March 21, 2008

Lenoir-Rhyne And Catawba Split South Atlantic Conference Baseball Doubleheader

Catawba wins the first game by a 9-3 score while Lenoir-Rhyne rallies to take the second contest, 8-7

Hickory, N.C. – Lenoir-Rhyne College (17-17, 8-3) and Catawba College (21-11, 9-5) split a South Atlantic Conference Baseball doubleheader Friday afternoon at Bears Field. Catawba prevailed in game one by a 9-3 score while Lenoir-Rhyne came from behind to win the nightcap, 8-7.

Game One – Catawba 9, Lenoir-Rhyne 3
Catawba hit three solo home runs, including two by Chad Baker (Jamestown, N.C.), en route to the win.

Home runs by Baker and Jerry Sands (Clayton, N.C.) gave Catawba a 3-0 advantage before Lenoir-Rhyne cut the margin to 3-2 after five innings.

However, Catawba took control again with a three-run sixth inning which included a two-run single from Craige Lyerly (Salisbury, N.C.) for a 6-2 lead.

Catawba added a single run in the seventh and plated two more in the eighth inning to round out the scoring.

Sands finished four-for-four and three runs scored to lead Catawba’s 15-hit attack while L-R senior outfielder J.D. Harrison (Winter Haven, Fla./Polk CC) tallied three hits for the Bears.

Catawba’s Tim Smith (Walnut Cove, N.C.) (4-2) picked up the win and Travis McSweeney (Palm Harbor, Fla.) pitched two scoreless innings for the save. L-R freshman Brandon Padgett (Statesville, N.C./UNC Wilmington) suffered the loss and fell to 3-2 on the year.

Box Score

Game Two – Lenoir-Rhyne 8, Catawba 7 (seven innings)
Lenoir-Rhyne scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning in the come-from-behind victory to salvage the split.

Junior first baseman Zachary Glass (Salisbury, N.C./Salisbury HS) scored the game-winning run from second base on an errant Catawba throw with one out.  Glass started the rally earlier in the inning with a two-run single.

Catawba staked itself to a 6-0 lead after four and a half innings of play thanks to a four-run fifth inning highlighted by Kevin McMillan’s (Salisbury, N.C.) two-run double in the fifth inning.

Trailing 7-1, Lenoir-Rhyne began its comeback with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on four consecutive two-out hits to cut the margin to 7-4 before its four-run frame in the seventh.

David Thomas (Winston-Salem, N.C.) went three-for-three for Catawba while Lenoir-Rhyne’s Glass and senior centerfielder Mark Drucker (Boca Raton, Fla./Indian River CC) each drove in two runs to lead the Bears.

L-R senior Josh Keller (Claremont, N.C./Methodist Coll.) improved to 4-2 with the win while Catawba’s Nathan Furr (Albemarle, N.C.) fell to 1-1 with the loss.

Box Score

The two teams wrap up the weekend series on Saturday at 1 p.m., at Bears Field. Lenoir-Rhyne will also be celebrating its Senior Day.