Salisbury, N.C.----The Catawba College Indians won a pair of games over visiting Wingate University Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference baseball action. The Indians started the day by winning 6-0 in a game that started Friday night. Catawba capped the afternoon with a 5-2 victory to improve to 18-7 overall and 9-2 in the SAC. The Bulldogs fall to 13-14 overall and 4-4 in the conference.
Game One: Catawba 6, Wingate 0
Nick Coble hit a pair of homers to lead the Catawba attack in game one, while
Kyle Smith also connected on a homer for the Indians.
Zach Almond went three-for-five with two RBI, while
Luke Setzer also drove in a run.
Four different Bulldogs had a hit in game one, with sophomore
Zach Little (Troutman, N.C.) and
Reece Daniel (Asheboro, N.C.) each reaching base twice via a single and a walk.
The first four innings were played Friday night, with the Indians grabbing a 3-0 lead. Almond's two-run double in the third started the scoring, while Coble's solo shot in the fourth pushed the lead to three.
Setzer drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning on Saturday to make it 4-0. Smith and Coble added solo homers in the seventh to make the final margin 6-0.
Connor Johnson got the win in relief, moving to 3-1. He tossed five shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out seven.
Russ Weiker got the start, tossing four shutout innings with six strikeouts, allowing one hit. Senior right-hander
Brandon Donahue (Charlotte, N.C.) took the loss, falling to 5-3. He allowed one earned run on three hits in four innings, striking out four and walking two.
Game Two: Catawba 5, Wingate 2
Ben Bomberger was two-for-three with a homer and two RBI to lead the Catawba attack in game two. Setzer, Smith and Coble also homered in game two for the Indians.
Sophomore catcher
Andrew Llewellyn (Moseley, Va.) was two-for-three with a homer to lead the Wingate attack. Junior outfielder
Ty Andrus (Winston-Salem, N.C.) added two hits and an RBI, while sophomore outfielder
Austin Turgeon (Athens, Ga.) went one-for-two with a run scored.
Setzer led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer to get Catawba on the board. Llewellyn tied it in the second when he connected on his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot to make it 1-1.
The Indians regained the lead in the second when Bomberger connected on a two-run shot to make it 3-1. Smith's solo homer in the third pushed the lead to three.
Turgeon reached on a one-out single in the fifth, then scored on a sacrifice fly from Andrus to make it 4-2. Coble's solo shot in the sixth made the final margin 5-2.
Hunter Shepherd got the win, moving to 3-0. He allowed two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking two.
Bryan Blanton worked a scoreless seventh inning to notch his fifth save of the year. Junior right-hander
Hunter Hamilton (Troy, N.C.) took the loss, falling to 2-2. He allowed four runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking one.
The Bulldogs and Indians wrap up their three-game series Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Salisbury.
