WINTERVILLE, N.C. — The 15th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College baseball team split its first conference road doubleheader of the season with rival Pitt on Saturday afternoon at the Minges-Overton Complex.

With Saturday's results, the Red Hawks' record now stands at 8-2 overall and 4-1 in Region 10 play.

Game one: Pitt 6, No. 15 Catawba Valley 4

The Bulldogs scored three runs late and held off a late Red Hawk rally to earn the two-run victory in game one of the set on Saturday.

Right fielder Jacob Marcos, second baseman Chandler Blackwelder, first baseman Sabion Thomas and third baseman Grant Tilley led Catawba Valley with two hits apiece.

Blackwelder, Tilley and designated hitter Noah Love all drove in one run each for the Red Hawks.

Pitt took an early 2-0 lead by scoring one run in each of the first and second innings, but CVCC rallied to tie the contest at 2-2 with one run in both the third and sixth innings.

The Bulldogs and Red Hawks would battle for the lead throughout the sixth through eighth innings, tying twice before a three-run double by catcher Jensen Lapoint in the seventh inning opened the Pitt lead up to 6-3.

Catawba Valley scored one run in the top of the eighth inning to cut its deficit to 6-4.

The Red Hawks set themselves up to tie the game or take the lead by loading the bases in the ninth inning before a ground out ended the threat, preserving the Bulldogs' win.

Game two: No. 15 Catawba Valley 12, Pitt 2 (five innings)

Left fielder Jackson Brown finished a home run shy of the cycle, lifting the Red Hawks to the run-rule victory in game two against the Bulldogs.

Brown went 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and a team-high four RBI.

Right fielder Jacob Marcos, designated hitter Noah Love, first baseman James Hinson and shortstop Kye Andress also drove in one RBI each in the win for CVCC.

Brown's two-run triple in the second inning helped powered Catawba Valley out to a 3-0 lead.

The Red Hawks added two more runs in the third inning, making it a 5-0 game before Pitt answered with two runs in the bottom half of the frame to make it a 5-2 game through three complete.

From there on out, it was all Catawba Valley, which scored seven runs in the top of the fourth inning, including a pair of RBI singles by Marcos and Love and a two-run single by Brown, to help earn the win via run rule.

On the mound, Red Hawks starting pitcher Blake Dockery went the distance, allowing five hits, one earned run, four walks and striking out seven batters to improve his record to 3-0 on the season.


The Red Hawks and Bulldogs conclude their three-game series on Sunday with a single nine-inning game at the noon on Sunday at the Minges-Overton Complex.