Salisbury, N.C. —- The 21st-ranked Catawba College baseball team overcame a 6-1 deficit in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday night, as Sam Hunter's walk-off walk clinched the series sweep over visiting Wingate at Newman Park in South Atlantic Conference baseball action to close the conference season.
GAME ONE | Catawba 11, Wingate 5
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Wingate 13-5
- The Catawba Indians recorded four of six extra-base hits
- Both teams committed an error in game one
- Catawba's pitchers allowed four earned runs on five hits and three walks, striking out seven; Wingate's staff allowed nine earned runs on 13 hits and four walks, striking out four
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Bo Rusher was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run scored
- Logan Rogers went 2-for-4 with a homer, an RBI and two runs scored
- Cole Hales was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored
- Levi Perrell homered as one of two hits; Dylan Driver also recorded multiple hits
- Payne Stolsworth became the first SAC pitcher to reach double-digit wins this year, throwing 7.2 innings with three earned runs allowed on just four hits and two walk, striking out five; Brandon Rodgers pitched a shutout frame
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Perrell homered on the first pitch of the bottom half of the first
SECOND INNING
- Hales' RBI double drove in Cooper Bryson from first
- Ty Hubbard drove in another on a sac fly
THIRD INNING
- Rogers blasted his team-leading 11th homer of the season to left center to take a 4-0 lead
FOURTH INNING
- Driver's two-out RBI single scored Hales from third to take a 5-0 lead
FIFTH INNING
- The Catawba Indians loaded the bases with nobody out with no outs
- Bryson scored two on a base hit to left
- Hubbard's safety squeeze scored another to lead 8-0
SEVENTH INNING
- Breon Ishmael's RBI single got Wingate on the board in the seventh
- An error allowed another run to score
EIGHTH INNING
- Brett Adams lifted a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth as the Bulldogs pulled within three runs
- A throwing error similar to Catawba's earlier in the game scored two more runs
- Rusher added another RBI single to add to the cushion
GAME TWO | Catawba 7, Wingate 6
TEAM STATISTICS
- Both teams recorded eight hits
- Both teams had three extra-base hits; Wingate hit three homers
- The Bulldogs had the lone error in the game
- Wingate had the lone stolen base of game two
- Catawba's staff allowed six earned runs on eight hits and three walks, striking out eight; Wingate's pitchers allowed six earned runs on eight hits and eight walks, striking out seven
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Hunter drove in three, including the game-winning run on the game-ending walk
- Driver was 2-for-4 with a run scored
- Rusher drove in two on a double
- Jackson Finger singled, walked and scored twice
- Hayden Simmerson earned the win, allowing two earned runs in 2.2 innings, striking out four
HOW IT HAPPENED
SECOND INNING
- Michael Dansky put the Bulldogs on top with a two-run homer to right
THIRD INNING
- Catawba loaded the bases with one out in the third
- Robertson's sac fly to left center got Catawba on the board
FIFTH INNING
- Sean Barnett's three-run homer put the Bulldogs up 5-1
- Ishmael added another solo blast to take a five-run lead
SIXTH INNING
- Perrell walked to load the bases with one outs in the sixth
- Driver singled to first base, but it struck Perrell for the second out and sent the runners back
- Hunter sent a two-RBI single the other way to cut the deficit to 6-3
- Rusher's two-run double off the wall in right center got the Catawba Indians within a single run
SEVENTH INNING
- Bryson hit a one-out double to right center to get the tying run on base for Catawba in the seventh
- Parker Styborski advanced to third and later scored on two wild pitches
- Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with two outs
- Hunter drew a five-pitch walk for the game-winning run, clinching the sweep for the Catawba Indians
- Catawba improves to 25-1 at Newman Park this season with the win
UP NEXT
- Catawba closes its regular season with a non-conference game on Tuesday, hosting NCAA Regional contender Lander at 7 p.m.
