Box Score

Montgomery, AL -- The Piedmont College baseball team kicked off the 2011 Great South Athletic Conference regular season with a tough 3-1 victory over the Hawks of Huntingdon College on the road earlier this evening. The Lions received a first class performance from their Friday night pitching staff while grinding out just enough offensive power to get a two run victory over the Hawks.

Piedmont took a 1-0 lead on a third inning score after Curtis Cornett knocked a two-out double to give the Lions a runner in scoring position for the third time on the evening. Slugger Kevin McConnell made good on this scoring chance for PC as he put a Huntingdon pitch in play only to see the Hawks commit a costly error that allowed Cornett to score giving Piedmont the early advantage.

The Lions added another run to their lead in the fifth as outfielder Kyle Davis led off the inning with a double to right field. After Davis advanced to third on a grounder to short, Cornett once again had an impact at the plate with a sac fly getting Davis in safely to push PC to a 2-0 margin.

Huntingdon swiped a score back in the bottom of the sixth to cut Piedmont's lead in half, but the Lions made sure to put the lead back at two runs with a score in the top of the seventh. Another sac fly from PC got the job done once more with the bat of Tate Koons doing the work getting centerfielder Dave Bartek across home plate for a 3-1 lead.

That two run cushion was more than enough for Friday night starter KEVIN CALDWELL who was brilliant once more on the mound for PC. The sophomore allowed just a single run to the home Hawks who averaged seven runs a game prior to tonight.

Caldwell went seven innings for his fifth win of 2011 striking out five at the plate as he continues to impress for Head Coach Jim Peeples. Closer Matt Collins picked up his sixth save of the season coming in to face five batters in the ninth collecting all three outs by way of strikeouts.

First baseman Curtis Cornett was two for three at the dish with a run scored and a RBI to lead the team offensively. Koons and McConnell accounted for Piedmont's two other runs batted in while centerfielder Dave Bartek was a dependable three for four with a run scored.

The victory gives Piedmont its 17th win of 2011 and kick-starts the Lions to a 1-0 start in Great South Athletic Conference play. The Lions will try to keep it going with a victory tomorrow afternoon as the squad once again faces the Hawks in a 3:00 road match-up for game two of the current three-game weekend set.