Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Demorest, GA - Piedmont's perfect Great South Athletic Conference record remained intact after a two-game sweep of visiting LaGrange College Wednesday afternoon at Walker Field.  The Lady Lions earned a 7-1 win behind Brittney Head's complete game in the opener, and finished off the Lady Panthers with a 1-0 shutout win in game two.  The crucial sweep keeps Piedmont atop the GSAC standings, going 4-0 in conference play.

Sophomore pitcher Head was backed by a few runs early on, while the newly named conference pitcher of the week pitched with dominance, going the distance while surrendering just four hits and one run, without issuing a walk.  She struck out six LaGrange hitters on the afternoon while picking up her fifth win of the season.  A three-run third inning for the host team was all the run support their pitcher would need, although it added more in the sixth.

Senior catcher Emily Cheek belted a double before being lifted for pinch runner Abby Atkinson, who advanced to third on a groundout.  Freshman Symone Ball brought home the first run with a two-out single.  Moments later, with two aboard, sophomore Courtney Clark laced a two-run double to give the Lady Lions a 3-0 advantage.  The women had watched a golden opportunity slip away in the second after leaving the bases loaded.

Clark added a leadoff double in the sixth before freshman Haley Peeples singled her to third.  Clark and Cheek, who ended with three hits, both notched two doubles apiece.  Junior Megan McClain singled in Clark for the fourth run for her second hit of the first game.  After junior Jamie Dennis walked to load the bases, fellow junior Megan Kesler put the finishing touches on the win with a huge bases-clearing double to put the women up 7-0 heading into the final frame, in which Head was one pitch away from a shutout.  LaGrange reached Head for two of its four hits in the final inning.  The Lady Lions combined for 12 hits in the opening win, with Cheek's three leading the way.  Clark, McClain and Peeples each had two hits.  Kesler had three RBI while Clark had a pair as well.

Runs were not as easy to come by in game two, as Piedmont saw a bases-loaded, one-out situation dissolve to nothing in the home half of the third inning after adding one earned run earlier in the frame.  Clark singled to right with one away and came all way around to score on an error by the rightfielder to give the Lady Lions a 1-0 lead.  Two hits and a hit batsman loaded the bases with just one out, but a strikeout and popout got LaGrange out of a huge jam.

Head started and pitched the entire game two as well, but was reached for three hits through the first four innings, and had to work herself out of trouble in the second with two runners on.  Clinging to a one-run lead, Piedmont campaigned for another run in the fifth, but was denied despite putting a runner on third with just one out.  Pinch runner Shanice Wheeler stole second and advanced to third on a grounder, but was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice.  Head pitched a perfect sixth and seventh inning to preserve the win.

Head finished the day with a pair of wins, making her 6-3 overall on the year.  She pitched all 14 innings of the double-header, giving up a lone run on eight hits and only one walk to 12 strikeouts.  Five Lady Lions notched hits in the second game.  The women are now 8-6 overall and 4-0 in conference play.  The team returns to the diamond Friday on the road at Maryville College for a GSAC arch-rival matchup, with games at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.  The next home games for the Lady Lions are April 14 with a double-header against Wesleyan College.