Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Demorest, GA - The Piedmont College baseball team won yesterday's opener in comeback fashion, but could not pick up a win today in doubleheader action at North Carolina Wesleyan College in a key USA south series for the now 4th place Lions. Piedmont dropped game one 8-5 earlier today before falling in the encore 3-2 to drop a conference series for just the second time in 2014 and now move to 9-5 in league play, two games back in the loss column of first place Ferrum.

After three scoreless innings, PC got on the board first when a Griffin Olson hit-by-pitch turned into a run three batters later as Josh Bailey drew a walk to move the youngster over to 2nd before a pair of fly outs allowed Griffin to score with Evan Gresham getting the sac fly credit.  A Ciro Norzagaray home run by NC Wesleyan in the home half of the 4th tied the game right back up at 1-1, but the Lions had an answer in the next frame getting a pair in the top of the 5th to push back in front 3-1 over the home team.

Piedmont led off the 5th with three straight singles as a trio of Lions kept the entire outfield busy with Daniel Lindsey driving one to center, Brad Stinson smacking one to the gap in right, and Will Skidmore making sure Kani Upshur in left got in on the action as he laced an RBI basehit the leftfielder's way.  Scoring on the Skidmore RBI single was Lindsey who made it 2-1 Piedmont just a few batters before a sac fly from Bailey doubled the lead to two runs before the middle of the inning.

In the bottom of the 5th, NC Wesleyan created a nightmare scenario though scoring six runs in the home half as Piedmont committed two errors in the frame, their 7th and 8th errors of the series through just two games as the Lions were able to overcome a half dozen errors in game one yesterday to win 9-8 courtesy of a late inning RBI by Michael Barnes.

Barnes would score in the top of the 6th for Piedmont on another sac fly as the Lions picked up three of their four runs to this point in the game with deep fly balls to the outfield.  Trailing now 7-4 after the single run in the top of the 6th, neither team would score in the 7th as the Lions' chances to tie it up or take the lead now came down to six outs remaining at the plate.

Things got crazy in the Piedmont 8th though as the Lions saw their best chance to get back in the game come up after Michael Barnes reached on a one-out error to give the visitors a runner on and two outs to work with. Though a fly ball driven out by Lindsey to center wasn't deep enough to move the runner across, Barnes would eventually move to third after back-to-back walks were issued following a pitching change by the home team as the bases were now loaded for Keith Grabowski.

After Battling Bishop Richard Harrell was called in to work on the mound, Grabowski laid off a 3-1 pitch upstairs to walk in a run for Piedmont who cut it 7-5 with two outs in the inning and the bases still loaded.  Throwing just the five pitches to Grabowski, Harrell was pulled as Terrance Worthy pinch hit waiting out a full count to get a payoff pitch with the bags full of Lions.  However, the youngster struck out swinging as NC Wesleyan was finally able to find the right arm to get out of the 8th using four different pitchers to record the three outs and head to the bottom of the inning.

Despite cutting the lead to two after the top of the 8th, the Lions would give up a run in the home half to go back down by three heading into the top of the 9th.  In their final chance at the plate, the Lions were sat down in order as NC Wesleyan was able to hang on for an 8-5 win in game two of the series.

Getting the loss in game one was the freshman Preston Graham who moved to 4-4 in his debut season as a starter for PC going five complete in the first game of the doubleheader.  Graham allowed seven runs though three were unearned on eight hits while striking out three and walking a trio as well. 

At the plate, Piedmont was led by Will Skidmore's two RBIs as he was 1-for-2 with a walk as well.  Grabowski, Bailey, and Gresham each added an RBI to the totals while Daniel Lindsey was two for four with one run scored working behind the plate for PC.

Looking to take the rubber game in the series, Piedmont once again jumped out in front scoring in the top of the 4th on another Michael Barnes RBI single after the Lions led off with back-to-back singles to start the inning with Bailey and Davidson getting aboard on the basehits.  Bailey scored on the Barnes RBI hit as Piedmont went up 1-0 heading into the top of the 4th as Barnes collected his fourth hit of the series.

Despite taking the 1-0 lead, the Lions would let NC Wesleyan back in right away as the leadoff hitter for the Battling Bishops in the bottom of the fourth, Ciro Norzagaray, took a Chris Goershel offering deep over the fence in left center for his second home run of the day, both of which were solo shots as the home team tied it back up at 1-1.  The home team then picked up a 2-1 lead with a run two innings later in the bottom of the 6th as a throwing error in the inning for PC proved costly after the next Battling Bishop tripled to score the lone run.

After NC Wesleyan increased its lead to 3-1 with another lone run inning in the bottom of the 8th, Piedmont would be down to its final three outs but led off the top of the 9th with a triple from Daniel Lindsey as the Lions tried to rally late.  Austin Brick then drove a fly ball deep enough to center for Lindsey to tag up and come home, but the Battling Bishops recorded outs on the next two at-bats for PC as the Lions dropped both games of the doubleheader, the second time they have done that this season in a USA South series.  The other instance came in a three-game series sweep at Covenant College who sits one spot ahead of PC in the standings.

Picking up the tough luck decision in game two was Chris Goershel who went seven complete allowing just one earned run on five hits as he issued only one walk and struck out six.  One of Goershel's five hits allowed though came on a solo home run that tied the game, the only earned run given up by the junior on the afternoon as he moves to 4-2 on the season.

At the plate, Piedmont's two runs came on a Michael Barnes RBI single in the 4th and an Austin Brick sac fly in the 9th.  No Lion picked up multiple hits in game two though Josh Bailey did draw another walk as he continues to lead the league and the nation in that category.

Piedmont moves to 16-9 overall with the pair of losses on the day and drops to 9-5 in league play sitting in a tie for 4th place with Methodist University.  The Lions will have a mid-week game at Oglethorpe on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm in Atlanta before hosting LaGrange College for a USA South series this weekend at Loudermilk Field.