Lions fall to Catawba in SAC play

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill (7-18-1, 3-10 SAC) baseball team lost 11-5 to Catawba (14-16, 9-4 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action Sunday afternoon at Henderson Field.

With the game tied at four, the Indians burst the game open, beginning in the sixth inning.

A RBI double from Chance Bowden plated Lee Poteat in the top of the sixth, but as Kyle Smith rounded third and was on his way home, Shomarii Thomas gunned him down with a precision throw home. With two runners on, Heath Mitchem went down the third baseline with a two-RBI double. The Indians continued to tack on runs in the top half of the inning as Jackson Raper drilled a two-run homerun just inside the right field foul pole to give the Indians a 9-4 lead.

With runners on second and third and one out in the top of the seventh, the Indians added two more runs. Bowden singled through the left side for a RBI single. Luke Setzer hit a hard shot down the third baseline that could not be fielded properly and allowed Poteat to cross home for the 11^th Indians' run of the afternoon.

Mars Hill would add another run off of a Brett Brubaker homerun to center field in the bottom of the eighth.

The Indians struck first in the top of the first inning with two runs off of a Mars Hill error. With one out and runners on second and third, Mitchem reached on an errant play that plated Bowden and Setzer.

Leading off the bottom half of the inning, Daniel Vitello's solo homerun to left field cut the deficit in half. A walk to Christian Stampler loaded the bases with one out in the inning and threatened to add more runs, but a strikeout and groundout to the next two batters quelled the push.

Each team traded runs in the fourth inning. Once again capitalizing off of a Mars Hill error, a slow roller up the first baseline was mishandled and allowed Joe Butts to cross home for the Indians' third run.

Barrett Hennings doubled to open the bottom half of the inning. Following a groundout from Josh Hall, Cody Cline's single up the middle put runners on the corners. A failed pickoff attempt towards third allowed Hennings' to score.

Catawba reestablished the two-run lead with a solo homerun from Zetzer, but the Lions tied the game at four in the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back solo homeruns from Christian Stampler and Thomas. The Lions threatened to add more runs with runners on second and third, but a groundout to first stopped the momentum.

Clay Young earns the win in 1.2 innings pitched, allowing two hits. Kaleb McCurry picked up the loss, allowing five runs on six hits in one inning.

Game two that was originally slated for a 6 p.m. start was called due to darkness. The Lions will return to action on Monday, March 26 to close out the three-game series with Catawba in doubleheader action. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. for game one. Game two is slated for a 3 p.m. start.