Salisbury, N.C. —- The 5th-ranked Catawba College baseball team won both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday, closing out their South Atlantic Conference regular season championship with their 30th straight series win in conference play, while honoring their seniors pregame.
GAME ONE | Catawba 11, Emory & Henry 8
TEAM STATISTICS
- Emory & Henry out-hit Catawba 14-9
- Both teams hit two homers and three extra-base hits
- The Catawba Indians committed three of five errors in the game
- Catawba left eight runners on base; E&H stranded 10
- The Catawba Indians recorded eight of 10 stolen bases in the game
- Catawba pitchers allowed six earned runs on 14 hits and six walks, striking out nine; E&H's staff allowed 10 earned runs on nine hits and eight walks, striking out three
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Brandon Crabtree was 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored
- Logan Dyer singled and scored three runs
- Hunter Atkins doubled, drove in two and scored another run
- Matthew Connolly homered, driving in two
- Calvin Douglas picked up the win with a scoreless frame; Sam Alessi earned his first save of the season
HOW IT HAPPENED
SECOND INNING
- After an error on a sac bunt, Emory & Henry scored the game's first run on a sacrifice fly
- Jake Dunlap walked and stole second to lead off the bottom half
- After a single moved up Dunlap to third, the ball was misplayed in the outfield, allowing Catawba to tie the game
- Connolly brought in the runner from third to take a 2-1 lead
FOURTH INNING
- Stuart Callahan pushed the Wasps back in front with a two-run homer in the fourth
- Two walks, a double steal and a two-out wild pitch allowed Catawba to tie the game in an inning in which they didn't record a base hit
FIFTH INNING
- Jadden Rodriguez's RBI double had E&H back on top 4-3 in the fifth
- Crabtree's no-doubt homer gave the Catawba Indians back the lead in the bottom half
SIXTH INNING
- Emory & Henry notched two more runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead
- Connolly's solo homer tied the game at 6 in the bottom half
- Three walks loaded the bases for Catawba and Atkins delivered with a two-run double to lead 8-6
- Dunlap slapped a single the other way to lead by three runs
- Hubbard's sac fly capped Catawba's five-run frame to lead 10-6
SEVENTH INNING
- Sam Hunter's two-out RBI single pushed Catawba's lead to five runs in the seventh
EIGHTH INNING
- Kyle Field's two-run homer cut the Wasps' deficit to three
GAME TWO | Catawba 9, Emory & Henry 0
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Emory & Henry 13-3
- The Catawba Indians recorded both homers and all four extra-base hits
- The Wasps committed both errors in the game
- E&H left three runners on base; Catawba stranded eight
- The Catawba Indians recorded the lone stolen base of the night
- Catawba's pitchers threw a shutout across seven innings on three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts; E&H's staff allowed eight earned runs on 13 hits and three walks, striking out seven
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Casey Gouge was great in his start, allowing just two hits across 5.1 shutout innings with seven strikeouts
- Kaden Neuman and Kemper Nix combined for the final five outs to complete the shutout
- Crabtree hit a grand slam in two hits, scoring twice
- Hunter also homered in a three-hit performance, driving in two
- Cameron Burleyson doubled in a three-hit game, driving in a run and scoring another
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Hunter drove in Catawba's first run on a single the other way
SECOND INNING
- Dunlap scored Catawba's second run off of a throwing error
- Burleyson dropped a bunt single to score another, with Catawba leading 3-0
FOURTH INNING
- Crabtree's grand slam blew open the game in the fourth with the Catawba Indians ahead 7-0
- Hunter followed with a homer in the very next at-bat to push the advantage to 8-0
SIXTH INNING
- Nathan Chrismon drove in Crabtree with a single in the sixth to end the scoring on Catawba's regular season
UP NEXT
- Catawba starts up postseason play at Newman Park next weekend, hosting 8-seed Coker at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 1
