#11 Baseball makes statement with DH sweep of Carson-Newman to take series of top SAC teams

Salisbury, N.C. —- The 11th-ranked Catawba College baseball team allowed just two runs on five hits across 16 innings against South Atlantic Conference contender Carson-Newman to extend their league lead to two games, winning their 18th straight series in conference play.

GAME ONE | Catawba 4, Carson-Newman 0

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba out-hit Carson-Newman 7-2

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

- The Eagles committed the lone error in the game

- C-N left six runners on base; Catawba stranded seven

- The Catawba Indian pitchers threw nine shutout innings on two hits and five walks, striking out 10; Carson-Newman's staff four runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out two

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Casey Gouge earned the win, tossing six shutout frames with just two hits allowed, punching out five

- Seth Sharpe and Brandon Rodgers combined to throw three hitless innings to close the game, striking out five more Eagles

- Cole Hales was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored

- Nathan Chrismon added two hits including a double with an RBI and a run scored

- Matthew Connolly had an RBI triple; Sam Hunter doubled

HOW IT HAPPENED

FOURTH INNING

- Connolly drove a one-out triple off the center field wall to score the day's first two runs

FIFTH INNING

- James Dunlap walked and Hunter doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third with one out

- Hales' RBI groundout pushed Catawba's lead to 3-0

EIGHTH INNING

- Hales singled to lead off the eighth and advanced to third on wild pitches

- Chrismon's RBI infield single gave Catawba an extra run of insurance

GAME TWO | Catawba 4, Carson-Newman 2

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba out-hit Carson-Newman 8-3

- The Eagles had the lone extra-base hit of the game – a homer

- Both teams committed an error in game two

- C-N left three runners on base; the Catawba Indians stranded five

- Catawba pitchers allowed two runs on three hits and a walk, striking out three; Carson-Newman's staff allowed three earned runs on eight hits and three walks, striking out four

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Austin Fine got the win in game two, allowing a run on just two hits in five innings, retiring the final 15 batters he faced

- Hayden Simmerson picked up his league-leading 11th save, allowing one solo homer with a strikeout

- Dylan Driver drove in a run on a single and scored

- Dunlap and Sam Hunter both recorded a pair of hits and an RBI

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST INNING

- Two singles and an error loaded the bases for Carson-Newman with nobody out in the first

- Cole Nathan brought home a run on an RBI sac fly

SECOND INNING

- Hunter Atkins walked and advanced to second on a throwing error by C-N's catcher

- Connolly drove home the tying run on a single through the left side

FIFTH INNING

- Driver dropped in a single to right center to drive home the go-ahead run in the fifth

- Dunlap did the same with an RBI single to nearly the same spot

- Hunter's RBI single through the right side pushed Catawba's lead to three

SEVENTH INNING

- Nathan cut the deficit to two with a solo homer in the seventh

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to Newman Park on Tuesday, hosting Georgia College at 4 p.m.