DEMOREST, Ga. - Piedmont ended 16th-ranked LaGrange's eight game winning streak with a 7-5 victory at Loudermilk Field on Saturday. The Lions (10-5, 2-3 USA South) used a six-run fifth inning to break a scoreless tie and held off a late rally by the Panthers (14-2, 4-1 USA South).
Andrew Weekley (3-1) started and took the loss. He pitched into the sixth allowing all seven runs on nine hits. Dax Winningham closed out the sixth and Jonathan Fleckenstein pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Panthers had nine hits in the game. Casey Bell, Blake Butcher, and Tavin Thompson all had two hits. Bell and Butcher each had a double included in their hits.
Piedmont's Tyler Burdette hit a grand slam home run to cap the six-run fifth inning. The Panthers came back with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to make it 7-4.
In the ninth, LaGrange made it a two-run game. Thompson's run-scoring single made it 7-5. The Panthers loaded the bases with two outs before Piedmont closed out the game.
The two teams complete their USA South series Sunday.
