Getting Closer!

Two more weeks of baseball and two conference series leave us 6 wins away from clenching an outright conference title.

After losing 2 out of 3 games at Anderson, and losing our first conference series of the year, we bounced back this past weekend to sweep Brevard and move one step closer towards our goal. 

Along with winning 4 out of 6 conference games, we won both midweek games the past 2 weeks.  The first over Pfeiffer and the second over 20^th ranked, Belmont Abbey.  Not only are we setting ourselves up nicely for a conference title, but we are in the process of building a respectable resume for regionals.

One of the major highlights of the past couple of weeks was Coach Jim Gantt receiving career win number 500 in our first game at Anderson.  This is an incredible feat and one that a small percentage of coaches become a part of.

It is a great honor, as players, to play for a coach who has had the success and has the great reputation that Coach Gantt does.  This was a great milestone and I am sure it is just one of many more to come.

Perhaps my favorite moment on the baseball diamond this year came when Nate Furr stepped on the mound for the first time this season.  Nate was the South Atlantic Conference pitcher of the year last season.  During the off season he underwent shoulder surgery which was keeping him off the mound.  

On March 16, at home, against Pfeiffer, Nate made his 2011 debut.  I have personally witnessed him working extremely hard to rehab is shoulder and get back to the point where he could throw during games.

Seeing Nate step on the mound again was a great inspiration of what kind of work it takes to reach a goal, and a great testimony to the level of dedication and perseverance Nate has.

The final player I want to recognize is Jordan Kuhn.  Jordan is sophomore from Ohio who plays first base.  He got his first hit in game 3 at Anderson and his first start in game 3 against Brevard.  

To say that he played well in his start would be an extreme understatement.  Jordan went 3 for 3 with 4 runs batted in!  He looked extremely comfortable as he absolutely crushed the ball and led the charge towards the sweep of Brevard.

As of right now, the main thing our team is focused on is narrowing in on the conference championship.  We are in a great position as we control our own destiny.  

A number that we are focused on at the moment is 6.  6 is the number of wins we are away from clinching an out-right conference championship. 

We have a total of 9 conference games left and we try to chip away at that number 6 as Lenoir-Rhyne comes to The Reservation this weekend. 

Let’s Go!!

Spring Break Baseball!

After a busy spring break, I am back to fill you in on the last 2 weeks.  We started off slow, losing our first game on Wednesday, March 2^nd at Pfeiffer.  We ended with a bang however, winning 7 of our next 8.

This included taking 2 out of 3 from conference rival, Wingate in a very intense series. The next week (which was our spring break) we traveled to South Carolina and won 2 games against USC Aiken followed by a weekend sweep of Newberry.

One of the most encouraging aspects of these two weeks was our defense.  We only made 4 errors in 9 games as we began to create separation between ourselves and those chasing us for a conference championship.

There are 4 players I want to recognize for the work they did throughout the 2 weeks or a moment they had during these weeks.

The first 2 guys are both pitchers out of the bullpen.  

Corey Norman is a senior from East Bend, NC and a player who works tremendously hard day in and day out.  Corey made 3 appearances these 2 weeks, pitching 3 innings, giving up only 3 hits and striking out 3 batters.  He allowed no runs and looked better than I have seen him at any point in the last 2 seasons.

The next pitcher is Clay Watson.  Clay struggled much more than he expected to start this year, after having a great sophomore season last year.  The last 2 weeks have shown that he has everything figured out and is back to the great pitcher we have seen in the past.

The junior from Lexington, NC entered game 2 against Wingate for the final 2.2 innings and did an outstanding job.  He only allowed 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 2 to earn the win.  This was a huge win and we can largely thank Clay for coming in and shutting the door on the Wingate offense.

Clay also saw action in our second game against USC Aiken, in which he picked up another win.  He pitched 1 inning and gave up 1 hit in another great outing.

This momentum carried into the weekend where Clay made 2 appearances, threw 1.1 innings, and only allowed a single hit and 0 runs.

It was a great couple of weeks for our bullpen, especially Clay Watson and Corey Norman.

The next 2 players to recognize are roommates, Kevin Parrish and Garrett Robinson.  Each got their first collegiate at-bat in game 3 of the Newberry series.

Kevin came up in the sixth inning and delivered a RBI single into centerfield.  The reaction in the dugout was awesome as everybody was really excited to see Kevin succeed like he did!

Garrett had a great first at bat as he saw a lot of pitches and fouled off several tough pitches with 2 strikes.  His at-bat eventually ended as he lined out to center field.  He hit the ball very hard however and looked very comfortable at the plate.

The last 2 weeks of baseball have been exciting and successful as we continue on our quest for a conference title.  Another midweek game against Pfeiffer, followed by a 3 game set against Anderson creates another important week and another opportunity to prove ourselves.

Another Conference Sweep

Following a tough mid-week loss at home against Barton, our Catawba College baseball team went to Mars Hill and swept the series.

Week In Review 

Our first game of the week was on Wednesday against Barton.  We ended up losing the game 10-7 but a showed a lot of competitiveness after being down 10-0 after 5 innings.

The weekend sent us on our first true road trip of the season as we went to Mars Hill on Friday night preparing to play two games Saturday and one Sunday.  We won all three games by scores of 9-8, 14-1, and 9-1!

A Game of Firsts

Our loss against Barton was disappointing because none of us like to lose, but it also had some very great moments, including two guys getting their first collegiate hit.

With runners on first and second and two outs in the eighth, Keaton Hawks reached on an infield single.  This was the Keaton’s first hit of the season and first as a college player.  A freshman from East Davidson High School, Keaton has a lot of potential and I am sure this was the first hit of many as an Indian.

Michael Whited, the freshman infielder from Ragsdale High School, got his first hit of the season in the ninth inning.  This RBI single came with two outs and brought the go ahead run to the plate.  Even though he went to Ragsdale (my high school’s arch-rival), I was still thrilled to see him come through in a big situation.

Defense Wins Championships

Saturday, in game one of the series, it was a seesaw affair with one team scoring and the other answering in the next inning.  It’s in those types of games where defensive plays become even more important.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, we were winning 5-4 with runners on second and third and one out.  The Mars Hill batter swung and ripped a line drive down the first base line.  Luckily for us, Austin Moyer was playing there and made a great play.

Moyer quickly (and yes I used Moyer and quickly in the same sentence) moved to his left and snagged the line drive preventing two more runs from scoring.  We then got the next guy out and finished the inning with no more damage. 

Austin making that play was a huge momentum shifter and was worthy of me giving a huge fist pump after the play.

Closin’ It Out

One batter. That is what game one of the weekend series ended up coming down to.  A Mars Hill batter, Tyler Reboulet, who had swung the bat very well on the day, walked to the plate down a run with runners on first and third and two outs. At this time, Ross Whitley entered the game for us.

The result was a fly ball to centerfielder, Blake Houston, and a victory in game one.  Not many people think too much about one simple out in a game where a team makes 27 of them.  In this situation, it came down to that one batter.  Ross (or Rossy as he is now being called) got the job done and sealed our first win on the weekend.

Looking Ahead

With the upcoming week comes another trip to Pfeiffer and a home series against heated rival Wingate.  Just a heads up, this series is going to be intense.