The Piedmont College baseball team turned heads nationally, making a huge statement over the past weekend, which has resulted in a pair of top-25 rankings.
The Lions knew going into the 2016 season that they were in for a tough schedule. So far, Coach Jim Peeples and Piedmont have fared very well. In last weekend’s Piedmont College Spring Classic, the Lions were slated to take on nationally ranked #18 Marietta, # 5 Birminham-Southern, and Adrian, a team just outside the rankings but receiving votes. All three teams the Lions beat were part of the NCAA D-III South Regional at Piedmont in 2015.
The results were staggering, as Piedmont’s three straight against powerhouse teams earned it a #14 ranking in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) National Poll and a #21 ranking in the D3Baseball/National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association (NCBWA) poll. Birmingham Southern, although falling to Piedmont Saturday night, moved up to #2 in the ABCA poll and #2 in the D3Baseball poll.
After taking a pair of USA South Conference games at LaGrange to win the series, Piedmont entered the Spring Classic with momentum. Friday night, Piedmont edged out Marietta 3-1 after trailing early on an error. Junior Riley Presnell gave the team seven strong innings, earning the win. Seniors Allen Tokarz and Josh Thomas pitched the final two innings to secure the win. Tokarz has recently eclipsed Piedmont’s all-time appearance record by a pitcher and continued to build on his record over the weekend. Thomas is right behind him after also passing the previous appearances record holder. However, Thomas’ eighth save was just the beginning of an epic two-game stretch.
The closer subsequently saved both Piedmont wins on Saturday, giving him ten saves through 19 games, which is tops in the country across all divisions, and also gives him Piedmont’s all-time saves record and single-season record.
The Lions followed up on their win over Marietta with a Saturday morning win over Adrian, 7-4. Again, the win came in come-from-behind fashion. Freshman outfielder Brady Ballstadt powered the Lions to a win with a two-run homerun in the seventh to erase a 4-3 deficit. Tokarz was made a winner as he was pitching in relief when Piedmont took the lead. Thomas recorded his ninth save to secure the victory.
Perhaps the more exciting game was the nightcap. With rain in the forecast, Sundays games were moved to Saturday as all three teams were forced to play multiple games during the day. The Lions got the nightcap against #5 Birmingham-Southern, and didn’t disappoint. Although chasing early from deficits of 3-0 and 6-2, Piedmont clamped down and carved its way back into a tied game in the fifth and notched the go-ahead run in the eighth.
Tokarz once again took the win in relief, for the second time on the day. Thomas worked a perfect ninth inning, needing only seven pitches to get save number ten and the monumental win for Piedmont. The Lions’ Griffin Olson had four hits and three RBI, while Chris White added three hits and three runs in the win. Breck Davidson also had three hits and two RBI.
Appearing in the national polls is not uncommon for the Lions, as they climbed as high as #5 in both 2008 and 2012, and have appeared in the polls at some point in seven of the past nine years. The 2008 season marked the first time the Piedmont baseball program advanced to the NCAA Division III National Tournament after winning 34 games.
The Lions’ extended their win streak to seven games when beating Oglethorpe 9-6 on Tuesday night. For the third straight game, Tokarz and Thomas picked up the win and save, respectively.
The Lions’ schedule still proves strong, with a Birmingham-Southern rematch still to come on the road and the annual home-away-home series against Emory. Both are top-five teams in the rankings. The Lions are now 15-5 overall and 3-3 in USA South play. For more info, visit the Piedmont Lions website.
