HobbsDailyReport.com
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Red Hawks had their wings clipped on Tuesday night in baseball.
Host Spartanburg Methodist handed Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) its first sweep of the season by winning 8-5 and 11-4 to leave the Red Hawks at 10-4.
CVCC resumes play on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a home doubleheader against Louisburg College at the Legion Fairgrounds in Newton. The first game will be nine innings and the second will be seven innings, with the series closing Sunday at noon at Henkel-Alley Field.
Spartanburg Methodist 8, CVCC 5
Falling behind early, the Red Hawks comeback attempt came up short in a three-run loss to the Pioneers.
Spartanburg Methodist quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead, led by a two-run home run and two-run double from Houston Wright in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, respectively.
CVCC ended the shutout attempt by the Pioneers in the top of the fifth inning, scoring runs on an RBI single from Jimmy Marcelli and an RBI triple by Garrison Burress.
The Pioneers answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead 8-2.
The Red Hawks mounted a comeback in the top of the seventh inning when right fielder David Graves drove in two runs on a double and catcher Brett Macchia added an RBI single.
CVCC starting pitcher Hunter Isaacs took the loss. He gave up four hits, three earned runs, two walks and struck out four.
Red Hawks pitchers combined to allow six walks and eight hits, and all eight Pioneer runs were earned.
Chad Brown earned a win for Spartanburg Methodist, going six innings and giving up five hits, two earned runs. He walked two and struck out three.
Spartanburg Methodist 11, CVCC 4
The Pioneers capitalized on pitching woes by the Red Hawks to score in all but two innings and close out the doubleheader sweep.
CVCC took a quick 1-0 lead via an RBI groundout by Graham Mitchell that scored Cory Watt. But the lead was short-lived as the Pioneers got a two-run double by Andrew Krauss in the bottom of the first inning.
Nick Hoffman’s three-run home run in the third inning extended the lead to 5-1.
Rod Munoz’s RBI double in the top of the fourth inning made it 5-2 before the Pioneers added four more runs in the bottom half of the inning. That featured an RBI single from Wright and a three-run homer from Watkins.
Willie Gordon’s two-run double in the top of the fifth inning cut the Pioneers’ lead to 9-4, but Spartanburg Methodist then got a two-run single by Donald Hansis in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Madisyn Bolin suffered the loss for the Red Hawks, going three innings and giving up two hits, five runs (four earned) with five walks and four strikeouts.
CVCC pitchers struggled once again, giving up 10 earned runs, seven hits and 11 walks.
- Reported by CVCC Sports Information