CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Facing its fifth nationally-ranked opponent of the season, the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team suffered an 11-3 loss to No. 6 Catawba College in the opener of the three-game South Atlantic Conference Series from the Tuckaseegee Dream Fields.
 
Catawba (13-2, 4-0 SAC) struck first with a run in the second and two more in the third to build a 3-0 lead. However, the Royals (2-14, 2-2 SAC) rallied in the fourth to even the score at 3-all. With the bases loaded, sophomore Nick Brassington drove in Queens' first run with a sacrifice fly before back-to-back RBI singles from redshirt-senior Ryan Dudney and junior Chris Brady brought home two more runs.
 
The Indians scored twice in the sixth to go ahead 5-3 before adding two more in the eighth and four in the ninth to seal the eight-run victory.
 
Junior Nick Charleston started on the mound for Queens and went five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts. Redshirt-freshman Adam Hartle (0-1) took the loss after giving up two runs on three hits in just 1/3 of an inning as sophomores Zach Kelly and Evan Dix combined for the final 3 2/3 innings of relief.
 
Brassington was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in the contest, while Brady and Dudney also recorded one RBI each.
 
The series comes to a close tomorrow when the two sides square off in a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.