Posted: Apr 26, 2009
WINGATE, N.C. -- Catawba knocked off top-seeded Tusculum
twice on Sunday to take the championship of the 2009 South Atlantic
Conference Baseball Tournament at Ron Christopher Stadium on the
campus of Wingate University. The Catawba Indians won the second of
the two games 4-3 after forcing game two with an 11-10 victory.
Catawba, now 35-16, secure a spot in the NCAA II Southeast Regional
Tournament from May 14-17. The eighth-ranked Pioneers fall to 36-16
and will await a possible at large bid to the post-season.Nathan Furr (Albemarle, N.C.) came on in the ninth to get the save after winning the opener with six strong innings in his first start of the season. In the Pioneer ninth, Sean Finucane (Cortland, N.Y.) singled with one out, bringing Furr into the game. After an out, Sean Cotten (Mooresville, N.C.) singled and Jared Richmond (Fort Smith, Ark.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Furr then struck out Tim Kellinger (Knoxville, Md.) on three pitches to give the Indians the title.
After three scoreless innings, Tusculum jumped on top on Richmond's two-run home run with one out in the fourth. Nate Grabowski (Pennellville, N.Y.) had singled to open the inning and was sacrificed to second by Cotten. Catawba would get on the board in the fifth. Tusculum starter Rob Currie (St. Charles, Ill.) induced a double play after a leadoff single by Craige Lyerly (Salisbury, N.C.), but hit Ryan Query (Kannapolis, N.C.) with a pitch. Chris Ahearn (Charlotte, N.C.) found the gap in left center to plate Query from first to cut the Pioneer lead in half.
The Indians tied the game in the seventh as Query launched the first pitch over the scoreboard in left to open the inning, igniting a three-run frame to give Catawba the lead. Ahearn and Kevin McMillan (Salisbury, N.C.) followed with singles and Josh Hohn's (Greensboro, N.C.) bunt single was thrown away at first allowing two runs to score.
Tusculum got a run back in the eighth. Richmond led off with a double, Matt Ford (Jonesborough, Tenn.) walked and Paul Finger (Lincolnton, N.C.) sacrificed the runners into scoring position. Pinch-hitter Eric Conley (Knoxville, Tenn.) grounded out to short to plate a run to get the Pioneers within a run to set up the final inning heroics.
Blake Ketner (Davidson, N.C.) made his second start of the tournament and tossed six innings to improve to 10-3. He allowed a pair of runs off seven hits with six strikeouts. Currie made the start for Tusculum and pitched into the seventh before leaving after Query's homer with the game tied at 2-2. He allowed seven hits and struck out six.
The Indians overcame four errors and left a dozen on base. Tusculum also stranded 12 runners and hit into four double plays. The single by Lyerly in the fifth extended his hitting streak to 32 games, just one shy of the Catawba record. It also tied him with David Thomas with a school-record 101 hits on the year.
- SAC
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