#17 Baseball takes both ends of DH at Limestone to take series, earn Gantt’s 1000th win

Gaffney, S.C. —- The Catawba College baseball team swept Limestone in a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader on Saturday, earning the series win and helping Jim Gantt reach 1,000 career wins in the finale.

GAME ONE | Catawba 11, Limestone 5

TEAM STATISTICS

- Both teams recorded 10 hits

- Catawba recorded five of seven extra-base hits; both teams hit a homer

- Limestone committed four of seven errors in the contest

- The Catawba Indians left five runners on base; the Saints stranded 13

- Both teams had two stolen bases

- Limestone's pitchers allowed two earned runs on 10 hits and three walks, striking out nine; Catawba's staff allowed five earned runs on 10 hits and a walk, striking out six

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Sam Hunter was 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, three RBI and two runs scored

- Hunter Atkins went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored; he also finished the game on the mound

- Dylan Driver singled, walked, drove in two and scored

- Cole Hales singled twice, drove in a run and scored twice

- Payne Stolsworth earned the win on the mound, throwing 7.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, striking out three

HOW IT HAPPENED

SECOND INNING

- Limestone led off the second with a solo homer to take a 1-0 lead

SEVENTH INNING

- Hunter doubled to lead off the seventh

- Hales' RBI single broke Catawba's 15-inning scoreless drought to open the series

- Atkins drove in two on a double to left field to take the lead

- Driver deposited a bases-loaded single to right field, scoring two more

- Hunter launched a three-run homer to center field for his second extra-base hit of the inning, capping Catawba's 8-run frame

EIGHTH INNING

- Atkins' double put runners on second and third with one out

- Hales scored on a wild pitch before two more errors allowed the Catawba Indians to scratch across two more runs, leading 11-1

- Limestone put runners on the corners with one out; two RBI singles and a run scored on a wild pitch to cut their deficit to 11-4

NINTH INNING

- Atkins struck out his first two batters faced in the ninth before a single and a double scored one final run for the Saints

GAME TWO | Catawba 5, Limestone 2

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba out-hit Limestone 6-1

- The Catawba Indians had all four extra-base hits

- Limestone committed the two errors

- The Saints left two runners on base, while Catawba just stranded three

- Both teams recorded two stolen bases

- Catawba's pitchers allowed two earned runs on one hit and three walks, striking out 10; Limestone's staff allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks, striking out four

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Casey Gouge earned his third straight win on the mound, going four innings, allowing two runs on one hit and three walks, striking out five

- Hayden Simmerson finished the final three innings to earn his second save of the week, not allowing a base runner and striking out five

- Sean Shelly hit a two-run homered followed by Ty Hubbard's solo shot

- Hunter and James Dunlap doubled

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST INNING

- Two hit-by-pitches, a double steal and a wild pitch scored Limestone's first run

- The Saints tacked on another on a sac fly

SECOND INNING

- Catawba's leadoff runner reached on an error and Shelly made it hurt, blasting a game-tying, two-run homer

- Hubbard followed later in the inning with a two-out solo homer

THIRD INNING

- Driver singled to lead off the third and scored on Hunter's RBI double

- Hunter later scored on an error on his stealing of third base

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to action on the road on Tuesday, traveling to Belmont Abbey for a midweek matchup with the Crusaders; first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.