Huntingdon downs Panthers with ninth-inning rally
April 9, 2009

Huntingdon College used a ninth-inning rally to down LaGrange College 12-7 at Cleaveland Field on Thursday night in a Great South Athletic Conference game. The loss dropped the Panthers to 18-13 overall and 1-3 in the GSAC. The Hawks improved to 20-10 overall and 4-2 in the conference with their fifth straight win.

The Panthers had leads of 5-1 and 7-5 but could not hold them. Eric Medlock started for the Panthers and went eight innings. He allowed six runs; five earned, in eight innings. Jonathan Love (3-1) took the loss, allowing six runs in the ninth inning. Four of the six runs were unearned.

The Panthers had 12 hits in the game. Korey Ison was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Luis Perez added three hits and an RBI.

Huntingdon had 18 hits in the game. Caleb Astin was a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and drove in two more runs. Bryant Hall had two hits, including the one that put the Hawks ahead in the ninth, and three RBIs.

The Panthers built a 5-1 lead through five innings. Ison drove in the game's first two runs with a bases-loaded single in the third inning. The Panthers added three runs in the fifth inning.

Ison led off the inning with a triple to center field and scored on Jordan Martinec's base hit. Martinec later scored on Perez's ground out for the second run of the inning. Corbin Clinage's two out hit to center scored Mike Sanders to up the Panthers' lead to 5-1.

Huntingdon came right back in the top of the sixth inning. The Hawks with the aid of an error, pushed across four runs to tie the game. Astin and John Otterson had back-to-back doubles to cap the rally.

The Panthers retook the lead in their half of the seventh inning off reliever Gary Frazier (3-1). The Panthers loaded the bases with one out. Clinage walked to force in Ison, who had led off the inning with a single, with the go-ahead run. Clinage later scored on an error to make it 7-5.

The Hawks got a run back in the top of the eighth to cut the Panthers' lead to 7-6. Brent Blackwell led off the inning with a double and Astin followed with a run-scoring hit up the middle.

In the ninth inning, the Hawks took advantage of three Panther errors in the inning to take the lead. An error loaded the bases with one out and Hall's base hit to right center scored two runs to put the Hawks up 8-7. Blackwell and Josh Bennefield added RBI singles to make it 12-7.

The Panthers put two runners on in their half of the ninth inning. Martinec was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Perez had a one-out single. Frazier retired David Miller and ended the game as Wes Baxter hit into a force play.

The two teams continue their three-game series at noon on Friday.