Middle of the Lineup Bangs Out 10 Hits as Baseball Completes Sweep of Wingate

WINGATE, NC -- Catawba scored four runs in each of the first three innings and went on to complete a weekend sweep of host Wingate with a 13-5 victory in South Atlantic Conference baseball action on Sunday afternoon at Christopher Stadium.  The Catawba Indians improve to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 8-9 and 0-6.

 Chris Dula (Troutman, NC/S. Iredell HS) got the Indians out to a quick lead with a two-run triple in the first and a grand slam in the second as Catawba jumped to an 8-2 lead.  Garrett Furr (Gold Hill, NC/Mt. Pleasant HS) had a two-run homer in the third as the lead swelled to 12-2.

Catawba went on to collect 14 hits on the day, four by Keaton Hawks (Lexington, NC/E. Davidson HS), including a RBI triple in the first and a run-scoring single in the fifth.  Dula had three hits and six RBI, while Furr also picked up three hits.

Ross Whitley (Mooresville, NC/Lake Norman HS) improved to 3-1, winning his first start of the season.  He went six and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs off six hits with five strikeouts.  Wingate got two runs in its first to cut the Indian lead in half, but Catawba tacked on eight more runs before the Bulldogs would tally again.

Brian Yeung had two hits and two RBI for Wingate.  Josh Clark also had two hits.  Dodson McPherson scored four runs for the Bulldogs.