NEWBERRY — The historic season by the Young Harris College baseball came to a close Saturday (May 18) afternoon at the Smith Road Complex.
No. 11 Catawba College defeated the Mountain Lions 7-5 in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional No. 2.
The Indians, the No. 3 seed in the regional, improved to 45-12 and will advance to next week’s Southeast Super Regional in Tigerville, South Carolina, against top seed North Greenville University.
Young Harris, the No. 6 seed in the regional, ended their season with a 36-21 record. The 36 wins by the Peach Belt Conference Tournament champions equaled the most in the program’s history. It was also the first-ever NCAA regional appearance for the Mountain Lions.
It was a scoreless affair until the fourth inning.
Tyler Washington reached on a error before Zavier Lushington launched a two-run homer over the center field fence to give Young Harris a 2-0 lead. Dahlton Cash walked and Cole Jackson singled up the middle before Brett Hawkins moved the runners up 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt. Jackson scored on a wild pitch before Tucker Greer and T.J. Bryd drove in runs with RBI singles.
Catawba got right back in the game as they scored four runs in the bottom half of the inning to close within a run at 5-4.
The Indians took the lead 6-5 in the fifth as they pushed across two runs off YHC reliever Jake Tomelevage (3-2). Catawba tied the game as Hunter Shepherd scored after a YHC miscue. The Indians took the lead on Jackson Raper’s sacrifice fly to right. Catawba added an insurance run in the eighth on a RBI single from Jeremy Simpson.
Catawba kept Young Harris at bay as reliever Caleb Link (2-2) pitched 2.2 scoreless innings. Peyton Williams earned his 11th save of 2019 as he didn’t allow the Mountain Lions to score in the ninth.