Catawba Tops Tusculum 4-2 In Food Lion SAC Baseball Tournament

FOREST CITY, N.C. - Catawba starting pitcher Nick Lomascolo (Mooresville, N.C.) scattered three hits across eight innings of work to lead the third-seeded Indians to a 4-2 victory over fifth-seeded Tusculum on Friday night in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament at McNair Field.

With the win, the 24th-ranked Indians (36-10) remain undefeated in the tournament and will play the winner of Saturday's noon game between Tusculum (30-17) and sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Lomascolo (6-2) gave up two unearned runs and fanned seven to pick up the win.

Both teams finished the night with three hits. Ryan Bostian (Kannapolis, N.C.) went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs to lead Catawba, while Josh Hohn (Greensboro, N.C.) added a solo home run.

Paul Finger (Lincolnton, N.C.) went 2-for-3, including a two-run home run, to lead the Pioneers.

Tusculum starting hurler Taylor Rakes (Norcross, Ga.) was tagged with the loss. Rakes (4-3) surrendered one earned run and two hits in 6 1/3 innings on the mound. He also walked four and struck out three.

Catawba took a 2-0 lead in the third on a two-run double by Bostian, but the Pioneers knotted the game at two in the fourth, as Finger launched a two-run blast to center field.

The Indians regained the lead in the sixth when Hohn delivered a two-out solo home run to right center to give Catawba a 3-2 advantage.

Bostian's second double of the day drove in Wade Moore (Salisbury, N.C.) in the seventh to push Catawba's lead to 4-2.

Lomascolo and Wil Huneycutt (Locust, N.C.) combined to one-hit the Pioneers the rest of the way to seal the win. Huneycutt earned his fourth save of the season after pitching a perfect ninth inning.

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Carson-Newman 7, Lincoln Memorial 5 (11 innings)

FOREST CITY, N.C. - Carson-Newman's Cody Nix (Cartersville, Ga.) hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th to give the fourth-seeded Eagles a 7-5 win over sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial in the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament on Friday afternoon at McNair Field in Forest City, N.C.

With the win, Carson-Newman (30-16) stays alive to face No. 2 Mars Hill at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Lincoln Memorial (25-23), which is now 1-1 in the tournament, will face the loser of Friday night winner's bracket meeting between No. 5 Tusculum College and No. 3 Catawba College.

The Eagles entered the ninth with a 4-1 lead, but Lincoln Memorial rallied for four runs to take a 5-4 lead, as Shane Kaufman (Miramar, Fla.) came through with a pinch-hit two-run single and later scored on a wild pitch along with Joseph Horsley (Corryton, Tenn.).

C-N bounced back to tie the game in the home half of the ninth and send it into extras. Wesley Dozier (Cornelius, N.C.) drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a Lucas Mohon (Glasgow, Ky.) pinch-hit single to tie the game at five.

Eagles catcher Mason Guymon (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) then drew a walk in the bottom of the 11th to set up Nix's walk-off home run.

C-N collected seven hits on the night, including two from Corey Lamson (Gray, Tenn.).

Lincoln Memorial tallied six hits. Ben Adleburg (Madisonville, Fla.) and Horsley produced two each to lead the Railsplitters.

Senior reliever Jeff Lockwood (Knoxville, Tenn.) picked up the win for the Eagles. Lockwood (2-1) gave up one hit and fanned four in 2 2/3 innings of work.

Lincoln Memorial's Chase Quarles (Rogersville, Tenn.) was tagged with the loss to fall to 3-1 on the season after surrendering three runs and three hits and walking four in 2 1/3 innings on the mound.

The Eagles grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first. After C-N loaded the bases, Lamson roped a two-out single to center field, scoring Evan Patterson (Knoxville, Tenn.).

C-N pushed across another run in the third. With the bases loaded, Lockwood raced home on a wild pitch to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage.

C-N built a 3-0 lead in the fourth after it loaded the bases again, as Patterson scored on a Derek Long (Jefferson City, Tenn.) groundout.

Lincoln Memorial pulled to within 3-1 in the fifth. Deaun Williams (Beech Grove, Ind.) reached base on an error and later scored on a Horsely double to left center.

C-N answered in the home half of the inning. Aaron Vargas (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) drove in Lamson on a sacrifice fly to give the Eagles a 4-1 lead.

The teams went scoreless during the next three innings before the Railsplitters rallied in the ninth.

"That was a huge hit by Cody," said Carson-Newman Head Coach Tom Griffin. "We've been telling him to hit backside and think the other way, but he goes ahead and pulls a fastball, so I'm going to quit telling him to hit backside.

"We've been struggling and have really been trying to find something to ignite us, whether it was pitching, good defense or timely hitting," Griffin said. "It's been hard to put it all together. (Thursday night's) loss hurt pretty good, especially getting back into the game and losing it. Tonight was good because we had great pitching and very good defense. We just left a lot of guys on base. Give Lincoln Memorial credit for coming back the way they did. That was a good battle between two teams, and we just happened to get one more good swing than them."

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Mars Hill 4, Wingate 0

FOREST CITY, N.C. - Mars Hill senior pitcher Justin Hall (Martinsville, Va.) fired a complete game shutout to lift the second-seeded Lions to a 4-0 victory over top-seeded Wingate in the second round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament on Friday afternoon at McNair Field.

With the win, Mars Hill (28-16) advances to play the loser of No. 3 Catawba and No. 5 Tusculum on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. with a Lincoln Memorial win over Carson-Newman. If the Railsplitters lose, the Lions will face Carson-Newman on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. Wingate (28-19) is eliminated with the loss.

Hall (6-2), a second team All-SAC selection, allowed four hits and fanned six in nine innings of work.

The Lions collected six hits on the day. Rusty Smith (Leesburg, Va.) went 2-for-4, including a double, and drove in two runs to lead the way, while Kris Torrance (P. Jefferson Station, N.Y.) contributed a solo home run.

Wingate tallied four hits, including a double from Casey Allison (Horse Shoe, N.C.).

Bulldogs starting hurler Chris Nelson (Greenville, N.C.) was tagged with the loss. Nelson (4-1) surrendered three hits and two runs in seven innings of work. He also had four walks and six strikeouts.

Mars Hill broke a scoreless tie in the sixth. Michael Bueker (Cooper City, Fla.) produced an infield single to get things started and later scored on a Smith double down the right field line to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.

Torrance delivered a solo blast to right field in the seventh to give Mars Hill a 2-0 advantage.

The Lions added a pair of insurance runs in the eight, as Smith came through with a run-scoring single. Smith later scored on a wild pitch to give Mars Hill a 4-0 cushion.

Hall then retired the side in the ninth to seal the win.

"(Hall) was outstanding. He pitched against those guys last year in the first game, and I think when you have weathered the storms that he has as a senior to go out there and pitch with the courage he did speaks to how good he is," said Mars Hill Head Baseball Coach Dan Taylor. "We came through with some timely hits. Their pitcher, Nelson, is really outstanding and was really tough. Hall gave us a chance, and then our offense was able to put a couple of runs up there for him. That's a great formula for success."

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