranded the go-ahead run at first with a strikeout to clinch the series win
GAME TWO | Catawba 8, Lincoln Memorial 7
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit LMU 11-7
- Both teams recorded three extra-base hits
- Both teams committed one error in the field
- LMU recorded four of six stolen bases in the contest
- Catawba's staff allowed six earned runs on seven hits and five walks, striking out six; LMU's pitchers allowed eight earned runs on 11 hits and six walks, fanning seven
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Hunter was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored
- Drew Robertson went 2-for-4 with a triple, a steal, two RBI and a run scored
- Ty Hubbard homered
- Driver and Logan Rogers added multi-hit games
- Mason Gwyn earned the win in relief, allowing an unearned run on two hits and a walk in 2.1 innings; Brandon Rodgers picked up his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Boles opened the scoring for LMU with a two-run shot in the first
- Kurth followed up with an RBI double, as the Railsplitters took an early 3-0 lead
- Perrell answered with a single and scored on Hunter's opposite-field double
- Cooper Bryson later drew a bases-loaded walk to get back within a run
SECOND INNING
- Two bunt base hits loaded the bases for the Catawba Indians in the second
- Rogers' drove in the tying run with an RBI single to right center
- Robertson's infield hit gave Catawba the lead
- Bryson delivered another RBI hit that scored one, but the second runner was gunned down at the plate, as Catawba put up a 3-spot in the second to take a 5-3 lead early on
THIRD INNING
- After an error allowed a runner to advance to second, Goda drove home a run on an RBI single to left field
- The tying run stood at third base with one out, but Gwyn worked around it, maintaining the lead
- Hubbard lifted a one-out homer to right field to get the run back in the bottom half, leading 6-4 after three frames
FOURTH INNING
- Robertson hit an RBI triple the other way before scoring on a double steal to add two more runs for Catawba on the scoreboard to lead 8-4
FIFTH INNING
- LMU's Alex Kowalski drew LMU closer with a two-run homer in the fifth
SIXTH INNING
- Cameron Bowen scored on a wild pitch, which advanced the tying run to 90 feet away in the sixth
- Catawba forced Boles to foul out to first base to hold the lead
SEVENTH INNING
- A one-out walk got the tying run aboard for LMU in the seventh
- Rodgers forced the 6-4-3 double play to end the game and move Catawba to a game and a half ahead in the SAC standings at 14-4 in league action
UP NEXT
- Catawba continues its 8-game homestand into next week, facing USC Aiken in non-conference action at Newman Park on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
