Piedmont rallied twice to sweep a non-conference doubleheader from LaGrange on Saturday at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium. The Lions rallied from a 10-1 deficit to win 14-10 in Game 1, then took the second game 6-4. The sweep enabled Piedmont (12-8) to take two of three from the Panthers (8-6) in the weekend series.
Game 1
The Panthers did all of their scoring in the second inning. Trailing 1-0, LC sent 14 players to the plate, scoring 10 runs, with the help of three Piedmont errors in the inning. Jack Layrisson reached on the first error to lead off the inning. The first two runs came home on another error. Joe Ruth's bases loaded walk brought in a run. E.J. Churchich followed with a two-run single to make it 5-1. McKinley Erves had a run-scoring single and with the bases loaded, Trey Pearce cleared them with a double to the gap in right center for a 10-1 lead.
Piedmont started its comeback with three runs in the fourth and three more in the fourth to cut LC's lead to 10-7. The Panthers were clinging to a 10-8 lead in the eighth. The Lions took the lead back 11-10 with three runs in the inning off relievers Jack Richards and Spencer Douches (1-1). Piedmont tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth off Douches for the 14-10 final.
LC had 12 hits in the game. Churchich, Erves, Pearce, Cael Chatham, and David Smigelski all had two hits.
Game 2
LC's Dalton Brooks (2-1) and Piedmont's Peyton Irving (5-1) had a scoreless pitcher's duel going into the bottom of the fifth inning. Brooks, who had a career-high 12 strike outs, struck out the side twice in the first five innings.
The Panthers broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth. Layrisson tripled to the warning track in right center with one out. Trey Pearce executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to bring in Layrisson to put LC up 1-0.
The Lions wiped out LC's lead with a four-run seventh inning off Brooks and reliever Brett Caneega. The Panthers got a run back in their half of the inning. Layrisson and Pearce led off the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. Smigelski came on as a pinch hitter and drove in Layrisson with a fly ball to center to cut Piedmont's lead to 4-2.
Piedmont added to its lead in the eighth with two more runs for a 6-2 lead. Trailing by the same score in the ninth, the Panthers rallied. Layrisson walked to lead off the inning and pinch hitter Matt Eden walked with one out. Rhett Hebert singled to right off reliever Carter Ballstadt, as Layrisson scored his third run of the game with Eden stopping at third. Eden came home on Cael Chatham's ground out to draw LC within two, 6-4. But Ballstadt got the final out to record his sixth save of the season.
The Panthers open their USA South schedule with a three-game series against Covenant at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium. The two teams play a single game next Friday at 7 p.m., then close out the series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.
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