Bridgewater tops Panthers 6-4
March 17, 2008

DEMOREST, Ga. – Bridgewater held on for a 6-4 win over LaGrange on Monday night at Piedmont College's Loudermilk Field. The loss dropped the Panthers to 9-9 on the season. The Eagles improved to 9-6-1.

The Panthers had scored 101 runs in their last six games, but were held in check by Bridgewater's Casey Hartman. Hartman (2-1) allowed three runs, two earned in eight innings of work. He walked five and struck out seven. Drew Elkins got the final out of the game to stop a Panther rally in the ninth to get the save.

Nick Vitale started and took the loss for LaGrange. He pitched five innings, gave up all six runs, four earned. Vitale (2-1) walked three and struck out two. Justin Phelps pitched three scoreless innings of relief. He allowed only two hits, walked one and struck out four.

The Panthers finished with eight hits. Michael Sims, Seth Tucker and Patrick Langley had two hits each. Brad Buracker's four hits led the Eagles' 11-hit attack.

Bridgewater never trailed in the game. The Eagles got three runs in the first inning to take a quick 3-0 lead. The Eagles built a 6-1 lead with two runs in the fourth inning and another in the fifth.

LaGrange chipped away at the lead with a run in each of the last three innings. Langley's triple in the seventh scored Tucker, who had singled to center with two outs. Korey Ison reached on an error to lead off the eighth inning and later scored on Sims' two-out single.

Langley led off the ninth inning with a single. He later scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-4. After the Panthers got runners to second and third with two outs, Elkins retired Eric Heath for the final out of the game.

The Panthers host SUNY-Purchase in a doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 3 p.m.