Staff report

KANNAPOLIS — Catawba beat Belmont Abbey 5-4 on Monday in a game played at Atrium Health Ballpark.

Jeremy Simpson homered for the Indians.

Joe Butts had two hits and  two RBIs, and Bryce Butler had two hits. Lee Poteat scored the deciding run.

Maddux Holshouser pitched four innings. Caleb Link got the win, and Robbie Cowie got his eighth save.

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  The Catawba Indians captured the South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship, finishing the regular season with a record of 24-6 in conference.

With the crown, Catawba has earned the No. 1 seed in next week’s South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship.

  Tusculum earned the No. 2 seed with a 25-7 record in SAC play.  Newberry received the No. 3 seed with a 19-9 record in conference, and Wingate picked up the No. 4 seed with a SAC record of 20-10.  Carson-Newman picked up the No. 5 seed after a 19-11 season in conference, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne with a record of 19-13 in SAC play at No. 6.

Rounding out the field of eight for the baseball championship are Coker at the No. 7 seed with a 13-14 record in conference, and Mars Hill at the No. 8 seed with a 12-18 record.

The tournament will be played at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn., and will get under way on Thursday, April 22.  Thursday’s games will be single elimination, while the double-elimination portion of the championship will be played Friday, April 23-Monday, April 26.

Catawba’s first game will be on April 23 at 11 a.m.