Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Montgomery, AL - It's not often that the Lady Lions are shut out.  In fact, it's only happened twice after Thursday afternoon's 1-0 game one loss at Huntingdon College.  It's also not often you'd see a starting pitcher pick up a save.  That also happened in Piedmont's 7-5 win in the nightcap of the double header.  The visiting Lady Lions saw their six-game winning streak come to an end in the first game when they fell on the wrong side of a pitcher's duel, but held off a strong comeback attempt by the host Lady Hawks in the second game.

Game one featured all of six hits, and just two by the Lady Lions, singles by senior Emily Cheek and freshman Kristin Hamby.  Sophomore Brittney Head took the tough-luck loss in the circle, going the full distance of six innings while allowing just one run in the bottom of the sixth, giving up four hits and two walks while striking out five.  Cheek's two-out single in the fourth was the first time a Piedmont hitter reached base.  The first real chance for the women came an inning later, even without a hit, as junior Jamie Dennis led off with a walk and sophomore Lauren Head was hit by a pitch.  Both runners moved into scoring position, but Huntingdon got out of a jam with a harmless grounder.

An inning later featured the same situation after Cheek was walked.  Freshman Abby Atkinson pinch ran and immediately stole second before junior Megan McClain reached on an error, puting runners on the corners with two outs.  McClain also reached scoring position by stealing second, but an infield pop out ended the threat.  Down 1-0 going into the final frame, Piedmont tried once more to claim a portion of the lead.  Hamby's pinch-hit two-out infield single turned into more when she stole second but a strikeout ended the rally and game.

The second game saw more offense on both sides, as Huntingdon's two-run second put it ahead early.  However, the Lady Lions used two-out magic in the fourth inning.  With no one on and two away, McClain and Hamby hit back-to-back doubles to get PC on the board.  Junior Megan Kesler singled to center in what became a little league homerun, advancing on the throw and then coming in to score on an error by the first baseman.  Hamby notched a sacrifice fly an inning later to double the lead to 4-2.  Kesler then came up with the biggest hit of the day, a two-out, two-run single through the right side, bringing in Hamby and McClain.  LAUREN HEAD singled in Kesler when coming in to pinch hit to stretch the lead to 7-2.

Huntingdon's furious comeback attempt saw three runs cross the plate in the final inning before Piedmont had to bring sophomore Amanda Posey in to close the door for the save.  Posey initially started, going the first 1.2 innings before being lifted in the two-run second for the Lady Hawks.  Sophomore Megan Studdard had four-plus innings, running into trouble in the seventh when she gave up a single and a double before being lifted.  Posey hurled a pair of wild pitches and walked a batter, but nothing was hit out of the infield as she held the damage to a minimum and gave the Lady Lions a 7-5 win.

McClain and LAUREN HEAD had three hits apiece in the win, while Kesler added two.  Studdard picked up her second win of the season.  The Lady Lions move to 19-9 on the season and 13-3 in Great South Athletic Conference play, sitting second to only Huntingdon in the standings, who is 14-1, with the game two 7-5 loss being its only on the schedule.  Piedmont returns to action tomorrow night at home with a double header against visiting Berry College at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm.