Walks bite #3 Baseball in extra-innings loss at #22 NSU

Davie, Fla. —- The 3rd-ranked Catawba College baseball team battled back to tie the game twice in their season-opener at 22nd-ranked Nova Southeastern, but the Sharks walked off in the bottom of the 10th inning to earn the victory on Opening Day in South Florida on Friday night.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba out-hit Nova Southeastern 10-6

- The Catawba Indians recorded three of the five extra-base hits on the night; both teams homered

- The Sharks committed the lone error of the ballgame

- NSU left three runners on base to Catawba's five stranded

- Nova's staff allowed five earned runs on 10 hits and one walk, striking out six; Catawba's staff allowed seven earned runs on six hits and six walks, striking out 10

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Cole Hales blasted the game-tying, two-run homerun in the top of the ninth as part of a two-hit, two-run and two-RBI night

- Ty Hubbard drove in two on a single and a sac fly, while scoring twice

- Hunter Atkins tripled in his first Catawba at-bat as part of a two-hit game with a run scored

- Dylan Driver had two hits with a double and a stolen base

- Austin Fine went six innings in the start, allowing four earned runs on three hits and three walks, striking out seven

- Brandon Rodgers threw two shutout innings of relief, allowing just one hit with three punch-outs

HOW IT HAPPENED

SECOND INNING

- Atkins tripled to right-center for his first base hit as a Catawba Indian; Hubbard drove in on the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly

THIRD INNING

- After retiring the first six batters in order, Fine loaded the bases with one out in the third with three walks

- Justin Wachs made it count, lifting a grand slam to right field to give the Sharks a 4-1 advantage in the third

FIFTH INNING

- Hubbard and Hales both singled to get two runners aboard with nobody out to start the fifth

- A sac bunt moved the runners over and a throwing error scored two as the Catawba Indians cut the deficit to 4-3

SIXTH INNING

- Back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with one out in the sixth inning; Hubbard's RBI groundout scored James Dunlap to tie the game at 4

SEVENTH INNING

- Carson Edmiston entered the game in the seventh inning and walked the two batters he faced

- A sac bunt and a single up the middle put NSU back on top 6-4

NINTH INNING

- Hubbard drew a leadoff walk in the ninth where Hales blasted the game-tying homer to left-center to tie the game at 6

- A hit-by-pitch and a single moved the go-ahead runner up to second with one out, but Catawba grounded into an inning-ending double play

TENTH INNING

- A one-out single and walk moved the winning run to second base for the Sharks

- A groundout moved the runner over and Jorge De Goti's walk-off single gave NSU the victory in the opener

GAME NOTES

- The Sharks improve to 6-2 all-time vs. Catawba; NSU is 5-0 when they are ranked inside the ABCA top 30

- Hales' third career Catawba homer; Driver's 45th career double, moving him to a tie for 20th in program history

- Catawba's first season-opening loss since dropping game one to the Sharks in the 2022 season

- The Catawba Indians have come up short in each of their last four extra-inning games

UP NEXT

- Catawba looks to bounce back on Saturday, facing Lynn in Boca Raton at 2 p.m.