Demorest, GA – The Piedmont College baseball team split this afternoon’s doubleheader with visiting Averett University dropping the first game 16-1 before responding in game two winning 5-4 to even out the series. Senior catcher Austin Brick would lead the Lions on the day with his three combined hits in both games.
The first game of the afternoon was dominated by the Averett offense as the Cougars scored all 16 of their runs in three huge innings. A five-run second, seven-run seventh, and four-run eighth would put the first game out of reach for the Lions with game one ending in eight innings.
The Cougars belted 13 hits throughout the ballgame with five different players picking up two RBI or more and two players picking up four RBI. The starting pitcher Taylor Davis would pick up his fourth win of the season and his second complete game throwing eight innings and giving up the only run of the ballgame for the Lions in the seventh.
Davis would hit for himself in the first game finishing 1-for-6 with three runs scored and four RBI.
The sole run in the first game for the Lions would come on a ground ball from Griffin Olson that would score Casey Parham. Brick went 2-for-3 in the first game as the rest of the Lions would pick up the remainder of their seven hits with five individuals picking up one hit in the first game.
Averett would penetrate the Piedmont bullpen early chasing starting pitcher Chris Goershel (3-2) in the second inning. Luke MacDonald came in for his longest relief appearance of the year throwing 4.1 innings before giving way to freshman Drew Coker who threw one and a third.
Andy Bonifay would be on the mound to record the last out for the Lions. Bonifay has not given up an earned run in his three appearances for the Lions and only allowed one hit in his 1.2 innings pitched.
Heading into game two of the double-header, Head Coach Jim Peeples, winner of more than 300 games at the helm of the green and gold, knew his team would need to battle to not only stay alive in the series, but also in the regular season race for a Conference Championship and the automatic NCAA Regional Bid.
Responding to the call the Lions would get on the board first in the bottom of the fourth inning. Michael Barnes started the scoring picking up the first of his two RBI of the game scoring Breck Davidson to get the momentum back in favor of the Lions.
Later in the inning, Brick would single home Zach Langely, and a costly error scored Barnes to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Lions after four innings played.
Averett responded with a run of their own in the sixth inning to make it a 3-1 ballgame after six. However, two key runs for the Lions in the eighth would provide all the insurance the team would need.
Langley would pick up his sole RBI of the day finishing 1-for-3 scoring Gresham. Barnes picked up his second RBI of the day scoring Langley to give the Lions a 5-1 lead with the Cougars down to their last three outs in the ninth.
Once again, the Cougars would prove why they are in the top two in batting average in the USA South hitting .317 as a team, as the visitors tallied three in the final frame to bring the score to 5-4 with the tying run on third base in the ninth.
Reliever Josh Thomas picked up the last out striking out the final batter of game two to secure a win for the Lions and knot the series at 1-1 with the deciding game three set for tomorrow afternoon.
The Lions’ pitching staff dominated the storyline for the second game as starting pitcher Seth George would string another superb start in his longest outing of his freshman campaign. George threw 6.1 innings a week ago against DePauw University giving up no runs and only five hits in his second win of the season.
Marking two wins in a row, the freshman hurled seven strong innings this afternoon giving up only one run on six hits and no walks with one strikeout. Allen Tokarz would make a flawless appearance in the eighth facing three hitters and striking out two.
Tokarz still sits atop the USA South in ERA with a 2.28 showing not allowing more than one earned run in an outing since February 14 giving up two earned runs that day in a loss to fellow USA South Conference member LaGrange College.
With the split, Piedmont moves to 16-7 overall and 13-7 in conference play. Averett moves to 17-7 overall and 12-5 in conference play. The Cougars currently sit tied for first place in the USA South with Methodist University (20-7, 12-5 USA South) while the Lions are currently in fourth place.
The deciding game three will be played at Loudermilk Field in Demorest, GA tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm.
Live statistics and live video broadcasting will be offered by the Mane Event Broadcasting Network and can be found by visiting PiedmontLions.com. Fans are also encouraged to visit the website to stay updated on all schedule changes and results regarding the Piedmont College baseball team.
