Hickory, N.C. —- The third-ranked Catawba College Baseball team won both ends of a doubleheader at 10th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne to come from behind to win the series, the team's 22nd consecutive series win in South Atlantic Conference play.
GAME ONE | Catawba 8, Lenoir-Rhyne 6
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Lenoir-Rhyne 14-11
- The Bears had the lone homer, but the Catawba Indians had five of seven extra-base hits
- LR committed all four errors in the contest
- Catawba recorded three of four stolen bases in the game
- The Catawba Indian pitchers allowed six runs on 11 hits and four walks, striking out seven; the Lenoir-Rhyne staff allowed seven earned runs on 14 hits and six walks, striking out seven
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Sam Hunter was 3-for-6 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored
- Brandon Crabtree went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, a run batted in and a run scored
- Jake Dunlap added two hits including a double and two runs scored
- Malachi Cloud chipped in a pair of hits with an RBI and a run scored
- Braeden Major threw two key shutout innings in relief
- Parker Lakey got the win with three solid innings of relief; Joe Burleyson picked up the five-out save
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- A bases-loaded walk drove in the first run of the game for Lenoir-Rhyne in the first
THIRD INNING
- Hunter singled and stole second to lead off the third
- A walk and a bunt single loaded the bases
- Nathan Chrismon's sac fly tied the game at 1
- LR's RBI ground-rule double in the bottom half allowed them to regain the lead
- A wild pitch and another RBI base hit made it a 4-1 LR lead
FOURTH INNING
- Dunlap doubled to lead off the fourth
- Cloud's RBI base hit drove him in to bring the lead within a pair of runs
SIXTH INNING
- Logan Dyer singled to lead off the sixth; a walk put two runners on with nobody out
- A sac bunt moved the runners over and Hunter delivered with a two-out, two-run single to tie the game at 4
EIGHTH INNING
- Cloud was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a failed pickoff
- Ty Hubbard drove in the go-ahead run on a double to opposite field
- Hunter added to the lead with a triple to left-center, making it 6-4 Catawba
- Crabtree ripped a double to right-center to drive in Hunter
- Hunter Atkins made it a four-run Catawba lead with a single to left field
- LR cut into the lead with a two-run homer in the bottom half
NINTH INNING
- The Bears got two singles in the ninth to put the tying run on first base
- Burleyson forced a flyout and a strikeout to close the door
GAME TWO | Catawba 9, Lenoir-Rhyne 1
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Lenoir-Rhyne 11-5
- The Catawba Indians had all three extra-base hits in the game
- The Bears committed the lone error in game two
- Both teams stole a base in the contest
- Catawba's pitchers allowed one run on five hits and seven walks, striking out six; Lenoir-Rhyne's staff allowed seven earned runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out nine
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Casey Gouge threw three innings in the start, allowing one run
- Seth Sharpe maneuvered a bases-loaded situation in the fourth, allowing just one of his inherited runners to score to earn the win
- Zachary Gaydos, Calvin Douglas and Owen Robinson each tossed a shutout frame of relief
- Crabtree added three more hits, including two doubles, in game two with four RBI and two runs scored
- Hunter chipped in two more hits with an RBI and two runs scored
HOW IT HAPPENED
THIRD INNING
- Hubbard singled through the right side to start a one-out rally for Catawba
- Hunter's infield single set up Crabtree's two-run double that started the scoring for the Catawba Indians
- Atkins followed up with an RBI triple to push Catawba's lead to 3-0
FOURTH INNING
- Dyer singled to lead off the fourth and moved to third on Dunlap's single behind him
- Cloud drove in another run on a single the opposite way
- Hunter pushed a single to the opposite field to score another run with Catawba leading 5-0
- Crabtree's two-run double to deep center field had Catawba ahead 7-0
- A walk and a single had two Bears on with no outs in the fourth
- Sharpe allowed a two-out RBI single but left the bases loaded and the lead intact, 7-1
FIFTH INNING
- A walk and a hit-by-pitch had Catawba in scoring position again in the fifth
- A throwing error on a potential inning-ending double play scratched another run across for Catawba
SIXTH INNING
- Crabtree led off the sixth with his eighth hit of the series
- Atkins' single moved him to third and Chrismon drove him in on another sac fly
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to Newman Park on Tuesday, hosting Barton in non-conference action at 3 p.m.
