College baseball: Indians sweep Lincoln Memorial at Newman Park

Published 11:44 pm Saturday, March 30, 2024

Staff report

SALISBURY — None of the three games were calm or easy, but Catawba swept Lincoln Memorial in an Easter weekend series at Newman Park.

It was 7-4 on Friday and 7-5 and 8-7 in Saturday’s doubleheader.

Catawba is batting .319 as a team and continues to score a lot of runs, especially at home. Catawba (25-9, 14-4) is an ordinary 8-8 on the road, but the games at Newman Park have been almost automatic wins. The Indians are 17-1 at home and hold a lead in the South Atlantic Conference over second-place Wingate. The Bulldogs are 12-6 in league games.

The Indians have a balanced offense. There’s no one guy teams can pitch around. Sam Hunter has 35 RBIs. Bo Rusher and Logan Rogers have 34 each. Cole Hales has 33.

The top of the lineup, which is normally Levi Perrell, Dylan Driver and Hunter, is crossing the plate frequently. Perrell leads the team with 38 runs scored.

The pitching hasn’t been as overwhelming as the offense, but it’s been pretty solid.

Austin Fine (6-1) was the starting pitcher in Friday’s win. Three shutout relief innings by Brandon Rodgers was critical, and Hayden Simmerson got his fourth save. Perrell had three hits and Cooper Bryson had two RBIs.

Payne Stolsworth (7-1) pitched eight innings in the middle game of the series. Perrell knocked in three, Hunter had three hits and two RBIs. Driver had two hits and scored twice.

In the series finale, Ty Hubbard homered and the Indians got two hits from Driver, Hunter, Rogers and Drew Robertson. Robertson and Bryson drove in two apiece. Mason Gwyn (3-1) was the winner in relief.

Catawba is at home on April 3 against USC Aiken with first pitch set for 5 p.m.