Panthers salvage split of doubleheader with Piedmont
April 18, 2009

DEMOREST, Ga. – LaGrange College salvaged a split of its GSAC doubleheader with Piedmont College with an 11-4 win Saturday at Loudermilk Field. The Panthers are 21-16 overall and finished their GSAC schedule with a 3-6 record.

The Panthers' win also prevented the Lions (19-17, 5-4 GSAC) from winning the GSAC regular season title. The Panthers will be the conference's number four seed at next weekend's GSAC tournament at Huntingdon College.

The Panthers jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the second game. They scored in each of the first five innings. The big inning came in the fifth, when the Panthers scored four runs. Ben Hudson hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning. It was his fourth of the season.

The Lions had seven errors in the game, six coming in the first five innings. The errors led to seven unearned runs for the Panthers.

The Panthers finished the game with 14 hits. Corbin Clinage had three hits and scored two runs. Eric Heath, Jordan Martinec, David Miller and Trey Walker all had two hits.

Eric Medlock (6-4) went the distance for his third complete game of the season. He gave up 13 hits and four runs were earned. Medlock struck out seven and walked two.

In the first game, the Lions used a seven-run second inning in building a 10-0 lead in route to a 15-8 win. The Panthers closed within four, 10-6, with a six-run fourth inning.

Clinage and Tyson Sandlin both drew bases loaded walks to force in the first two runs of the inning. Walker and Heath drove in three more runs with back-to-back base hits. Walker later scored as Hudson reached on a fielder's choice for the sixth run of the inning.

Trailing 13-6, the Panthers got two runs back in the eighth inning. Walker hit his first home run of the season for one of the runs. Korey Ison's two-out triple drove in the second run of the inning.

Hudson (5-2) took the loss in the second game. He gave up 10 runs, seven of those were earned, while walking three and striking out one. Drew Williamson, Jonathan Love, Curt Ellison and J. J. Martone also pitched in the game.

The Panthers close out the regular season with Senior Night on Wednesday against Atlanta Christian.