HICKORY, N.C. — The eighth-ranked Catawba Valley Community College baseball team battled until the very last pitch, but fell 8-7 in a showdown with 19th-ranked Division I Florence-Darlington Tech on Tuesday afternoon at Henkel-Alley Field.

The Red Hawks' record now stands at 21-7 overall on the season.

Catawba Valley took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning behind an RBI single from first baseman James Hinson, which scored left fielder Jackson Brown.

The Stingers answered back by scoring one run each in the next three innings, holding a 3-1 advantage through most of Tuesday's Region game.

Florence-Darlington extended its lead to 4-1 in the top of the eighth inning on a fielder's choice from Luke Wood.

Capitalizing on three hits and two walks, the Stingers doubled their run total in the top of the ninth inning, scoring four runs, including three on a home run by designated hitter J.T. Marr, to make it an 8-1 lead.

Despite the deficit, CVCC rallied late to score six runs of its own in the ninth inning, putting the tying run on second base.

Third baseman Zack Summerville helped to lead the charge for the Red Hawks with a grand slam, while Hinson tallied his second RBI of the day on a single to center field.

Reece Landmark came off the bench to record a two-out pinch-hit RBI double and represent the game-tying run, but a pop fly out on the next at bat ended the threat of a comeback for the home team.

The CVCC baseball team returns to action on Friday for the first of three conference games against Cleveland Community College.

The Red Hawks and Yetis play a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Friday before finishing their series on Saturday with a single nine-inning game at noon Saturday.