PREVIEW: #19 Baseball hosts #8 Mount Olive in top-20 regional showdown

Salisbury, N.C. —- The 19th-ranked Catawba College baseball team opens up a four-game week at Newman Park on Tuesday with a key in-region contest with 8th-ranked Mount Olive.

THE MATCHUP

- Who: #8 Mount Olive (19-8, 14-4 CC) at #19 Catawba (19-7, 11-4 SAC)

- Where: Newman Park, Salisbury, N.C.

- When: Tuesday, March 18, 3 p.m.

- How to follow: FloSports ($) | Live stats

THE HISTORY

- The all-time series is tied 35-35

- The Catawba Indians are 18-10 at Newman Park

- The teams have been two of the staples in the Southeast region, facing each other six times in the regional since 2012

THE PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP

- Raleigh Walker (1-2, 5.83 ERA) vs. Braeden Major (1-0, 5.84 ERA)

- Catawba threw eight pitchers in its win over UNC Pembroke last Tuesday; UMO threw 11 in its loss at Coker last week

LAST TIME OUT

- Catawba earned a 5-2 win over Mount Olive in the teams' first meeting this season at UMO on Feb. 18

- Major threw 4.1 shutout innings, allowing just two hits with four strikeouts

- Sean Shelly recorded three hits and Dylan Driver doubled twice

GRAB YOUR DRIVER

- Driver clubbed his team-leading seventh homer of the season with a three-run shot to left field early in the win over UVA Wise on Saturday

- The round-tripper ended up being the difference maker, as Catawba grinded out the 6-4 victory

SIMMERSON SAVER

- Hayden Simmerson threw the final four innings of the win on Saturday, earning his SAC-leading sixth save of the season

- The sophomore righty lowered his season ERA to 2.83 with a WHIP of 0.91

- His only earned run allowed in March (11 innings) was on a ball lost in the lights

PLAYING UP TO TOUGH COMPETITION

- Catawba and Mount Olive play some of the most difficult competition in the region, with Mount Olive playing the most games against teams above .500 (20) and Catawba earning the most wins against teams above .500 (14)

- The Catawba Indians enter Tuesday's matchup 14-4 against teams above .500 and an undefeated 4-0 in mid-week matchups

UP NEXT

- Catawba continues South Atlantic Conference play this weekend, returning to Newman Park for a three-game set against Newberry, starting with game one on Friday night at 6 p.m.