DANVILLE, Va. - Ryan Broaderick and Blake Butcher led No. 1 LaGrange past Otterbein 7-1 at the NCAA Division III South Regional on Thursday.
The Panthers (39-4) will play the Rowan-Emory winner on Friday at 6 p.m. Otterbein (31-13) faces Salisbury in an elimination game Friday at 11 a.m.
Broaderick went 8-2/3 innings to up his record to 9-0. He allowed the one run on six hits, walked four and struck out eight. Jonathan Fleckenstein got the final out of the game.
Butcher drove in the first four runs for the Panthers. He had an RBI double in the first, drove in a run with a groundout in the third, then had a bases-loaded single in the fifth to bring home two more runs.
The Panthers put the game out of reach with a three-run seventh inning. Casey Bell drove in the first run with a sacrifice bunt. Billy Peatross capped the inning with a two-out two-run single to make it 7-0.
Otterbein avoided the shutout on Christian Chiero's one-out double in the ninth. Broaderick struck out pinch-hitter Pat Birrer before giving way to Fleckenstein, who got Mitch Stotler to fly out to end the game.
The Panthers finished with 11 hits. Butcher, James Poropatic, Joe Pradat, and Tavin Thompson all had two hits. Thompson also scored three runs.
