Second-ranked LaGrange walked off with a Senior Day win and a series sweep of Maryville on Sunday at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium.
Senior Rhett Hebert's bunt single with one out in the ninth lifted the Panthers (30-5, 13-2 USA South) to the 9-8 win over the Scots (22-13, 7-8 USA South). Hebert, Tanner Chafin, Cael Chatham, Dustin Doscher, McKinley Erves, Corey Farrow, Cal Fuller, Jack Layrisson, and Michael Menhart were recognized before the game. The group has three USA South championships, three NCAA regionals, and 128 wins during their LC careers.
Layrisson started the ninth for the Panthers by hitting a pop fly into left center that fell between three Scots for a double. Chatham walked and the Scots brought in Grady Cash for Tommy Musuras. David Smigelski moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt.
Adam Dorn, who had not batted in a game since March 23, coaxed a walk off Cash to load the bases. Hebert followed with a bunt in front of the mound. Layrisson's head first slide beat Cash's throw to the plate as the Panthers celebrated.
The Panthers got off to a shaky start, commiting two errors in the first inning and allowing the Scots to take an early 3-0 lead. The Panthers came back with four runs in the bottom of the first. Layrisson walked with the bases loaded to force in the first run. Chatham delivered a two-run single and Smigelski's sacrifice fly brought in Layrisson with the fourth run.
Erves drove in two runs with a single in the second inning to up LC's lead to 6-3. Smigelski's first collegiate home run, a solo blast over the left field fence gave the Panthers a three-run lead again, 7-4.
Maryville tied the game 7-7 with a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Layrisson's two-out RBI double off the left field fence in the sixth gave the Panthers a brief 8-7 lead. The Scots knotted the game for the final time with a run off Chafin in the seventh.
Chafin gave up the single run in 3-2/3 innings of long relief. He got the first two outs in the ninth before issuing a walk. Chatham got the final out as Dorn, who entered the game as part of a double switch, made a nice play to his left at short to get the force at second.
Chatham got his first collegiate win on the mound after getting a save in the series' first game. Stephen Bartolotta started and allowed five runs, only two were earned, in 3-1/3 innings. Jacob Brown gave up two runs in 1-2/3 innings of work.
Layrisson was 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs and walked three times. Hebert and Mixon both had two hits as the Panthers had 10 in the game.
The win kept the Panthers in first place in the USA South West Division. The Panthers play a three-game series at Huntingdon next weekend to determine the division's top seed.
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