John Tuttle threw a two-hitter to lead No. 21 Catawba College to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional final with a 6-1 victory over No. 2 Tusculum College Sunday afternoon at Scarborough Field.

The fifth-seeded Indians (41-15) went on to defeat No. 6 Francis Marion 8-4 in the championship game and earn a berth in the upcoming Division II World Series. The second-seeded Pioneers (48-10) saw their season come to an abrupt end with back-to-back losses in less than 24 hours after winning their first two games at the regional.

Greg Lawson went 3-for-5 for the Indians, including a three-run double as part of a four-run first inning. Tuttle (5-4) took care of the rest, allowing just a sixth-inning single to Tripper Crisson and an eighth-inning home run by Cody Coffman. He struck out five and needed just 98 pitches to finish off his gem.

"You have to tip your hat to Catawba College and their performance today. John Tuttle pitched an outstanding game and we could never get comfortable at the plate," said Pioneer head coach Doug Jones. "Catawba is well-coached and we wish them good luck in representing the South Atlantic Conference in the World Series."

Tusculum starter Zeke McGranahan retired the first two batters easily in the bottom of the first, but hit Ethan Satterfield with a pitch and allowed a single to Garrett Furr. Julio Zubillaga followed with an RBI single to drive home Satterfield with the game's first run.

After a walk to Brett Underwood loaded the bases, Lawson drove a 1-2 pitch into the gap in left-center to bring home all three runners and give the Indians a 4-0 lead.

Billy Sivyer came on in relief in the second and shut out the Indians over the next four innings, but Tuttle continued to mow down the Pioneers. Following a leadoff walk to Lukas Graves in the first, the sophomore righthander retired 16 in a row until Crisson delivered a clean single with two outs in the sixth for the Pioneers' first hit.

Catawba added a run in the sixth on an RBI single by Satterfield and another in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to Keaton Hawks. Tusculum righthander Craig Goodman relieved in the seventh and struck out the next two batters, and set down two more batters in the eighth to wrap up his stellar senior season with a 10-0 record and an even 2.00 earned run average.

Coffman spoiled Tuttle's shutout bid with a solo home run on the first pitch of the eighth inning, his ninth round-tripper of the season, but Tuttle retired the final six hitters to move the Indians into the regional finals.

Zubillaga went 2-for-5 and scored two runs for the Indians, while Ryan Bostian was 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Catawba finished with 12 hits as a team, with Lawson's first-inning double representing the only extra-base hit in the game for the Indians.

McGranahan (1-3) allowed four hits and four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings for the Pioneers, walking two and striking out three. Sivyer gave up four hits and an earned run in 3 2/3 innings of relief for Tusculum, which saw its bullpen combine to allow one earned run in 6 1/3 innings in the game.

"It is sad to have this season end so close to making it to the World Series, especially for our seniors," said Jones. "A 48-10 season is a special one and we can't have our heads down. I am so proud of this team and all we have accomplished."

Tusculum's 48 wins are currently the most in the nation, second most in school history and second most in conference history, trailing only the 50-14 record posted by the Pioneers in 2007. Tusculum's .828 won-loss percentage set a new single-season school mark, breaking the previous record of .781 set by the 2007 squad.