UNION, S.C. — The Catawba Valley Community College baseball team opened its 10th Anniversary season in style on Saturday afternoon with a two-game sweep of host USC Union at Sarratt-Whitener Field.
Game one: CVCC 8, USC Union 2
The Red Hawks scored six runs in the first two innings and held the Bantams to just three total hits in a six-run victory in the opening game of the two team's series on Saturday afternoon.
CVCC took a quick 1-0 lead through one inning and added to that advantage by scoring five runs in the top of the second — four of them coming on a pair of two-RBI doubles from Garrison Burress and Grant Tilley.
On the mound, starting pitcher Blake Dockery was dominant — allowing no hits, no runs, one walk and striking out one batter to earn his first victory.
After Dockery exited in the third inning, the Bantams broke on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Alex Miller, who later scored in the inning on a passed ball.
Catawba Valley answered with a pair of insurance runs late off the bat of Trent Jones in the top of the seventh to seal the season-opening victory.
Game two: CVCC 10, USC Union 8
Behind shortstop Garrison Burress' five-RBI performance, the Red Hawks closed out a sweep of the Bantams during the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader.
CVCC and USC Union battled early and often for the lead in game two.
The Bantams took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when a dropped third strike plated a run, but the Red Hawks answered with three runs in the top of the second, including a two-RBI single from Burress and an RBI single by Cole Chapman.
USC Union pulled back within 3-2 after scoring a run in the bottom of the second inning on an error, but CVCC expanded its lead to seven runs with a six-run fourth inning.
Burress drove in three of those runs on his first home run of the season. Trent Jones added an RBI double, while David Kennedy and Cole Chapman drove in one run each on a pair of singles.
The Bantams answered back with four runs in the bottom half of the fourth, led by RBI singles from Carter Lott and Dez Good.
After Chapman drove in his third run of the game on a fly out in the top of the sixth inning, USC Union made one final push for the lead in the seventh inning with a two-run home run by Daiquon Davenport.
However, CVCC relief pitcher Chase Covington was able to close the door, striking out three batters in his lone inning of work, to seal the win.
Starting pitcher Logan Bender earned his first win of the season for the Red Hawks, allowing two unearned runs, two walks, no hits and striking out seven batters.
The Red Hawks and Bantams squad off in a second doubleheader on Sunday afternoon in Union, S.C. First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m.