Demorest, GA – The Piedmont College baseball team defeated DePauw University this afternoon 9-1 at Loudermilk Field for the club’s 6th straight win at home this season, a stretch which began nearly a month ago to the day with a 3-2 walkoff win over Covenant in extra innings back on February 21.
The Lions belted 12 hits throughout the game and two explosive innings saw the home-standing Lions pick up all of their runs on the day. Tyler Marcinko led the Lions at the plate with his 3-for-5 day scoring one of Piedmont’s five runs just after the 7th inning stretch at Loudermilk.
The Lions would get on the board first in an explosive first inning scoring four runs on just four hits for the early lead. Breck Davidson picked up the first of his three RBI on the day with a groundout increasing his season total to a team-high 23 RBI which also places him tied for fourth in the USA South Athletic Conference.
Michael Barnes would then single to bring home two increasing his season RBI total to a second best 20 on the season. Barnes finished the day 2-for-4 and also increased his hit-streak to 17 games.
The two hits on the day increased Barnes’ total hits to a team high 32. The hit-streak has allowed the junior third baseman to move up into fourth in overall batting average in the USA South with a .405 showing.
Also picking up an RBI in the first inning was senior Austin Brick who blasted a double to cap the four-run first before finishing the day 1-for-3. The Lions would stay up 4-0 for nearly the entire game until another multi-run inning saw the Lions score five in the bottom of the seventh.
Davidson drove in two more with his single in the five-run 7th picking up the remainder of his 3 RBI on the day to put the Lions ahead 6-0. Senior outfielder Casey Parham then stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and belted a single clearing the basepaths and picking up all three of his RBI for the day.
The Lions would be done scoring on the day heading into the top of the ninth with a 9-0 lead. Though the Tigers picked up a run in the 9th, the contest had been decided by the Piedmont offense with the Lions’ pitching keeping DePauw at bay for most of the afternoon.
On the mound for the Lions, starting pitcher Seth George picked up the win moving to 2-2 on the season as the freshman hurled 6.1 innings this afternoon scattering only five hits and no runs. George also picked up five strikeouts in the game which marked a career best outing on the mound.
Out of the bullpen, Allen Tokarz, Luke MacDonald, and Matt Stehpens combined to one-hit the Tigers in just under three innings of combined work. Tokarz continues to lead the league in ERA with his 2.10 mark on the year.
Four Lions picked up extra-base hits on the day with Marcinko, Brick, and Parham all doubling while Evan Gresham also picked up a double on the day as he continues to swing the bat well in 2015. Hitting .392 on the season, ten of Gresham’s 29 hits on the year have gone for extra bases while his .554 slugging percentage leads all Lions with at least seven games played and places him 11th in the USA South in that category.
Next up for PC is another home contest out of conference play as Hendrix College, a member of the Southern Athletic Association, visits Loudermilk Field on Sunday, March 22 with first pitch in the contest set for 2:00 pm. Live coverage, including stats and video with audio commentary, will be provided for the contest courtesy of the Mane Event Broadcasting Network.
