By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
Catawba sophomore Josh Hohn’s first homer was a no-doubt blast.
His second homer was more suspenseful. He lifted it right down the left-field line.
“Sometimes you know you’ve hit one good ó like that first one,” Hohn said. “But the second one I hit off the very top of the bat. I’m halfway to first base begging it to stay fair.”
It stayed fair.
Hohn’s barely fair three-run homer in the fifth inning on a breaking ball offered by freshman Billy Veal was the key blow in a tense 7-6 victory against Lander at Newman Park on Saturday.
“That homer was on a pretty good slider going down and away,” said Veal, who starred at North Rowan. “I really don’t know how he hit it, but Josh is a great hitter.”
Hohn, a transfer from North Greenville who’s following record-setting Jerry Sands as Catawba’s right fielder, is batting .500.
“I’m just going to do what I can,” Hohn said. “There’s no push or stress. I’m having fun playing the same game that I played when I was a kid in the backyard.”
The seventh-ranked Indians (3-1) scored the deciding run in the eighth when Craige Lyerly got a quick break and dashed home from third on a two-out wild pitch.
“I saw it was coming in high, and I broke as soon as it nicked off the catcher’s glove,” Lyerly said.
Lyerly started the eighth with a scorching double that skipped past the shortstop and rolled all the way to the wall.
“Yeah, I got it pretty good,” Lyerly said. “But I hit it straight into the ground.”
Chris Ahearn’s groundout to the right side moved Lyerly over to third base.
Catawba starter Blake Ketner pitched effectively for 72/3 innings, but his defense occasionally got him into trouble.
After Catawba didn’t turn a potential double-play ball in the second, Bud Lanier got a chance to swing. His homer gave the 27th-ranked Bearcats (6-2) a 2-0 lead.
Hohn’s first homer in the bottom of the second tied it.
After an error helped Lander take a 3-2 lead, Catawba freshman second baseman Corey Parker tied it with an RBI single in the fourth.
Hohn’s three-run homer made it 6-3, but Lander scored three runs with two outs in the eighth. Gabe McCann had a two-run double off reliever (and winner) Tim Holmes.
Nathan Furr pitched the ninth and earned a save when Catawba ended the game with a slick 4-6-3 twin killing.
“This team makes me nervous, but we’re still doing a lot more good things than bad,” Catawba coach Jim Gantt said. “Lander’s good, and they kept the pressure on us.”