Catawba managed just three infield singles, but the fifth-seeded Indians made them count in knocking top-seed Mount Olive out of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional with a 3-2 win Friday evening in Mount Olive, N.C. Catawba starter Nate King came out of the Indian bullpen and held the nation's top scoring team to two runs on seven hits.

Catawba (40-15) advances to Saturday's 4:30 p.m. game against either Francis Marion or Tusculum. Mount Olive which lost a heart-breaker earlier in the day to Lander, finishes the season at 44-10 and Conference Carolinas champions.

King (5-2) made just his sixth start of the season, but allowed just one lead-off batter to reach base. Mount Olive had two hits in only the fifth and sixth innings. Junior catcher Geno Escalante extended his hitting streak to 46 games with a fourth inning single. The streak is the fourth longest in NCAA Division II history.

Trailing 1-0, the Trojans put pressure on King in the top of the fifth. Braden Reitano led off with a double and moved to third when Cameron Sherrer followed with a flyball double. Will Bynum tied the game with a grounder to short, then Sherrer raced home on a passed ball.

On the mound, Jake Moser (10-3) was equally as stingy. He held the Indians without a hit until the fourth when Catawba scored its first run. Ryan Bostian legged out an infield single, then walks to Ethan Satterfield and Garrett Furr loaded the bases with one out. Bostian scored on a fielder's choice.

The Indians tied the game 2-2 an inning later on Satterfield's sacrifice fly.

Mount Olive threatened twice more against King. Neither opportunity led to a run, however. In the sixth, Escalante doubled with one out and moved to third on a groundout by Reitano. Both runners were stranded.

In the seventh, Callaway sent a long blast to left with a runner on base. The wind held up the ball and Catawba's Keaton Hawks made the catch on the warning track.

The Indians pushed across the go-ahead run in the bottom of the frame. Dula reached on a one-out error, stole second and scored on an infield hit by Satterfield.

Moser was charged with just two earned runs in a complete game. He struck out three. Escalante and Reitano each had two hits.

Postgame quotes--

Catawba Coach Jim Gantt

On his Nate King's performance...

"He has the ability. He's got good stuff. He's been the best relief pitcher we've had all year. When you play against Mount Olive you don't expect a three-run game. You don't expect a one-run game. We played them earlier this year and they beat the wheels off us."

"We caught them at the best time we could have. The way they lost that first game was unbelievable."

Catawba Pitcher Nate King

On his performance...

"My thing is to go right after them and trust my catcher and my defense. They played great behind me today. Today was do or die. This is the most pitches I've thrown all year."

Mount Olive Coach Carl Lancaster

On rebounding from a tough loss...

"Honestly, we were shell-shocked. To lose a game the way we did and to have to come right back. That's asking a lot from these kids. I am so proud of our guys."

 On Nate King's performance...

"We hit him around a little bit, but I think every hit we got came with two outs. He's a good pitcher. He didn't give us a lot to hit. It just was not our day."