NEWBERRY – Newberry's second-ever series sweep of Catawba left the Wolves on the brink of an achievement unprecedented in the annals of Newberry baseball history.
As the seventh-ranked Wolves (36-10, 19-2 SAC) celebrated on the field moments after downing No. 15 Catawba (34-12, 17-7 SAC) by scores of 9-5 and 5-2 to complete the sweep, those in attendance learned of Tusculum's 7-5 comeback win over Lincoln Memorial that wrapped up seven minutes earlier.
The result put Newberry two games ahead of LMU in the league standings and ensured that one win in the teams' series in Harrogate next weekend would give Newberry its first-ever South Atlantic Conference regular season championship.
Newberry jumped out to large leads in the early going of both games and played error-free defense while the Wolves' pitching staff stymied Catawba's potent offense, which entered the weekend ranked in the top 10 nationally in hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, and walks.
The Wolves exploded for three runs in the first inning of Game One off two hits, two errors, and two hit batters after the Catawba Indians went down in order in the top of the inning. Newberry sent nine men to the plate in the frame.
Newberry struck again for three runs in the third inning, this time on four hits and an error.
Peyton Spangler had RBI singles in both innings as Newberry's advantage grew to six runs, three of which were unearned.
As Newberry's lead grew, Wolves' starter
Tomas Sorcia, Jr. put together an impressive stat line on the mound. The junior right-hander went six innings, giving up two runs on just three hits while striking out seven and walking three. He improved to 6-0 on the season with five of those wins coming in conference games.
Catawba got a solo home run in the fourth and clawed back with single runs in the sixth and seventh before mounting their most dangerous comeback attempt in the eighth. The inning started with a walk and a single before a groundout to the right side, a wild pitch, and two singles spelled the end of the day for reliever
Ryan Harbin and put two on and one out for
Beau Thompson.
Called upon to protect a 9-5 lead, Thompson loaded the bases with a hit batsman before getting ahead in the count 1-2 to late-inning substitute Cameron Mills. He got Mills to roll over a pitch to
Dalton Lansdowne, who started a nifty 4-6-3 double play to strand a pair and stifle Catawba's best chance.
Quinton Driggers worked the ninth, allowing a baserunner on a walk but ending the game on a called third strike to clinch the series.
The Wolves got an early run in Game Two on consecutive two-out hits by
Tyler White and
Colin Allman in the first inning. Newberry then exploded for four runs in the second inning, stringing together five consecutive singles after Spangler was hit by a pitch with one out to spark a rally.
Newberry had all the offense it would need in a complete-game effort by
Josh Bookbinder. The freshman improved to 8-1 on the season, the second most wins in the SAC, by giving up a pair of runs on seven hits. He struck out six batters and issued a single walk, needing 104 pitches for his league-leading fifth complete game of the season.
The Wolves' first five hitters in the lineup combined to go 8-for-15 with two runs scored and five RBI in the winning effort. As a team, Newberry struck out just once during Game Two and six times during the doubleheader.
Newberry concludes the regular season with a 23-2 mark at the Smith Road Complex. Today's announced attendance of 437 fans was Newberry's biggest home crowd since April 16, 2016.
A pregame ceremony honored the contributions of Newberry's four seniors:
Tyler Ackard,
Charlie Fessler,
Danton Hyman, and Spangler.
The Wolves return to action Tuesday with the final nonconference game of the season at USC Aiken. Newberry then travels to Lincoln Memorial for the all-important series against the Railsplitters that begins Friday night.
