#18 Baseball picks up key in-region win at #11 Mount Olive

Mount Olive, N.C. —- The 18th-ranked Catawba College baseball team retired the go-ahead run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, earning a key early-season in-region win at 11th-ranked Mount Olive in midweek non-conference action on Tuesday.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba out-hit Mount Olive 11-8

- The Catawba Indians recorded three of four extra-base hits

- UMO was charged for three of four errors in the contest

- The Trojans left nine runners on base; Catawba stranded 11

- The Catawba Indians recorded all four stolen bases

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Braeden Major earned the win on the mound, throwing 4.1 shutout innings with just two hits allowed and no walks, striking out four

- Hayden Simmerson picked up the six-out save, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk, striking out two

- Sam Hunter was 2-for-5 with two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base

- Nathan Chrismon singled, walked twice, drove in a run, scored twice and swiped two bases

- Sean Shelly recorded three hits, while Dylan Driver doubled twice and scored

HOW IT HAPPENED

THIRD INNING

 - Chrismon's walk and Driver's double down the left field line put runners on second and third with one out for the Catawba Indians

- Hunter found the hole on the right side, scoring both to take an early lead

- Four singles put two runs up on the board for UMO in the bottom half to tie the game once more

FIFTH INNING

- Chrismon singled and stole second to lead off the fifth

- He tagged to third on a flyout and scored on a wild pitch

- Hunter got aboard on a bunt base hit, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error

- Cole Hales' two-out RBI single up the middle scored him to take a 4-2 lead

SIXTH INNING

- For the third time in the game, a Catawba runner stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error to put Ty Hubbard in scoring position with less than two outs

- Chrismon's RBI sac fly to deep left scored him to take a 5-2 lead

NINTH INNING

- Mount Olive loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, putting the tying run on base and the go-ahead run to the plate

- On a weak ground ball to his right, Simmerson made a bare-handed scoop, turned and threw out the runner at first to make the game-clinching play

GAME NOTES

- Jim Gantt's 998th career win

- Catawba's first win at Mount Olive since February 2020, snapping a four-game losing streak with the Trojans in games away from Newman Park

- Driver's fourth and fifth doubles of the season; his 49 career doubles ties him for 14th all-time in program history, tied with current Assistant Coach Jeremy Simpson

- Major's third appearance in Catawba; had throw 0.2 innings before Tuesday

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to South Atlantic Conference action on the road this weekend, traveling to Limestone for a three-game set, starting on Friday night at 6 p.m.