Pitching, defense lead Panthers past Huntingdon
April 10, 2009

LaGrange College got outstanding pitching and defense to down Huntingdon College 5-1 in a GSAC game Friday afternoon at Cleaveland Field. The win evened the three-game series for the Panthers, now 19-13 and 2-3 in GSAC play. The Hawks slipped to 20-11 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Senior Ben Hudson (4-1) pitched his first complete game as a Panther to get the win. The left-hander scattered seven hits, walked four and struck out five. Hudson's previous longest stint was seven innings against Case Western Reserve earlier this season.

The Panthers backed up Hudson with flawless defense. The Panthers did not commit an error and turned a school-record five double plays in the game. They came within a double play of tying the NCAA Division III record for double plays turned in a game.

Brad Vest (5-5) took the loss for the Hawks. Vest came into the game with a GSAC-leading 2.32 earned run average. He allowed 11 hits, five earned runs, walked three and struck out four in 7-1/3 innings of work.

The Panthers finished the game with 12 hits. They had five players with two hits each; Hudson, Eric Heath, Korey Ison, Tyson Sandlin and Trey Walker. Heath, Sandlin, David Miller and Mike Sanders each had a double.

The Panthers got on the board first with a run in the third inning. Sandlin opened the inning with a hustling double to left center. With one out, Heath and Hudson had back-to-back singles to drive in Sandlin. After a double steal put runners on second and third, Vest escaped further trouble by retiring Ison and Jordan Martinec to end the inning.

Hudson retired the side in the first inning. The Panthers turned their first double play to end the second and erased a leadoff runner in the third with another double play.

The Hawks tied the game in the fourth inning. Hudson got the first two outs of the inning. Ben Cecil tied the game with his third home run of the season, a long shot to left field.

The Panthers took the lead for good in the fifth inning. Walker led off the inning with a single and came all the way around to score on Heath's double off the left field fence. One out later, Ison drove in Heath with a single to left to make it 3-1.

The defense preserved the lead in the top of the sixth inning. The Hawks loaded the bases with one out. Cecil hit a low one-hop liner toward third. Martinec made a diving stop; threw home to catcher Luis Perez, who threw to first in time to get Cecil to complete the inning-ending double play.

The Panthers added two insurance runs in the eighth inning. Perez walked and moved up on Miller's sacrifice bunt. Sandlin knocked Vest out of the game with a base hit to right center, as Perez scored from second. Sandlin stole second and Walker greeted reliever Caleb Cofield with an RBI single to make it 5-1.

In the ninth, the Hawks got back-to-back hits from Cecil and Chad Green to open the inning. Hudson got Drew Harrell to fly out for the first out of the inning. The game ended fittingly with a double play as Bryant Hall grounded to Sanders at short. Sanders stepped on the bag at second and threw on to first to complete the game-ending double play.

The two teams finish their series Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.