Wingate, N.C. —- The 17th-ranked Catawba College opened up a 12-0 lead on the road over Wingate in the series finale on Sunday, closing out the 13-3 victory to complete the sweep, pushing their league win streak to 11 games to take a two-game lead in the South Atlantic Conference standings.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba out-hit Wingate 14-9

- The Catawba Indians recorded four of five extra-base hits and both homers

- The Bulldogs committed all three errors in the game

- Catawba left nine runners on base; WU stranded 10

- The Catawba Indian pitchers allowed three runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out six; Wingate's staff allowed 11 earned runs on 14 hits and four walks, striking out seven

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Cole Hales was 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored

- Sam Hunter went 3-for-5 with a homer and three runs scored

- Dylan Driver launched a three-run homer and scored twice

- Ty Hubbard drove in three and scored twice

- Austin Fine earned the win, tossing 5.2 innings of three-run baseball, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning; Seth Sharpe and Brandon Rodgers closed the door with 2.1 innings of shutout relief

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST INNING

- After two fouled bunt attempts, Hunter snuck a solo shot down the right field line to start the scoring

SECOND INNING

- A two-out walk and a single on a hit-and-run play set up Driver's three-run homer to break the game open in the second

THIRD INNING

- Matthew Connolly's two-run double to left field in the third pushed Catawba's advantage to 6-0

FOURTH INNING

- Hunter's bunt single loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth

- Hales deposited a two-RBI single to left field to extend the lead to 8-0

- Hubbard drove in two more with a two-out single to left field

- Logan Dyer's RBI single up the middle made it an 11-0 Catawba lead

FIFTH INNING

- Two singles and a walk once again loaded the bases for the Catawba Indians in the fifth

- Hubbard's fielder's choice drove home another run to make it a 12-0 ballgame

SIXTH INNING

- Alex Naylor got Wingate on the board with an RBI single in the sixth

- Jalen Evans' two-out, two-run single cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 12-3

EIGHTH INNING

- A wild pitch and a throwing error allowed Hubbard to score from second to reach the mercy-rule limit

UP NEXT

- Catawba wraps up its five-game road trip on Tuesday, traveling to Florence, S.C. to take on UNC Pembroke at 6 p.m.