HICKORY, N.C. — The Catawba Valley Community College baseball team split its midweek series with visiting DI USC Lancaster on Wednesday afternoon at Henkel-Alley Field at the Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds.
The Red Hawks' record now stands at 25-16 overall on the season.
Game one: Catawba Valley 12, USC Lancaster 2 (seven innings)
The Red Hawks used an 11-run fifth inning to power its way past the Lancers in game one of the doubleheader on Wednesday.
Redshirt freshman first baseman Sabion Thomas led the charge for CVCC, delivering a three-run home run during the fifth inning, while second baseman Ryan Healy went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored.
On the mound, Red Hawks redshirt sophomore pitcher Myles White improved to 4-1 on the season. White allowed one hit, one walk and struck out five batters in three innings of work.
The CVCC pitching trio of Andrew Patrick (three innings), Elijah Carr (0.2 innings) and Austin Blevins (0.1 innings) closed out the remaining four innings of the contest, combining to allow two hits, seven walks and two earned runs and also striking out three batters.
Game two: USC Lancaster 4, Catawba Valley 2 (seven innings)
Despite a final inning rally, the Red Hawks fell two runs short against the Lancers in the finale of the two-game set on Wednesday.
Lancers starting pitcher Ethan Martinez allowed just two hits and two unearned runs in Wednesday's night cap, limiting CVCC offensively at the plate.
USC Lancaster took a 3-0 lead during the third inning, scoring on a wild pitch, a Bobby Crisp RBI sac fly and a Hunter Helms RBI single.
The Lancers padded their lead in the fourth inning when Jonny Watts drove in Josh Terry on an RBI single.
Hitless through 5.2 innings, Red Hawks second baseman R.J. Conner broke up Martinez's no-hit bid with a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning.
CVCC mounted its late comeback in the seventh inning, capitalizing on a single by right fielder Trent Jones and a pair of Lancer errors.
Jones scored the Red Hawks' first run of game two on a wild pitch, while shortstop Jamie Sheek plated a second CVCC run on USC Lancaster's second error of the inning.
Despite that effort, the Lancers were able to end the Red Hawks' comeback attempt after CVCC third baseman Ryan Healy grounded into a fielder's choice.
The Catawba Valley Community College baseball team returns to action this weekend for a conference series against Lenoir Community College in Kinston, N.C.
The Red Hawks and Lancers play a doubleheader consisting of one nine-inning game and one seven-inning contest on Saturday at 1 p.m. before finishing the set on Sunday with a single nine-inning game at noon.