Huntingdon tops Panthers to take GSAC series
April 11, 2009

Huntingdon College downed LaGrange College 6-2 in a GSAC game Saturday afternoon at Cleaveland Field. The win enabled the Hawks (20-11, 5-3 GSAC) to take the rubber game in the three-game series against the Panthers (19-14, 2-4 GSAC).

Huntingdon's John Rice (5-2) out dueled the Panthers' Trevor Tullock (3-2). Rice went seven innings to get the win. He allowed the two runs, gave up six hits, walked three and struck out two. Rice benefitted from four double plays turned behind him.

The four double plays hit into by the Panthers tied a team record set against Maryville in 2004. It came one day after the Panthers turned a team-record five double plays against the Hawks.

Tullock pitched into the ninth inning before leaving after getting one out. He allowed the six runs; five of those were earned. Tullock gave up eight hits, walked five, hit three batters and tied a season-high with seven strikeouts.

Huntingdon took a 2-0 lead with a run in each of the second and third innings. Brent Blackwell's RBI single in the second drove in Drew Harrell with the game's first run. Harrell led the Hawks with three hits Saturday and was 7-for-14 in the three games.

The Hawks pushed across an unearned run in the third inning. Josh Bennefield reached on a one-out error. He came around later to score on Ben Cecil's two-out single to left center.

The Panthers tied the game up in their half of the fourth inning. They loaded the bases with no outs on three straight infield hits by Trey Walker, Eric Heath and Ben Hudson. Korey Ison, who batted .615 in the series, doubled to deep right center to drive in Walker and Heath to make it 2-2.

Price walked Jordan Martinec to re-load the bases. He escaped further damage by getting Mike Sanders to hit a ball back to the mound, starting a double play. Price then struck out Luis Perez to end the inning.

Huntingdon got the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. Hall was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He moved up to second on a wild pitch and over to third on a ground out. He scored on another two-out hit, this one by John Otterson.
The Panthers threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning. Casey Garner started the inning in relief of Rice. Walker and Heath had back-to-back singles with one out. Both runners advanced as Hudson ground out to third. Gary Frazier relieved Garner and got Ison to line out to left center to end the inning.

The Hawks knocked Tullock out of the game with three runs in the ninth inning. Kyle Eller had an RBI triple and Harrell capped the inning with a bases-loaded two-run single to make it 6-2. Jeff Tucker relieved Tullock after Hall's hit. He threw one pitch that was lined by Bryant Hall to Sanders at short; who doubled up Dane Vansant at second to end the inning.

Frazier set the Panthers down in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game. It was Frazier's team-leading third save of the season.

The Panthers travel to Atlanta on Tuesday to face Emory. Game time is 3 p.m.