Hartsville, S.C. — The 4th-ranked Catawba College baseball team closed out a South Atlantic Conference sweep of Coker on Saturday, maintaining its two-game lead atop the league standings.
GAME ONE | Catawba 14, Coker 1 - 8 innings
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Coker 17-6
- The Catawba Indians hit both homers and seven of eight extra-base hits
- Coker committed the lone error of the game
- Both teams left 10 runners on base
- Catawba recorded all four stolen bases in the contest
- The Catawba Indian pitchers allowed one run on six hits and three walks, striking out eight; Coker's staff allowed 14 runs on 17 hits and six walks, striking out seven
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Logan Dyer was 3-for-5 and a homer shy of the cycle with three RBI and two runs scored
- Brandon Crabtree went 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored
- Hunter Atkins added three hits including a double with three RBI and a run scored
- Ty Hubbard had a three-hit game including a double with two RBI and two runs scored
- Parker Lakey got the win on the mound, tossing 5.1 innings with one run surrendered on four hits, striking out four
- Seth Sharpe and Kemper Nix combined to keep the Cobras scoreless across the final 2.2 innings
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Dyer singled and stole second to lead off the ballgame
- Crabtree hit a two-run homer to put the Catawba Indians ahead early
- Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with still nobody out
- Jake Dunlap's RBI sac fly scored Catawba's third run of the opening inning
- Hubbard's two-out single put Catawba on top 4-0
SECOND INNING
- Atkins scored Dyer on an RBI base hit to push Catawba's lead to 5-0
- Two singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for the Cobras in the bottom half
- Coker scratched across a run on a fielder's choice, but Lakey limited the damage to one run
FIFTH INNING
- Two walks and a throwing error put runners on the corners with one out for Catawba in the fifth
- Nathan Chrismon's RBI groundout extended Catawba's lead to 6-1
SIXTH INNING
- Atkins drove in two more on a double in the sixth, leading 8-1
SEVENTH INNING
- Hubbard singled with one out in the seventh and scored on Dyer's triple down the left-field line
EIGHTH INNING
- Connolly's two-run homer pushed Catawba's lead to 11-1 in the eighth
- Dunlap and Hubbard switched spots on two doubles to add Catawba's 12th run
- Dyer's double to center field tacked on two more runs, leading 14-1
GAME TWO | Catawba 5, Coker 2
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Coker 10-8
- Both teams recorded two extra-base hits
- The Cobras committed both errors in game two
- Catawba left four runners on base; Coker stranded seven
- Catawba had both stolen bases in the nightcap
- The Catawba Indian pitchers allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks, striking out seven; Coker's staff allowed three earned runs on 10 hits and one walk, striking out three
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Casey Gouge earned the win on the mound, improving to 4-0 on the year, with two runs allowed in six innings with six punchouts
- Joe Burleyson entered for the final three outs to preserve the lead
- Atkins was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored
- Connolly added two hits with two RBI
- Malachi Cloud doubled in two hits
HOW IT HAPPENED
SECOND INNING
- Coker led off the second with a double, moved the runner to third and scored on a groundout to take the early lead
THIRD INNING
- Cloud singled the opposite way to lead off the third
- A bunt moved runners to second and third with two out
- Atkins came through with a two-RBI single to left to give the Catawba Indians the lead
- He then stole second and advanced to third on an error
- Connolly's RBI single scored him to take a 3-1 lead
FOURTH INNING
- Hubbard reached on an error and scored on Dyer's RBI groundout
FIFTH INNING
- Atkins' two-out double set up Connolly's RBI single to add an insurance score for Catawba, up 5-1
SEVENTH INNING
- Coker led off the seventh with two singles
- They scored on an infield single, but Burleyson forced the flyout to end the game and complete the sweep
UP NEXT
- Catawba does not have a midweek game this week, turning its attention to another SAC series on the road; they'll face Anderson for a three-game set – first pitch of game one on Friday is set for 6 p.m.
