A pair of aces didn’t mean jack to the Catawba baseball team on Saturday.
The Indians dug in against Presbyterian’s two winningest pitchers — right-hander Kevin Felts and port-sider Michael Burns — and swept an important South Atlantic Conference doubleheader at Newman Park.
“One thing about this team is we don’t get complacent,” coach Jim Gantt said after Catawba (22-10, 7-3 SAC) earned an 8-3 victory in the first game and a 2-1 extra-inning decision in the nightcap. “We work hard, we’re always competitive on game-day and we find ways to win.”
They’ve found ways to capture 16 of their last 20 games now, including three straight. The sweep, Catawba’s third of the season, moved it into a tie for first place with Lenoir-Rhyne.
“Our pitching has been unbelievable,” said outfielder Curt Motsinger. “I have to tip my hat to them. But we also hit the ball when we have to. What’s going on here, man, you gotta love it.”
You especially have to appreciate Motsinger’s recent contribution. After a lethargic start, the junior slugger has raised his batting average nearly 60 points in the past two weeks and is hitting a respectable .278.
“A lot of us knew it was going to come for him,” said Gantt. “We just weren’t sure when. Every day he does what competitors do. They go out and battle.”
Motsinger had a pair of timely hits yesterday. There was his no-doubt-about-it, two-run homer that snapped a 2-2 fourth-inning tie and triggered a 10-hit attack against previously unbeaten Felts (6-1) in the opener. Then in Game 2 he took a 1-1 curveball from Burns (5-4) and lined a game-winning single to center field with none out in the bottom of the eighth.
“I was just looking for something over the plate that I could put out there,” he said. “I didn’t have to get a base hit. I just couldn’t strike out in that situation.”
Not to be overlooked were the two gems pitched by Catawba’s Brad Esarey and Zach Snyder. Esarey, a senior left-hander, hurled eight trouble-free innings in the opener and recorded his team-best sixth victory. Mixing four distinct pitches, including a born-again changeup, he struck out five batters, walked two and saw his ERA — ranked second in the conference — increase to 2.10.
“My surprise pitch today was the changeup,” he said. “I’ve had control problems with it ever since I got hurt (as a freshman). But today, in big situations I was able to go to it and fool them.”
Esarey’s change-of-pace was shelved after he broke his left wrist in a fall during a training session. “But he worked on it real hard last summer,” said catcher Mike Robbins. “It’s almost all the way back. Just having that one extra pitch gives you so many more options when you’re trying to get out of a jam.”
Esarey was abetted by a Catawba defense that turned three double plays, snuffing out PC rallies in the first, eighth and ninth innings. “It makes it easier to pitch to when you know people behind you are going to make the plays,” said Esarey (6-2).
Snyder, the 6-foot-7 freshman from Lexington, was a resilient craftsman throughout his Game 2 performance. Presbyterian had runners in scoring position in five innings, but was repeatedly foiled. When it did score — on a fifth-inning error — the run was unearned.
“I was just trying to battle, to not lose concentration,” Snyder said after pitching the team’s second complete game of the season. “And make great pitches when I had to.”
He made his best one midway through a 1-2-3 seventh when he fanned designated hitter James Gritter after falling behind 3-and-oh. “What’s scary is that I had to throw fastballs,” Snyder said. “I knew if I walked him, it could eventually hurt me.”
Snyder (3-2) scattered seven singles, issued one walk and lowered his ERA to 3.38. “He pitched a smart game,” said Robbins. “If you’re gonna miss your spot, miss low. That’s what he did and that’s why he was so effective today.”
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NOTES: The series concludes with today’s 1 p.m. game. Right-hander Chris Abernathy (3-2, 7.59 ERA) will pitch for the Tribe. ...Motsinger’s home run was his fifth of the year. ... PC’s Matt Warren bashed his ninth — a two-run shot that gave the guests a 2-1 fourth-inning lead in Game 1. ... Catawba took a 1-0 lead in the nightcap when Chad Hill walked, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on Spence Southard’s fourth-inning single to center.
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