Only the top six finishers qualified for the SAC tournament, so there won’t be any easy games for Catawba in the double-elimination event that starts today in Forest City.
The SAC tournament champion gets an automatic bid to regional play, and that’s likely to be the only bid the SAC gets. Catawba and Wingate were co-champs in the regular season.
Catawba is the No. 1 seed and opens the tournament today at noon against No. 6 seed Anderson.
Catawba’s Craig Brooks and Anderson’s Landon Beck finished 1-2 in the SAC in strikeouts, and Beck is expected to oppose Brooks on the mound today.
Catawba started 1-7 but is now 28-16. It’s a mostly senior team. Zubillaga, left fielder Ethan Satterfield, right fielder Keaton Hawks, first baseman Paul Kronenfeld, third baseman Cameron Beard and catcher Jon Wallace are all seniors, as is John J. Tuttle, who is the probable Game 2 starting pitcher for the Indians on Friday.
“We might go 1-50 next season,” Catawba coach Jim Gantt joked. “It will definitely be a youth movement.”
Center fielder Blake Houston and Brooks, a tremendous two-way player, are juniors, as is transfer T.J. Wharton, the powerful DH/catcher who is playing his first season with the Indians.
Sophomore Dylan Richardson plays shorstop when Brooks pitches, so he’ll be in the lineup today.
The guy to watch is Kronenfeld, who batted .383. The imposing lefty hitter does most of his damage against hard-throwing right-handers such as Beck.
SAC awards were announced on Wednesday. Brooks (10-2) was not only the league’s pitcher of the year, he was the first team All-SAC shortstop. Wharton was the first team All-SAC DH.
Shaefer Shepard, a rising star for the Indians, was named the league’s Freshman of the Year and first team All-SAC as a starting pitcher. The SAC’s ERA leader. Shepard is set to take the mound on Saturday, assuming Catawba is still alive in the tournament.
Catawba closer Ryan McClintock was named as the first team All-SAC reliever.
Hawks was named All-SAC second team.
Houston and Kronenfeld were only Honorable Mention All-SAC despite stellar seasons. Zubillaga was named the league’s Gold Glove winner for second basemen.
Gantt shared SAC Coach of the year honors.
Catawba will play at 3:45 on Friday if it wins today. The Indians would be play at noon Friday if they lose today.
“Whatever happens, I’m real proud of this bunch,” Gantt said. “They’ve never given up.”
WSAT-1280 is broadcasting the action.
Kameron Sherrill went 2-for-2 and Zach Mullinax had a double in A.L. Brown’s 8-1 loss to Mount Pleasant in the F&M Bank Classic. Matt Brown took the loss.
Northwest Cabarrus lost 4-1 to Robinson in the F&M Bank Classic.
The F&M Bank Classic continues today with winner’s bracket games at CMC-NorthEast Stadium and consolation games at A.L. Brown.
The tournament at Staton Field with East Rowan and West Rowan starts today.
See Scoreboard for results and pairings.
• Zach Queen’s three hits and strong pitching by Chandler Simerson led West Davidson to a 5-2 win over Davie.

Stallions baseball
The Greater Cabarrus Homeschool Stallions lost 10-5 to Albemarle’s varsity on Wednesday in Easter tournament action.
Caleb Threadgill and Hunter Shepherd had two hits each for the Stallions (12-6). Noah Jarret doubled.
• In a 5-2 loss to West Rowan’s jayees, Shepherd had three hits for the Stallions and Josh Holt had a double.

A bases-loaded walk i the eighth lifted the Kannapolis Intimidators to a 2-1 win at West Virginia on Wednesday and a sweep of the three-game SAL series.

Local golf
The 33rd annual Edgar Welch Memorial Golf Tournament for Rowan County women will be played at 9 a.m. on May 20 and 22 at Corbin Hills and the Country Club of Salisbury.
The tournament is open to all women with an established handicap at a Rowan club and anyone who has played in the tournament before.
Entry forms are available at local clubs. The $60 fee includes golf, carts, prizes, and the luncheon on May 22. The format is net best-ball twosome. Gross prizes also are awarded.
The defending champions are Kristi Laton and Phyllis Durland.
The tournament is played in memory of Edgar Welch. Welch’s wife, Elaine, established the tournament in his memory. Call Beverly Cobb at 704-279-1477 with any questions.
• Fifty-five GARS members played at Lexington Country Club.
Low ‘A’ Flight player with a net of 64.76 was Roy Green. Low ‘B’ Flight player with a net of 68.63 was Gary Morgan. Low ‘C’ Flight player with a net of 67.96 was Harry Agner. Low ‘D’ Flight player with a net of 73.60 was John Daniels.
• The Corbin Hills women participated in the State Handicap Tournament on Wednesday.
Corbin Hills’ Norma Burgess won the net score with a 65 in an event that attracted golfers from all over the state.
Other winners for the weekly games were
First Flight: Kristi Laton (low gross), Beth Calhoun (low net)
Second Flight: Cindy Carmazzi (low gross), Tammi Drew (low net)
Third Flight: Betsey Edgeworth (low gross), Sharon Deal (low net), Mary Seaford (low putts)

College baseball
In Gardner-Webb’s 10-6 win against Appalachian State on Wednesday, Alex Newman (Davie) had two hits for the Bulldogs.
Preston Troutman (East Rowan) had two hits for ASU. Brian Bauk (Salisbury) pitched a scoreless ninth for the Mountaineers. He allowed one hit and struck out two.