Staff report

SALISBURY — The top six teams in the South Atlantic Conference baseball race are separated by two games in the loss column.

Catawba needed a three-game sweep of Emory & Henry to stay in the thick of the race and finished it with a Sunday doubleheader — beating the Wasps 10-3 and 16-1 at Newman Park.

The series was moved from Emory & Henry due to weather conditions, so Catawba (15-6, 6-3) was the visiting team.

The 10-3 first game was closer than is sounds, as former East Rowan hurler Bryson Wagner pitched for Emory & Henry and kept his team in the game. Catawba led only 4-2 going to the top of the ninth, but scored six runs.

Payne Stolsworth (3-1) pitched seven innings for the win. Hayden Simmerson entered the game in the eighth with only a two-run lead and qualified for his first save.

Bo Rusher socked his third homer of the season. Ty Hubbard had a triple. Cole Hales had two doubles. Sam Hunter drove in three runs, while Levi Perrell stole three bases.

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In the seven-inning nightcap, Catawba had an eight-run fifth and breezed to victory.

Brandon Rodgers (2-0) was credited with the win.

Hales hit his first homer of the season, went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs. Logan Rogers had two hits and three RBIs. Dylan Driver had two doubles. Perrell had a triple.

Steven Smith, a West Rowan grad, had a run-scoring single for the Wasps’ run.

Catawba plays at Belmont Abbey on Tuesday and hosts Limestone next weekend.