LaGrange swept past Rust for the second straight day, beating the Bearcats 9-3 and 22-3 on Sunday at Cleaveland Field. The Panthers (15-7) finished a four-game weekend sweep of the Bearcats (2-8).
The Panthers had 31 hits on the day, 19 coming in the second game. Evin Eichelberger was 4-for-4 in the two games, with three runs scored and a two RBI.
Jon Brock (3-for-4, 4 R, RBI), James Hall (3-for-5, 4 R, 2 RBI) and Travis Hall (3-for-7, 2 R, RBI) each had three hits. Bobby Woodall (2-for-6, 4 RBI) had two doubles.
Henry Jacobs (1-0) pitched six innings in the first game for his first win. Jacobs allowed all three runs, only two were earned. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out six. J.J. Martone struck out the side in the seventh inning to finish the game.
In the second game, Isaiah Whitfield (1-0) also got his first win of the season. Whitfield pitched five innings, allowing two earned runs and eight hits. He struck out one and walked two.
The Panthers built a 4-0 lead in the first game through two innings. David Miller (1-for-3, RBI) and Ross had back-to-back two-out RBI singles in the first inning. Craig Mobley (1-for-1, R, RBI) had a run-scoring single in the second inning.
The Bearcats scored all of their runs in the fourth inning to cut the Panthers' lead to one run. Woodall's RBI double in the fourth put the Panthers up 5-3.
The Panthers added to their lead with two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Brandon Espinosa (2-for-3, 2 RBI) had a two-run single in the fifth and Hall drove in a run in the sixth with a double.
The second game was all LaGrange. The Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, needing only one hit in the inning. They took advantage of two Bearcat errors in the inning.
Leading 5-2, the Panthers broke open the game with five runs in the third inning, then six runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Jordan Martinec (2-for-2, R, 3 RBI) had a two-run double in the third inning and Woodall a two-run double in the fourth.
The Panthers host DePauw on Monday at 4 p.m. After Monday's game, the Panthers will play 10 straight road games before hosting Huntingdon on April 15.
