Harrogate, Tenn. —- The 6th-ranked Catawba College baseball team outlasted Lincoln Memorial in 12 innings in the opener of a doubleheader to claim the outright South Atlantic Conference regular season championship before rolling to a 13-1 win in game two.
GAME ONE | Catawba 3, Lincoln Memorial 2 - 12 innings
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Lincoln Memorial 11-8
- Both teams recorded one extra-base hit
- The Railsplitters committed the lone error
- LMU left seven runners on base; Catawba stranded 12
- Lincoln Memorial recorded two of three stolen bases
- Catawba's pitchers allowed two runs on eight hits and three walks, striking out seven; LMU's staff allowed three runs on 11 hits and six walks, striking out six
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Brandon Rodgers earned the win on the mound, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and one strikeout
- Hayden Simmerson picked up his SAC-leading 13th save of the season with a scoreless bottom of the 12th
- Sam Hunter was 3-for-6 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored
- Cole Hales added three hits including a double with a walk and a run scored
- Sean Shelly drove in two runs
HOW IT HAPPENED
SECOND INNING
- Sam Mast singled and stole second to lead off the second for LMU
- An RBI single to right-center got the Railsplitters on the board first
FOURTH INNING
- Hales poked a two-out single to center field to spark a two-out rally, as a hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases
- Shelly recorded an infield single that scored two to take a one-run lead
SIXTH INNING
- LMU's Kasten Harvey tied the game with a solo homer the opposite way in the sixth
TWELFTH INNING
- Hunter led off the twelfth with a single and Hales' double put two in scoring position with nobody out for the Catawba Indians
- Parker Styborski drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI sac fly
GAME TWO | Catawba 13, Lincoln Memorial 1
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Lincoln Memorial 16-7
- The Catawba Indians had five of six extra-base hits in the contest
- Both teams left five runners on base
- Catawba's staff allowed one run on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts; LMU's staff allowed 13 runs on 16 hits and two walks, striking out six
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Hales was 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored
- Dylan Driver went added two hits with a double, an RBI and two runs scored
- Hunter tripled, walked twice, drove in a run and scored three times
- Matthew Connolly lifted his sixth homer of the season
- Austin Fine threw six shutout innings, allowing four hits with just one walk and five strikeouts, earning the win
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Driver led off the game with then, was later followed with back-to-back triples from Hunter and Hales to lead 2-0
- Cooper Bryson's RBI groundout made it 3-0 Catawba before LMU got the chance to bat
FIFTH INNING
- Connolly led off the fifth with a solo blast to left center
- Ty Hubbard followed with a double and scored on Dunlap's sacrifice fly
- Bryson drove home another on a two-out single to center field, pushing Catawba's lead to 6-0
SIXTH INNING
- Two singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Catawba with nobody out in the sixth
- Driver ripped one through the left side to pad to the lead; Dunlap singled to right field to score another run
- Hales and Colby Taylor added RBI base knocks; Nathan Chrismon drove in a run on a hit-by-pitch
- Jack Cuba deposited an RBI single before Blake Marsh brought another home on a sac fly with Catawba leading 13-0
SEVENTH INNING
- Harvey drove in a run on a double in his final collegiate at-bat to break up the Catawba shutout
GAME NOTES
- Catawba's 16th SAC regular season title in program history
- The Catawba Indians have claimed nine regular season crowns since 2013
- Hunter tied his own single-season stolen base record, swiping his 31st bag of the season
UP NEXT
- Catawba concludes the regular season with a non-conference contest against Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
