Due West, SC---The #16th ranked Erskine baseball team scored 13 runs and pounded out 19 hits to take a 13-2 victory over Catawba College Thursday afternoon in non conference action.
The Fleet got on the board in the bottom of the first with a lead off double by Greg Huff (McDonough, GA, Henry County High School), who would score on a single by Keith Hill (Abbeville, SC, Abbeville High School). Chas Anthony (Pickens, SC, Pickens High School) then stepped up to the plate and blasted his seventh home run of the season over the left field fence to put Erskine up 3-0. The Fleet would take advantage of four walks in the third inning to score five runs and make it an 8-0 game. John Bolding (Pickens, SC, Pickens High School) and Cody McElhaney (Beech Island, SC, Midland Valley HS) each had RBI singles in the inning while Matt Schneider (Greenville, SC, Greenville High School) and Zach McCarthy (Spartanburg, SC, Byrnes HS) also drove in runs. Erskine made it a 9-0 game in the fourth with a single by Mo Seay (Anderson, SC, Wofford College). The Indians looked to get on the board in the fifth inning with a lead off walk to Jacob Faggart and a single by Corey Parker to put runners on with no outs. Erskine starter William Buzhardt (Columbia, SC, Ben Lippen High School) settled down and struck out the next batter and then got the next two Indians to fly out and end the inning.
The Fleet carried the momentum to the bottom half of the inning, after a lead off double by McCarthy and single by McElhaney, Brandon Garrett (Woodruff, SC, Woodruff HS) drove in McCarthy with a single. McElhaney would later score on a ground out by Hill and push the Erskine lead to eleven. Catawba would finally get to Buzhardt in the sixth inning when Craige Lyerly scored on a single by Faggart. The Indians would add another run in the eighth when Faggart reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Ryan Query. The Fleet answered with two runs in the bottom of the eighth on another RBI single by Garrett and a run scoring double from Hill.
Hill led the Fleet at the plate going 3-5 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs while Garrett was 3-4 with two runs driven in and McElhaney was 3-5 with an RBI. Buzhardt picked up the win allowing just one run on seven hits in six innings of work.
Parker and Lyerly each finished the game 2-4 for the while Faggart was 1-3 and drove in both runs for the Indians. Clay Watson picked up the loss allowing three runs on three hits in one inning of work.
With the win Erskine improves to 17-7 on the season while Catawba falls to 10-7.
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