Catawba Falls to Francis Marion in Game Two; Sets Up Winner-Take-All Game Three Tomorrow

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Catawba will play for a trip to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship on Saturday after Francis Marion defeated the Indians 8-5 in Game 2 of the Southeast Super Regional on Friday afternoon at Newman Park. The loss forces a winner-take-all Game 3 set for Saturday at noon at Newman Park in Salisbury, N.C.

Catawba (46-12) erased an early three-run deficit and briefly took the lead midway through the contest, but Francis Marion answered late to even the series at one game apiece.

The Indians struck first in the opening inning when Brandon Crabtree launched a solo home run to right field for a 1-0 lead. Francis Marion responded in the bottom half with a three-run homer from Ethan McAnally and added another run in the second on a solo shot from Charlie Bussey III to move ahead 4-1.

Catawba battled back in the third inning as Jake Dunlap connected on a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 4-3 before Malachi Cloud tied the game with a solo blast in the fourth. The Indians then grabbed a 5-4 advantage in the fifth when Nathan Chrismon scored on a Francis Marion fielding error following Ty Hubbard's double to right center.

Francis Marion answered with a run in the fifth to tie the game and regained the lead in the sixth before adding two insurance runs in the eighth inning.

Crabtree, Sam Hunter and Dunlap each recorded two hits for Catawba, while Dunlap drove in two runs. Cloud also homered for the Indians as Catawba finished with 10 hits in the contest.

Parker Lakey provided 3.2 innings of relief for the Indians, allowing just one run while striking out three.

First pitch for Saturday's decisive Game 3 is scheduled for noon at Newman Park.