Panthers roll past Wisconsin-Platteville 18-1
March 20, 2008

LaGrange continued its hot hitting with an 18-1 win over the University of Wisconsin-Platteville at Cleaveland Field on Tuesday. It was the eighth win in the last 10 games for the Panthers, now 12-9 on the season.

Platteville (5-5) was playing its second game of the day. The Pioneers lost 17-5 to Huntingdon earlier in Montgomery, Ala. in a game postponed because of weather Wednesday.

Michael Sims led the Panthers' 20-hit attack. Sims extended his hitting streak to 17 games with three hits; including a triple. He scored three runs and had four RBIs. In the last three games, Sims is 10-for-13 with two home runs, 12 runs scored and 14 RBIs.

Cory Matticola and Blake Allen also had three hits. Seth Tucker and Jimmy Statler each had two doubles in the game. Tucker, Matticola, Statler and Patrick Langley each had two RBIs.

Eric Medlock (2-1) pitched six scoreless innings to get the win. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out two. Ben Hudson allowed a run in two innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out two. David Tillis struck out two while retiring the Pioneers in order in the ninth to close out the game.

The Panthers scored in each of the first four innings to build an 11-0 lead. Matticola and Robbie Shelton had run-scoring hits in the first inning for the game's first two runs. Trey Walker had an RBI triple in the second inning as the Panthers added three runs to their lead. Sims capped a four-run third with a bases clearing bases loaded triple. In the fourth, Statler had a two-run double to extend the Panthers' lead.

Leading 12-1, the Panthers took advantage of three errors by the Pioneers in the eighth inning to score six unearned runs. The Pioneers had seven errors in the game. Langley, Matticola, Korey Ison and Brandon Mahoney all had RBI singles in the inning.

The Panthers host fifth-ranked Emory on Tuesday. Game time is 6 p.m. Emory defeated the Panthers 9-6 in Atlanta on March 4.