LaGrange, GA - Kevin Caldwell picked up his eighth win of the season in a key 8-4 win over LaGrange College in the Great South Athletic Conference Championship Tournament opener.  The offense got a jumpstart, scoring two runs in the first, three in the second and three more in the fourth to back their staff ace.

Caldwell issued four earned runs, including two in the second inning just moments after the Lions took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  Despite LaGrange playing on its home field, the Lions were the home team, carrying a higher seed into the conference tournament.  Junior Garrett Lovelace pounded out three hits in the win to lead the way offensively.

Senior Kyle Davis and sophomore Josh Bailey pounded out back-to-back doubles to start the game with a 1-0 score. Two batters later, Lovelace singled in Bailey for the 2-0 advantage.  After hitting a batter and walking another, Caldwell's first hit allowed was a two-run single to tie the game in the second frame.  It didn't take long for the Lions to flex again, as they tallied three runs in the next half inning.  The Panthers walked the bases loaded with one out before Bailey drove in a run and reached base on a fielder's choice grounder.  A wild pitch pushed the lead to 4-2 before freshman Tucker Ehmig came up with a two-out RBI single to center to put the Lions up 5-2.

LaGrange struck again with a fourth-inning tally, but again PC answered without delay.  The first five hitters in the bottom of the fourth reached base, including senior Curtis Cornett's RBI single.  A pair of errors in the inning led to a pair of other runs as Piedmont was given a commanding lead, 8-3.  Caldwell was reached for one more run in the sixth, but put up a bottom line of eight innings, four earned runs on six hits and two walks while fanning four hitters.  Senior Ed Cook, the newly-named GSAC Pitcher of the Year, pitched the final inning to ensure the win for the Lions.

Bailey finished with two hits and two RBI, scoring three times in the win.  The 26-15 Lions, playing as the #2 seed in the tournament, will take on #1-seeded Huntingdon in a 12:00 pm game tomorrow.  The winner plays in the championship game on Sunday.