Cary, N.C. —- The 9th-ranked and third-seed Catawba College baseball team kept its season alive on Tuesday, carrying an explosive start via first-pitch homers from Levi Perrell and Dylan Driver to a 15-9 win over 16th-ranked and seventh-seed UIndy at the Division II National Championships at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit UIndy 17-11
- The Catawba Indians recorded five of eight extra-base hits; both teams hit homers
- The Greyhounds left three runners on base, while Catawba stranded 14 runners
- Catawba committed two of three errors in the game
- The Catawba Indians had all four stolen bases on the afternoon
- Catawba pitchers allowed five earned runs on 11 hits and one walk, striking out eight; UIndy's staff allowed 12 earned runs on 17 hits and nine walks, striking out five
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Sam Hunter was 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, two RBI and five runs scored
- Perrell went 3-for-6 with a homer, a double, an RBI and three runs scored
- Driver also added three hits including a homer and a double with two RBI and two runs scored
- Bo Rusher and Cole Hales both added a pair of hits with two runs driven in and a run scored
- Drew Robertson reached base four times and scored twice while Ty Hubbard drove a pair home
- Austin Fine allowed two earned runs in eight innings of work with seven punchouts to earn his 10th win of the season
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Perrell opened the game with a home run to left on the first pitch
- Driver matched him with a homer on the second pitch of the game halfway up the burn in deep left
- A walk and a single put runners on the corners with still nobody out
- Hales drove in Hunter to score Catawba's third run before recording an out and chasing the UIndy starter
- A leadoff double allowed a run to score on the RBI groundout from Zack Williams to cut the Catawba Indian lead to 3-1 after the first inning
SECOND INNING
- Hubbard walked and stole second to open the second
- Hunter drove a two-out single the other way to score Hubbard to extend the lead to 4-1
- Hales dropped another two-out RBI single into center field to push the lead to four runs
- Back-to-back singles to start the bottom half of the second put runners on the corners with nobody out for the Greyhounds
- Easton Good's sac fly trimmed the Catawba lead to 5-2
THIRD INNING
- Perrell's two-out double and an error but two runners on for Catawba in the third
- Hunter ripped an RBI base hit up the middle to score Perrell to make it 6-2
- Rusher drilled a two-RBI single to right field to keep the scoring rolling, taking an 8-2 lead
FIFTH INNING
- Perrell deposited his third hit of the game to left to open up the fifth
- Driver's double off the wall scored him to make it 9-2 Catawba
SIXTH INNING
- Drew Robertson singled and stole second to lead off the sixth
- Hubbard's two-out RBI single to center pushed the Catawba Indian lead to 10-2
SEVENTH INNING
- Hunter's one-out double kicked off the action for Catawba in the seventh
- Robertson's RBI single through the left side moved everyone up 90 feet
- Rusher scored on a wild pitch to take a double-digit lead, 12-2
- Cooper Bryson's RBI walk made it 13-2
- Hubbard's sac fly made it a 14-2 advantage at the seventh-inning stretch
EIGHTH INNING
- Jackson Finger's pinch-hit, two-out RBI single scored Hunter for the fifth time to extend the lead to 15-2
- A pair of errors put runners on base for the Greyhounds to set up Williams' RBI base hit
- Caleb Vaughn's three-run homer cut Catawba's lead to 15-6
NINTH INNING
- Drew Donaldson lifted a three-run homer to left field with two outs in the last of the ninth
NOTES
- The runs are the most the Catawba Indians have scored in Cary, surpassing the 9-run effort in the win over Cal Poly Pomona in 2015 to advance to the national title game; the win is Catawba's first since that win over Pomona in 2015
- Perrell's second homer on the first pitch of the day for the Catawba bats this season; he lifted the first pitch over the left field wall in the Senior Day doubleheader vs. Wingate on Apr. 27
- Robertson broke the program single-season stolen base record with a swipe in the sixth, his 31st of the season, surpassing Spence Southard's 30 in 2002
- Fine retired 12 batters in a row from the fourth to the eighth inning
- Fine matched his season-high with seven strikeouts
- Both Perrell and Driver finished a triple shy of the cycle
- Driver's double was his 20th of the season, matching the most by a Catawba batter since Jackson Raper's 22 in 2018
- Catawba moves to 2-0 all-time against UIndy, bookending their games in Cary, adding to their 2-1 win in their World Series debut in 2012
UP NEXT
- Catawba will return to action on Wednesday, facing the loser between Southern New Hampshire and Tampa in another elimination game; first pitch is scheduled for roughly 2:45 p.m.
