Message from Assistant Director of Sports Information Trevor Wenners: We are in the final week of our 2019-20, top-moment series, as we will feature the LaGrange College women's tennis team on Tuesday and baseball on Wednesday. You can see these stories on our Panthers' athletic website or through our social-media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
SETTING THE STAGE:
After starting the season, 1-4, the LaGrange College baseball team began hitting its midseason form, winning 11 of its final 12 games during the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
During the surge, the Panthers went 5-1 in the USA South and recorded three-game sweeps of N.C. Wesleyan and the University of Dallas.
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The Panthers (12-5, 5-1 USA South) defeated N.C. Wesleyan, 7-1, in Game 1 on Cleaveland Field at Williamson Stadium on Feb. 22. Junior McKinley Erves, senior Trey Pearce and sophomore Cael Chatham finished with two hits apiece, while senior starting pitcher J.R. Robinson improved to 3-0 on the mound. He struck out six batters and did not allow a single earned run in 7 1/3 innings.
LaGrange showcased a great deal of resiliency in the second game of the series on Feb. 23. The Battling Bishops built a 10-9 lead in the top half of the 10th inning. During the bottom of the frame, an RBI single by Chatham evened the score. Senior Dawson Weaver connected on the game-ending, one-run single, with two outs, as freshman Peyton Moseley raced across home with the winning run.
The Panthers won the third game, 6-4, behind a four-run effort in the bottom of the eighth. Junior Jack Layrisson and Pearce both recorded RBI doubles in the eighth.
The Panthers controlled the series with the University of Dallas from start to finish. LaGrange outscored the Crusaders, 33-5, during the three games. Sophomore Joe Ruth was superb in the batter's box, as he went 7-for-12, with five runs, two RBIs and a double in the three victories.
LaGrange picked up a 15-4, non-conference victory over visiting Oglethorpe on Feb. 26. Erves led the charge, going 4-for-5 at the plate, with four RBIs, three runs and a triple.
The host Panthers won a pair of games against USA South-rival Huntingdon on March 8. Layrisson guided the squad to a 6-3 triumph in the first game, with a three-hit effort. During the 10-3 win in the second game of the doubleheader, Erves and Ruth went a combined 6-for-11 batting, with six runs, five RBIs and two doubles.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Two moments stuck out from the rest during the LaGrange baseball team's 2020 season. The Panthers defeated then-No. 4-ranked Birmingham-Southern, 4-1, on Feb. 16 and No. 23 Emory, 8-1, on March 10.
The win at Birmingham-Southern featured multi-hit performances by Erves and Ruth in the second and third slots, respectively. Robinson was terrific on the mound and earned the victory, as he gave up no earned runs and only five hits to a potent lineup in 6 1/3 innings.
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Sophomore pitcher Baley Coleman entered the game in a relief role during the seventh and LaGrange did not lose any momentum. The Hiram, Georgia, native kept Birmingham-Southern off the scoreboard for the final 2 2/3 innings, earning the save.
When playing an elite team on the road, getting off to a quick start is vital. LaGrange accomplished that feat, putting three runs on the scoreboard in the first. Erves crushed a solo home run and Pearce connected on a two-run single.
During the season-ending triumph over Emory on Cleaveland Field at Williamson Stadium, Erves went 3-for-5, with two runs and an RBI. Pearce finished 3-for-4, including four RBIs, a home run and a run scored.
The Panthers once again utilized a three-run first inning, and then broke the game open with a four-run push in the fifth, pushing the advantage up to 8-0. In the fifth, Pearce slammed a three-run shot over the right-field fence.
ARCHIVED TOP-MOMENT STORIES:
Sydney Dailey of Women's Soccer scores game-winner against Berea
Cross Country breaks 11 personal records at USA South Championship
Women's Indoor Volleyball reels off five-straight wins
Errick Sturm of Men's Soccer becomes program's all-time, goal-scoring leader
Cameron of Men's Basketball earns USA South All-Conference Second Team honors
Women's Basketball earns second-ever win at Maryville with fourth-quarter rally
Men's Lacrosse earns first-ever win against Centenary at Callaway Stadium
Softball refuses to allow any earned runs in sweeps of Judson and Huntingdon
Men's Swimming earns runner-up honors at Sun Coast Conference Championship
Beach Volleyball competes in first-ever home matches
Golf wins back-to-back tournaments to end 2019-20 season
Peyton Haynes of Football earns a series of awards
Men's Tennis ends 2020 season with two-straight 9-0 sweeps
Katie Vautier focuses on steering Women's Lacrosse to bright future
Makayla Red of Women's Tennis leads Panthers with four wins in 2019-20
Trevor Wenners can be reached at twenners@lagrange.edu.
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