CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team collected five extra base hits, including two home runs in the series opener, in sweeping a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader from No. 21 Catawba College by scores of 6-2 and 11-4 at the Tuckaseegee Dream Fields on Friday afternoon.
 
Game One: Queens 6, No. 21 Catawba 2 (Seven inn.)
 
In first game of the weekend, the Royals gained an early 4-1 lead in the second inning when outfielder Riley Cheek blasted a grand slam over the left field fence to provide an offensive spark. The Royals added two more runs in the home half of the fourth when infielder Mason Pickard belted his team-leading third home run of the season, a two-run shot to left center.
 
Right-hander Jeffery Maidhof, making his first start of the season on the mound, went 3.1 innings and allowed just one run on three hits. Zack Kelly (2-2), picked up the win after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings of relief and Wes Boling finished the game, giving up one unearned run without allowing a hit in two innings out of the bullpen.
 
Cheek was 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and four RBI, while Pickard finished 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI of his own. Drake Harris, Noah Jones and Broadus Roberson also had a hit in the contest for Queens.
 
Game Two: Queens 11, No. 21 Catawba 4
 
The second game of the day saw Catawba hit a lead off home run to start things off before the Royals responded wit four runs in the bottom half of the first to once again gain an early lead. Harris started the scoring with an RBI single, followed by an RBI single from Nick Melton that scored two runners. Julian Bailey concluded the scoring in the inning, driving in a run with a groundout to the shortstop.
 
Carter Foster provided an RBI single of his own in the second inning to move the Royals ahead by four runs before the Indians added another run in the fourth. Cheek led off the fifth inning with a single and later scored on a Catawba fielding error to give Queens a 6-2 edge.
 
Following a two-run top of the sixth for Catawba, Alex Sexton led off the home half with a double and later scored on Foster's second RBI single of the game. Queens scored two more runs on an RBI single from Harris before Noah Jones brought a run home with a sacrifice fly to center field. An RBI double for Melton in the eighth ended the scoring for Queens to complete the sweep.
 
Garrett Crisp (2-0) got his second win of the year after two scoring innings of work, while Tanner Jacobson collected his first save of the year, allowing just one base runners across 3.2 innings out of the bullpen.
 
Four different Royals had three hits in the contest, as Cheek turned in a 3-for-5 performance with four runs scored and a stolen base. Harris and Melton were also 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBI apiece, while Foster was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. Roberson added a 2-for-3 game to his resume, finishing with a double, a run scored and a stolen base.
 
The four-game conference series concludes tomorrow with another doubleheader from the Queen City beginning at 12 p.m.