Area sports briefs: Catawba stays tied for first in SAC with series win; East golf shines

Published 1:25 am Sunday, April 1, 2018

From staff reports

ANDERSON, S.C. — Catawba’s baseball team won another series on Saturday.

The Indians, tied for first with Wingate, played one of their better games in an 11-3 win at Anderson,  pounding 17 hits and playing errorless defense to take the series two games to one.

Luke Setzer (East Rowan) had three hits and four RBIs for Catawba (19-17, 13-5). He had a two-run double and two-run homer.

Chance Bowden (Salisbury) and Cameron Morrison also launched two-run homers. Heath Mitchem (Carson) had three hits. Kyle Smith, Joe Butts, Jackson Raper and Jacob Nester had two hits each.

Starter Michael Elwell shut out Anderson the first four innings as Catawba built an 11-0 lead.

Elwell had thrown a lot of pitches by the fifth inning. He walked five and struck out six. D.J. Laxton (5-1) relieved in the fifth and ws credited with the win. Clay Young, Bryan Ketchie (West Rowan) and Hunter Shepherd (Homeschool Stallions) finished  up.

Prep golf

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — East Rowan  shot a team score of 322 in the final round of the Palmetto High School Golf Championship Saturday at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club.

East  finished with a two-round total of 657, good for second place in the First Flight.

Bryson Sprinkle shot 80-76 — 156 and tied for fourth place in the flight.

Austin Miller shot 81-79 — 160, William Garland carded rounds of 84-83 — 167, Colby Patterson shot 90-84— 174, and Will Peeler shot 97-96 — 193.

College track

BLACK MOUNTAIN — Catawba competed in the  Montreat College Invitational Track and Field Meet over the weekend with the teams coming up with three wins. On Friday, the men’s and women’s 4×800 relay teams took wins, while Michael Swepson claimed a victory in the 3000 meter steeplechase on Saturday.

Both Catawba teams posted nine season’s-best performances.

College lacrosse

SALISBURY —  Catawba rolled to a 20-4 win over   Mars Hill in SAC women’s lacrosse action on Saturday. Gianna Pezzulo and Erin Green scored two goals  each over the first five and half minutes as the Indians (5-0 SAC) took over.

as the Lady Indians jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Olivia Hokanson scored one of her three goals for Mars Hill at the 22:45 mark before Catawba reeled off seven in a row to take command at 11-1.

The Lady Indians posted a 14-2 lead at the break and cruised the rest of the way. Pezzulo and Brooklyn Tilley led Catawba with four goals, while Pezzulo added three assists. Green, who helped on three goals, and Katie Barth, who had one assist, both contributed three goals.