Catawba Ridge holds off South Mecklenburg for big prep baseball victory in Charlotte
Catawba Ridge won a baseball game in North Carolina on Wednesday night.
The high school in Fort Mill knocked off South Mecklenburg in an 11-3 victory during the final season that the south Charlotte school plays at Sabre Field.
South Meck will host its conference tournament at the end of this season for the final games in the school’s iconic baseball field, whose wooden walls are painted red and is located next to the Sabres’ football field. Its new field will be roughly where the current softball field is located.
“South Meck’s a great team, it’s always a battle when we play them,” Catawba Ridge head coach Stas Swerdzewski said. “We try to play them every year. Anytime you beat a good squad, it gives you confidence, and we’re hoping it gives us confidence as we’ve got a big region series next week against Indian Land. This gives us a little momentum going into that series.”
How Catawba Ridge defeated South Meck in baseball
The home team struck first Wednesday, but Catawba Ridge (7-4-1) got its offense going early.
Sabres (9-6) senior first baseman Gabe Luke-Judy ripped an RBI double to right field to drive in senior outfielder Andrew Gerow and plate the game’s first run. Shortstop Chris Short dashed home on a sacrifice fly by catcher Charlie Doherty, and South Meck took an early 2-0 advantage.
Catawba Ridge battled back to tie it up, 2-2, in the top of the second inning, after which its defense already started limiting South Meck. Third baseman Chase Bremer got on base for the Sabres and came around to score — only on a 6-4-3 double play that negated the RBI on South Meck’s third run.
Catcher Sam Schwamb smacked an RBI double that started the Copperheads’ four-run third inning. Shortstop Britton Nash beat out a grounder to plate another run, and left fielder Quinn Clouden walked with the bases loaded as Catawba Ridge blew the game open.
The Copperheads added another pair in the fourth inning, as center fielder Ethan Solnick and second baseman Jack Shelnutt came around to score and give Catawba Ridge a five-run lead.
Solnick crushed a three-run homer during the top of the seventh inning, lifting the Copperheads to an 11-3 advantage.
Notable
▪ South Meck won’t play its home games at Sabre Field next season. It’s among several Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools undergoing renovations next year, and the Sabres’ baseball program will be relocated to a different school for its home games.
▪ The new baseball field will be located in roughly the location of the Sabres’ current softball field. South Meck softball is moving to a new field in the back by the football stadium, where home plate will likely be about where the pitcher’s mound is currently at Sabre Field.
▪ Sabre Field will host the 2025 SoMeck 4A conference tournament in its final season.
They said it
“That’s the bittersweet thing: Shutting down Sabre Field as it is with the conference tournament,” South Meck head coach Brian Hoop said. “We hope we have a playoff game here after that. It’s a really interesting year in our conference. Myers Park and (Ardrey Kell) battled, and we’ve got AK next week and then Myers Park at the end of the season. Anything’s possible. I think we’ve shown glimpses of playing really good baseball, and the last two nights, we’ve just struggled. Baseball’s just a funny game. You can be really good one day and really bad the next, so we’ll just get back to practice (Thursday) and Friday, come out and give it our best.”
What’s next?
South Meck has two more home games over the next week. The Sabres host Sun Valley at 6:45 p.m. Friday and then Ardrey Kell on Monday evening.
Catawba Ridge is set for a three-game series with Indian Land. The Copperheads play the Warriors on the road Monday night, at home in Fort Mill on Wednesday and then back at Indian Land on Friday.
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM.
