GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Catawba College baseball team took over first place in the South Atlantic Conference race with Friday's 8-6 win at Tusculum College.
The Catawba Indians (25-15, 18-6 SAC) jumped out to an 8-3 lead, but had to hold off a pair of Tusculum rallies to secure the victory.
Catawba plated a run each in the first and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Blake Houston led off the game with his third home run of the season. The second run of the game came in the third on a two-out single by Paul Kronenfeld.
Tusculum answered with three unearned runs in the bottom of the third when Andrew Bowerman scored on an error and Vinny Ferrara followed with a two-run double to left field for a 3-2 TC lead.
The Indians answered with two runs in the fourth inning and got a two-out, three-run double from T.J Wharton in the fifth to spot the visitors to 7-3 lead. Catawba added an unearned run in the sixth to make it an 8-3 contest.
The Pioneers scored twice in the seventh in an inning that looked even more promising as TC sent eight batters to the plate, but left the bases loaded. Tusculum runs came on a bases loaded walk by Trey Drewery and a rare catcher's interference during pinch-hitter Cody Andreychuk's at-bat.
Jeremiah Tullidge recorded his second hit of the night with his one-out single in the ninth inning and he would score on Drewery's team-leading 13th double of the season. Catawba closer Ryan McClintock came aboard to face Heath Comerford, who drew his third walk of the night to bring the potential winning-run to the plate. But McClintock ended the threat with a strikeout and a fielder's choice to end the game.
Catawba starter Craig Brooks (9-2) recorded his ninth win of the year, going 6 1/3 innings, with five hits, five unearned runs, four walks and five strikeouts. McClintock earned his eighth save of the season to move into a tie for first place in that category.
Ferrara, Tullidge and Bowerman each finished with multiple-hit games, while Ethan Satterfield was the lone Catawba player with more than two hits on the night.
Tusculum pitcher Michael Scott tossed three shutout innings in relief, surrendering a walk and a strikeout.
The two teams will wrap up the three-game weekend series on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader. It will be Senior Day as Tusculum will be honoring its 12 seniors prior to Saturday's first contest.
- TC -
