Catawba Claims SAC Baseball Championship Title

FOREST CITY, N.C. -- Catawba jumped out early and went on to post a 10-0 shutout of Wingate to win the 2014 Food Lion SAC Baseball Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon at McNair Field. The Catawba Indians improve to 32-17 and earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA II Southeast Region Tournament. The Bulldogs fall to 31-16.

Tournament Most Valuable Player Craig Brooks threw six scoreless innings on two days rest and improved to 12-2 on the year. He surrendered just two hits, walked three and fanned seven.

Catawba had a huge top of the second inning, scoring eight runs and cruised to the win. T.J. Wharton got it started as he singled home Ethan Satterfield, who had led off with a double. Cameron Beard singled home two runs to make it 3-0 and there was still just one out.

Keaton Hawks walked to drive in a run and beat a force play to second to push the margin to 5-0. Wharton capped the inning as he cleared the bases with a double and the 8-0 margin. That was all that the Catawba pitching staff would need as they shutout Wingate for the second straight game, finishing the tournament with 21 straight scoreless innings.

Wharton had three hits and three RBI for the Indians. Hawks and Dylan Richardson each had two hits.

The tournament championship marked the sixth for the Catawba program, who shared the regular season title with Wingate.