Lions fall to Catawba in road doubleheader
The Mars Hill baseball team (3-4) were swept Sunday afternoon by Catawba (8-1) in non-conference play, dropping game one by a score of 15-0 and game two by a score of 11-1.
SALISBURY, N.C. - The Mars Hill baseball team (3-4) were swept Sunday afternoon by Catawba (8-1) in non-conference play, dropping game one by a score of 15-0 and game two by a score of 11-1.
GAME ONE: CAT 15, MHU 0
The Lions dropped game one of Sunday's doubleheader by a score of 15-0 to Catawba. After a scoreless first inning, Mars Hill threatened in the top of the second with runners on the corners. After Scottie Lee stole second to put both runners in scoring position, Catawba's Riley Myers was able to strike out the next two Lions' batters and get a groundout to get out of danger.
The Indians scored four in the bottom of the second to begin their offensive explosion. A RBI single from Joe Butts kicked off the scoring and was followed by a sacrifice fly from Robbie Cowie. A Mars Hill error allowed the third Indians' run to cross home plate while another sacrifice fly put Catawba up by four at the end of two.
Butts RBI single in the third further extended the lead, but a six-run fourth inning by the Indians put Mars Hill down by double-digits. Following a RBI single from Jackson Raper, Hunter Shepherd's grand slam gave the Indians a 10-0 lead. Butts later scored off of a Mars Hill wild pitch.
Shepherd added two more RBI to bring his total to six in the contest with a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth. The Indians added two more runs off of a Cameron Morrison double into right-center field.
Shepherd went 4-for-4 with six RBI in the game. Both Raper and Butts added three hits and a combined three RBI. Matt Honeycutt had two hits to lead the Lions' offense.
Zach Grice suffered the loss, allowing five runs on five hits in three innings pitched. Myers earned the win, striking out six in six innings while allowing five hits.
GAME TWO: CAT 11, MHU 1
Catawba completed the two-game sweep with an 11-1 win over Mars Hill.
The hot bats rolled over into game two, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first. Joe Butts began the five-run inning with a two-run single. He later scored off of a Robbie Cowie two-run single to put the Indians up 4-0. Catawba added their fifth run off of a Mars Hill error.
After scoring another two runs in the third, the Indians scored four in the bottom of the fourth to go up 11-0 entering the fifth. Jackson Raper began the scoring with a two-run single followed by another RBI single from Butts. Cowie's fielder's choice scored Hunter Shepherd for the final Indians' run of the contest.
The Lions scored their lone run on the day with a Cody Cline single in the top of the fifth inning to plate Austin Purser.
Ryan Steffens was credited with loss, allowing seven runs on three hits in 2.2 innings pitched. Bryson Linkous allowed the only two Mars Hill hits of the game in 4.2 innings pitched, striking out six for the win.
The Lions next face Southern Wesleyan on the road on Wednesday, February 13th. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
