Belmont, N.C. —- The Catawba College baseball team claimed its seventh win in the last eight games, as three Catawba Indians hit homers in the team's 14-5 win at 2023 NCAA Southeast Regional finalist Belmont Abbey on Tuesday evening at Abbey Yard.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba out-hit Belmont Abbey 14-10
- The Catawba Indians recorded six of 10 extra-base hits
- The Crusaders committed the lone two errors of the game
- Both teams recorded a steal
- Catawba's pitchers allowed five earned runs on 10 hits and four walks, striking out 10; BAC's staff allowed 12 earned runs on 14 hits and seven walks, striking out seven
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Dylan Driver went 3-for-4 with a homer, two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored
- Sam Hunter hit a homer with three RBI and a run scored
- Bo Rusher added another homer with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored
- Ty Hubbard went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored
- Mason Gwyn earned the win in 1.1 innings of relief; Hayden Simmerson went three innings strong to earn the save, allowing just one hit in three shutout frames, striking out five
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Driver hit a one-out solo blast to left field to take an early lead
- Belmont Abbey loaded the bases with nobody out, but scratched across just one run on a sac fly
THIRD INNING
- Rusher lifted a two-out, two-run homer to right field to regain the lead
- BAC hit back-to-back homers in the bottom half to tie the game again
FOURTH INNING
- Hubbard doubled to put runners on second and third with nobody out in the fourth
- Driver drove in the go-ahead run, but reached on an error
- Hunter followed with an RBI groundout to lead 5-3
FIFTH INNING
- Hubbard ripped a two-out RBI single through the right side to extend the lead
- BAC's Tucker recorded an RBI double to match the run, cutting the deficit to 6-4
SIXTH INNING
- With the runners on the corners with one out, Cole Hales drove in a run on a groundout
- Rusher later scored on a wild pitch, as Catawba extended the advantage to 8-4
- Abbey's Tucker added another RBI base hit to get within 8-5
SEVENTH INNING
- Cooper Bryson and Logan Rogers recorded back-to-back singles to lead off the seventh
- Hubbard's sac fly scored Bryson
- Driver's double to left scored two more
- Hunter's two run shot to right field added two more runs, with Catawba taking a 13-5 stronghold
EIGHTH INNING
- Levi Perrell's RBI single added the last insurance score for the Catawba Indians, who scored double-digit runs for the fourth straight game
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to Newman Park for a three-game South Atlantic Conference series against Limestone; first pitch of game one is set for Friday at 6 p.m.
