BURLINGTON, N.C. — For the third time in program history, the Catawba Valley Community College baseball team is heading to nationals.
The Red Hawks (43-16) defeated Bryant & Stratton 22-3 on Friday to win the Region 10/South Atlantic District championship at Burlington Athletic Park, punching their ticket to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II World Series in Enid, Okla.
"I'm proud of this group," said Red Hawk head baseball coach Marshall McDonald. "They are very young and when we started the season out we were 9-9. We just finished the season with a school record for wins. They just figured it out. They just always believed and kept finding ways to win. I'm excited to head out to Enid for the first time in 10 years."
Despite nearly a week layoff between tournament games, Catawba Valley exploded out of the gate in Friday's championship game against the Bobcats, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning, including a two-run single from Carter Starnes and RBI singles from Mason Moseley and A.J. Ciaccio.
McDonald was proud of how his team responded after its break in between action.
"The time off is never really your friend, but they responded well," McDonald said. "We kept it loose throughout the week and light in practice. We came back ready to go. It worked out."
With an early lead, Red Hawk starting pitcher Kaden Varela-Payne was able to settle in. He allowed just one earned run on seven hits and struck out seven in his eight-inning outing.
Up 5-2 through four complete innings, the CVCC offense did not slow down, scoring six more runs in the fifth inning, including a three-run homer by Brody Taylor and an RBI double by Sylas Mills.
Nine different Catawba Valley hitters tallied at least one hit and one RBI in Friday's title game — something McDonald said embodies this year's squad.
"When we started recruiting this team last year, we wanted to have really good baseball players," McDonald said. "We didn't want to have one good arm, one good bat and fill in the pieces. We want to be — top to bottom — just very competitive. That's who we are."
McDonald, who is heading to his second NJCAA World Series after making his first trip as an assistant coach in 2015, said this year's trip will be much different for him, but the goal still remains the same.
"I've got a lot of work to do," he said. "We've got a week off and now it's time to go to win this thing. This (region title) is one stop on the goal for the year. Let's go win one more trophy."