Railsplitters Power 20 Hits And Fall In Opener To Catawba College, 16-11
April 13, 2012
HARROGATE, TN -- In a game where pitching was at a premium, the No. 24 Catawba College Indians outlasted the Railsplitters, 16-11, to take the opening contest of a South Atlantic Conference series on Friday afternoon. The loss drops Lincoln Memorial University to 10-15 in the South Atlantic Conference and 21-26 overall. The Indians moves to 21-4 in SAC play and 34-10 overall.
The two teams combined for 34 hits and 27 runs in the nine-inning contest which lasted well over three hours. Eight different pitchers were brought to the mound in the affair.
Andy Fennell (1-9) was dealt the loss after coming on in relief. He tossed five innings, allowing seven hits and eight runs, with only two of those being earned.
clay Watson (3-0) picked up the win in relief for Catawba College after pitching three and two-thirds, surrendering eight hits and four runs.
All nine starters for the Railsplitters recorded hits with eight of those nine notching multiple hits. Gelson Perez, Nick Pressley and Joseph Horsley led the way with three hits apiece. Perez added four RBIs to go with his three hits. Nick Morabito notched two RBIs on a pair of hits on the day.
The Indians were led by a couple of four RBI performances, as Keaton Hawks powered four hits and four RBIs while Greg Lawson used three hits to knock in four runs.
After a scoreless first that was unrepresentative of the game that would ensue, the Indians broke onto the board with a couple of runs in the top of the second. Craig Brooks was issued a two-out walk that proved costly as Greg Lawson smashed a double down the left field line to score a run. Keaton Hawks singled in the next at-bat to force home another run and put Catawba on top, 2-0.
That lead was quickly erased as LMU powered two runs in the bottom of that frame. Nick Pressley led off with a walk and John Saylor followed suit with a single two batters later. Scott Miller put LMU on the board with a single later in the inning and Joseph Horsley's single in the following at-bat knotted the game a two apiece.
Catawba went down without a run in the top of third and the Railsplitters grabbed the lead with a three-run blast off the bat of Gelson Perez in the bottom of that stanza. The homerun scored Curt Fuqua and Andre Rodriguez, who were offered free passes to open the inning.
That lead did not hold for long as the Indians regained command with a four-run bulge in the top of the fourth. Greg Lawson's two-run double plated Cameron Beard, who reached on a single and Craig Brooks, who was walked. Keaton Hawks notched an RBI-single and Garrett Furr drove in another run with a ground out to put the Indians on top, 6-5.
After their scoring rally fell short in the bottom of the fourth, the Railsplitters knotted the game with a run in the bottom of the fifth on Nick Morabito's RBI-double. Morabito's blast into right-center scored Perez, who led off with a hit by pitch.
The sixth went quietly as neither team found their way onto the board. In the seventh, the Indians broke that tide with a run to grab the lead. Lawson was once again the culprit as he singled through the right side to drive in Satterfield, who was hit by the pitch to start the frame.
The Railsplitters hit a leadoff baseknock in the bottom of the seventh but their rally fell short. In the top of the eighth, Catawba College broke the game wide open with a huge, seven-run rally. The Indians took advantage of two Railsplitter miscues and notched five hits, highlighted by Ryan Bostian's two-run double to complete the bulge. That powered the Indians out to a commanding 14-6 lead.
LMU made the game interesting in the bottom of that frame by answering with four runs on six hits. The Railsplitters started the inning with five consecutive singles and capped the scoring with a run-scoring double off the bat of Morabito en route to cutting the deficit to 14-10 heading into the final inning of play.
In that frame, the Indians essentially put the game out of reach with a pair of run-scoring singles from Craig Brooks and Keaton Hawks to push out to a 16-10 lead.
LMU mounted a run in the last inning with another RBI from Gelson Perez's bat, as he plated Cody Baker with a single. However, they would come up short and fall, 16-11.
The two teams will meet tomorrow afternoon to complete the three-game set. They are slated for a nine-inning game beginning at 1 p.m. with a seven-inning affair to follow at Lamar Hennon Field.
Catawba 16, Lincoln Memorial 11 (Apr 13, 2012 at Harrogate, TN) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Catawba............. 020 400 172 - 16 14 0 (34-10, 21-4 SAC) Lincoln Memorial.... 023 010 041 - 11 20 3 (21-26, 10-15 SAC) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Catawba - JJ Jankowski; Clay Watson(4); Ryan McClintock(8); Graham Lawing(8); Craig Brooks(9) and Greg Lawson. Lincoln Memorial - Brandon Cowan; Andy Fennell(4); Robert Stegbauer(9) and Nick Pressley. Win-Clay Watson(3-0) Loss-Andy Fennell(1-9) T-3:30 A-210 HR LMU - Gelson Perez (2). Weather: Clear, low 70s.
B. Cowan faced 4 batters in the 4th.
C.Watson faced 3 batters in the 8th.
