Florence, S.C. —- The third-ranked Catawba College baseball team went on the road and defeated the 25th-ranked Francis Marion Patriots in non-conference action on Tuesday night.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Francis Marion 12-9
- Both teams hit a homer and four extra-base hits
- The Patriots recorded four of five errors in the game
- Catawba had three of five stolen bases in the contest
- Francis Marion's pitchers allowed seven earned runs on 12 hits and seven walks, striking out nine; Catawba's staff allowed eight runs on nine hits and nine walks, striking out nine
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Sam Hunter was 3-for-6 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored
- Matthew Connolly hit his team-leading sixth homer of the season with three RBI
- Logan Dyer also had a three-hit game with two runs scored
- Brandon Crabtree walked three times and scored three times, as his 17-game hit streak was snapped
- Nathan Chrismon doubled twice and drove in a run
- Parker Lakey earned the win in relief, tossing two scoreless frames; Joe Burleyson added his SAC-leading seventh save of the season, closing the door in the game's final four outs
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Charlie Bussey opened the scoring for Francis Marion with a solo homer with one out in the first
SECOND INNING
- Jake Dunlap singled with one out in the second and scored on Chrismon's RBI double down the left field line
- The Patriots walked, stole second and advanced to third on an error; the runner would score on a wild pitch
- FMU extended its lead to 3-1 with a two-out RBI single
THIRD INNING
- An error and Hunter's double put runners on second and third with nobody out for Catawba in the third
- Crabtree scored on a passed ball to pull within a run of the lead
- Connolly's two-run homer put Catawba in front, 4-3
- Chrismon's second double of the game put Dunlap in scoring position, who scored on Ty Hubbard's RBI sac fly, leading 5-3
FIFTH INNING
- Riley Orr's RBI doubled brought the Patriots back to within a run of the lead
SIXTH INNING
- Hunter's bunt single loaded the bases with one out in the sixth for Catawba
- Hunter Atkins drew a bases-loaded walk to push the lead back to two
- Connolly's sac fly to right field gave Catawba an extra insurance run, leading 7-4
- Francis Marion got both runs back with a two-out, two-run single to left field
SEVENTH INNING
- Dyer's single extended the inning and Crabtree's walk loaded the bases with two outs for Catawba in the seventh
- Hunter lifted a single to right-center scoring two runs
- Two more runs scored on a two-out error to give Catawba an 11-6 advantage
EIGHTH INNING
- A leadoff double for FMU set up the runner moving to third on a flyout and score on a wild pitch
- Leading by three, Burleyson entered with two runners on and struck out the first Patriot he faced
NINTH INNING
- FMU scratched across one more run with two outs in the ninth, but Burleyson forced a flyout to close out the midweek win
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to South Atlantic Conference play at Newman Park this weekend, hosting UVA Wise for a three-game set; game one on Friday is set for 5 p.m.
