Box Score

Demorest, GA - After a legendary win Friday night in dramatic fashion over the defending national champions, the No. 10 Lions were bested in a rematch Saturday afternoon at Loudermilk Field, as Marietta College took the 9-0 shutout.  A 3-run homerun to deep left center in the top of the first inning set the tone for the No. 1 Pioneers, who put a five-spot on the board in the opening frame.

Senior Caleb Cochran, the defacto ace on the staff, came in with a 3-1 record and 1.57 ERA, but struggled with his control early on.  The lefty walked three, including two in the first inning alone, which saw eight hitters come to the plate.  The Piedmont offense had chances early on with runners in scoring position, but wasn't able to come through with a big hit.  The Lions left eight runners on base in the first five stanzas.

The Pioneers' leadoff hitter, who came into play with a .625 average, struck out swinging on an offering from Cochran to start the game.  However, the next two batters singled and walked before the cleanup hitter, Aaron Hopper, dealt a crushing blow over the left center field wall.  Cochran still wasn't out of trouble, walking the next hitter before an outfield error put two in scoring position once again.  A wild pitch got one man home while the other scored on a groundout to second.

Marietta added to its lead with a single run in the fifth after a leadoff walk issued by Cochran.  With two away, the Pioneers slashed a double deep down the right field line, making it 6-0 in favor of the visitors.  The Lions' best chance perhaps to chip away at the deficit came in the home half of the fifth.  Three walks during the inning loaded the bases full of Lions, but Marietta induced a groundout to force out the runner going to second, preserving the 6-0 lead.

The Pioneers added insult to injury in the seventh and eighth, pouring on three more insurance runs to up the lead to 9-0.  Piedmont gave up four hits and a walk in the top of the seventh, while surrendering a pair of runs.  The Lions' pitching gave up 15 hits on the game, whereas the offense didn't record a hit after the first hitter of the third inning until the bottom of the ninth when junior Tate Koons hit a two-out double.  The men actually recorded more walks than hits, coming up with five, including a hit batter as well.  Piedmont will get a short break before returning to action at home again Thursday with a 7:00 pm game against No. 13 Rowan University.