Salisbury, N.C. — The Catawba College softball team opened up South Atlantic Conference play on Saturday at Whitley Field with a pair of losses to Lenoir-Rhyne.
GAME ONE | Lenoir-Rhyne 6, Catawba 5
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Lenoir-Rhyne 8-7
- The Bears hit the lone homer and the lone extra-base hit
- Both teams committed one error in the contest
- Both teams recorded a stolen base in the game
- Lenoir-Rhyne's starting pitcher allowed three earned runs on eight hits and four walks, striking out eight; Catawba's staff allowed four earned runs on seven hits and one walk, striking out eight
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Alexis Monroe was 2-for-4 with two runs scored
- Micaela Hartman added a pair of base hits with two runs driven in
- Brianna Gallagher singled and drove in two
- Alex Baquie went 6.1 innings in the start, allowing four earned runs and punching out eight
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- LR singled and stole second to lead off the first
- Their leadoff batter reached third and scored on a wild pitch
- Grace Flynn was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a bunt single
- Gallagher dropped down a safety squeeze, scoring Flynn and tying the game at 1
- Monroe reached third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch, taking a 2-1 lead
THIRD INNING
- Monroe led off the third with a bunt single; a walk and another bunt moved her over to third
- Hartman came through with a two-out RBI base hit to take a 3-1 lead
FOURTH INNING
- A two-run homer in the fourth from LR tied the game at 3
- An error helped extend Catawba's half of the fourth when Gallagher drove a ball through the left side that scored a run to put the Catawba Indians back on top
SEVENTH INNING
- Two singles and a sac bunt moved the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position for Lenoir-Rhyne in the seventh
- With the bases loaded, Catawba came home for an out, moving an out away from the game one victory
- A single and a throwing error scored two runs for the Bears to take a late lead
- They scored an insurance run on a fielder's choice, leading 6-4
- Hartman drove in a run on a single and advanced to second on the throw, bringing the tying run to scoring position
- LR was able to strike out the final two batters for the comeback victory
GAME TWO | Lenoir-Rhyne 9, Catawba 1 (6 innings)
TEAM STATISTICS
- Lenoir-Rhyne out-hit Catawba 8-5
- The Bears had both homers and two of three extra-base hits in game two
- Both teams recorded a stolen base
- LR's starting pitcher allowed a run on five hits and one walk, striking out three; Catawba's staff allowed nine runs on eight hits and four walks, striking out one
HOW IT HAPPENED
SECOND INNING
- Hartman singled up the middle to lead off the second
- Dakotah Wilkins' double put runners on second and third with one out
- Flynn drove in the game's first run on a fielder's choice
FOURTH INNING
- A bases-loaded walk tied the game in the fourth
- The Bears singled up the middle to move everyone up 60 feet and take a 2-1 lead
- A sac fly pushed their lead to 3-1
- Avery Kiger's grand slam made it 7-1 Lenoir-Rhyne
FIFTH INNING
- Lani Warren made it 8-1 Bears with a leadoff homer to start the fifth
SIXTH INNING
- An RBI groundout tacked on a ninth run for LR in the sixth
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to Whitley Field on Tuesday, taking on Augusta in a doubleheader rescheduled from a snow out earlier in the season; first pitch of game one is set for 1 p.m.
