Six-run sixth inning pushes #4 Baseball to Super Regional berth with win over NGU

Salisbury, N.C. —- The 4th-ranked and top-seeded Catawba College baseball team advanced to its second straight NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional on Saturday, as the Catawba Indians plated six runs in the bottom half of the sixth to flip the lead in their favor and hold off 23rd-ranked and fifth-seeded North Greenville at Newman Park.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba out-hit North Greenville 12-11

- Both teams recorded three extra-base hits; the Trailblazers had the lone homer

- NGU committed both errors in the contest

- North Greenville left eight runners on base; Catawba stranded nine

- The Catawba Indians recorded both stolen bases in the game

- Catawba's pitchers allowed five runs on 11 hits and five walks, striking out nine; NGU's staff allowed seven earned runs on 12 hits and four walks, striking out five

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Dylan Driver was 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored

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

- Cooper Bryson drove in two on a pinch-hit double; Nathan Chrismon added two hits with two stolen bases and two runs scored

- Austin Fine earned the win, settling in to fire five scoreless innings after a three-run first to improve to 9-2 on the year

- Hayden Simmerson picked up his nation-leading 17th save in the ninth, striking out the NGU side

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST INNING

- The opening North Greenville batter laced a triple to center field after a misplayed ball, but was thrown out at home plate going for the roundtripper

- Alton Gyselman's RBI double scored the game's first run and put two Trailblazers in scoring position with two away

- Thomas Powell's opposite-field single drove in two more as NGU led 3-0

SECOND INNING

- Matthew Connolly sent a ground ball through the middle to drive in a run and get Catawba on the board in the bottom of the second

SIXTH INNING

- Sam Hunter doubled to right field to lead off the sixth inning

- Hales singled and advanced to second on a throwing error, putting two runners in scoring position

- Bryson laced a pinch-hit double the opposite way to tie the game

- NGU went to their closer after a Chrismon single put runners on the corners

- Connolly lifted a sac fly to deep left field, recording the go-ahead RBI

- Driver's double off the wall in left-center scored two more, padding the lead to 6-3

- A two-out throwing error brought home another run, capping off the 11-batter, six-run bottom of the sixth to flip a two-run deficit into a 7-3 lead with nine outs to go

EIGHTH INNING

- NGU's Josh Williams hit a two-run homer to right, cutting the deficit in half

- Hales ripped a two-out RBI single the other way for some much-needed insurance in the bottom half

GAME NOTES

- Catawba advances to its third Super Regional under the new format

- The Catawba Indians advanced to the DII National Championships in both of their previous two trips (2019, 2024)

- Simmerson's 16th and 17th saves this weekend broke the Catawba and South Atlantic Conference single-season record

- Fine's 28th win of the year moves him past Catawba greats Jerry Maye and Hunter Shepherd for eighth all-time

- Simmerson moves one save away from the career program record as just a sophomore, currently tied for third behind Zach Evans and Robbie Cowie

UP NEXT

- Catawba hosts SAC foe Lenoir-Rhyne in the NCAA Southeast Super Regional this week; game one is set for Thursday, May 22 at 6 p.m.