Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 Rocky Mount, NC - The Piedmont College softball team did the unthinkable on Championship Sunday at the 2014 USA South Championship Tournament winning a morning play-in game to earn a date in the championship round where the squad won two more to claim their first USA South tourney title.  Piedmont first knocked off LaGrange in a 1-0 thriller before holding for a 1-0 win over Huntingdon in game one of the championship round which set up a winner-take-all second game that saw the Lady Lions rally from two down in the bottom of the 7th to take a 5-4 win to claim the title.

Looking for a chance to head to the 'ship where #2 seed Huntingdon awaited, both pitchers took no-hitters into the fourth inning of the morning game against LaGrange before Piedmont's Laura Carter broke through with a two-out single to left in the top half of the frame, promptly stealing second two pitches later. Wolfe, however, shut the door by forcing a groundout to end the inning and get the Panthers out unscathed.

Piedmont again threatened in the fifth without the benefit of a hit as leadoff batter Lauren Head was hit by a pitch just before the Panthers committed a costly fielding error on the ensuing bunt that placed Lady Lion runners on second and third with no outs. Whitney Wolfe followed with a sac-fly to center that plated Atkinson with the game's first and only run, but LC's Wolfe would get out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts to keep the score 1-0.

Despite the tight one-run lead, it would be just enough for PC's Brittney Head working in the circle, who took a perfect game into the bottom of the seventh. The Panthers' Dani Gravett managed a one-out single to left to break up the excellence, but she would be stranded at first as Piedmont held on for a 1-0 victory over the Panthers avenging a loss to LaGrange which opened up the tourney on Friday.

After the 1-0 win over their in-state rival, Piedmont would move to the championship round for a matchup with Huntingdon College needing to take two from the Lady Hawks to win the title as Huntingdon came into Sunday without a loss in the championships.  The similarities though between Piedmont's current run and a GSAC title run in 2011 eerily favored the Lady Lions as that championship push three years back started with a loss to LaGrange that put PC in the losers' bracket.  

However, the Green and Gold would fight their way back winning three games on the Saturday including a one-run win over LaGrange to move to Championship Sunday, where an undefeated Huntingdon College waited for PC.  The Lady Lions won game one that day to force a winner-take-all game two, which they claimed to earn the GSAC title in 2011, the second of back-to-back conference titles.  

Fast forwarding back to 2014, the same scenario would need to play out if the Lady Lions were to call themselves champions of the USA South tournament as Piedmont faced Huntingdon in a 1:00 pm afternoon contest with Brittney Head being called upon to pitch her 5th straight game after an incredible performance in the circle during the morning game.  Head was brilliant once again against the Lady Hawks shutting HC out through seven complete moving her record to 20-2 with the eventual win.

Head allowed just three hits to Huntingdon in that first game as she would need only one run in support, a run she got in the top of the 2nd as Lady Lion Abby Smith belted a two-out triple that Huntingdon mishandled as center fielder Jenna Rimensnyder was responsible for an errant throw back in.  That error allowed Smith to take home as she slid head-first under the tag at home kicking up dirt like an old western movie with the same amount of drama as on the face of Clint Eastwood.  

When the dust settled, Piedmont had a 1-0 lead as Abby Smith emphatically celebrated with her teammates in a championship fashion as the Huntingdon faithful quickly realized they would be in for a battle to lay claim to their first USA South title.

As Head continued to be brilliant in the circle, Huntingdon would not be able to draw level with PC in game one as Head caught Rimensynder looking at strike three in the bottom of the 7th causing her Lady Lion teammates to pour out of the dugout and met their veteran in celebration of the realization that they were headed to the final piece of the 'ship.

The two teams would switch frames with Piedmont becoming the home team in game two, a factor that would most certainly come into play late.  Huntingdon jumped on the board first after three scoreless innings getting a run on a Piedmont error in the top of the 4th though the home team responded in their half of the inning.

PC's first run came on a RBI single to left center from Allison Vaughn as Abby Atkinson came around to score just before the ball made its way back into the infield, but a throw from Huntingdon pitcher Brooke Meadows went awry as the Lady Hawks pitcher was trying to catch Jessica Perschka too far off third.  Instead, the throw got away and a sliding Perschka was urged up by Head Coach Terry Martin at third as she was able to take home as a result of the fielding mistake.  

The pair of Piedmont runs gave the home team a 2-1 lead which stayed the same after a scoreless 5th, but the championship seesaw continued to sway as Huntingdon would get two runs in the 6th to reclaim the lead 3-2.  A sac fly to right scored the first, but the throw in from Olivia Duncan in right got away from Lauren Head at home, and alert base running from Huntingdon's Haleigh DiNicholas gave the Lady Hawks back the one-run lead.

All looked lost when Huntingdon added an insurance run in the top of the 7th as a sac bunt which allowed Ashley Johnson to score after she had tripled earlier to lead off the inning.  Down now 4-2 heading into the bottom of the 7th, Piedmont would need a miracle comeback to take the title though the way the weekend had gone in Rocky Mount, a miracle may just have been what was waiting in the home half with just three outs standing in the way for Huntingdon to earn the crown.

Piedmont's Vaughn was hit by a pitch in to lead off the bottom of the 7th as she took one off the shin that momentarily put her in the dirt.  However, "like a hockey player", Vaughn toughed it out and made her way down to first before pinch runner Sarah Walker was called in to relieve the Piedmont second baseman. 

A walk to Olivia Duncan on the next at-bat put two on with nobody out in the inning as the Green and Gold started to steal the momentum which had previously sat with the folks in scarlet and grey on the third base side.  After Huntingdon was able to record an out on a failed bunt attempt by PC, things would get rocky in Rocky Mount with Laura Carter laying down a bunt that forced Meadows out of the circle to field as the Lady Hawks pitcher air mailed her throw to first over the head of her covering teammate allowing Walker to score from third to make it a one-run game at 4-3 with Duncan advancing to third and Carter taking second on the error. 

Meadows' throwing error to first was her second of three in the game though her next one had the most impact as the pressure to finish off the game started to weigh heavy on the arm of the Huntingdon pitcher who had struck out 33 in three games over the weekend coming into Championship Sunday.  

With still just one out and now two runners in scoring position, it would be all up to Abby Smith for Piedmont as the Lady Lions looked for one more bit of magic up their sleeve.  PC found that bit of magic as Smith laid down a pitch back towards Meadows with Olivia Duncan charging towards home making the play a photo finish at best.  As Meadows came out of the circle to make the play, the Huntingdon pitcher would scoop the ball up towards a waiting DiNicholas at home who could not handle the toss as Duncan would slide right under the feet of the Lady Hawk catcher in a collision that sent dirt and chalk in the air like confetti. 

The confetti was fitting though as a champion was about to be crowned as with DiNicholas now unable to make a play on the ball, Laura Carter, who hit .350 to lead her team on championship weekend, started towards home as the ball trickled towards the backstop with Meadows giving chase.  However, no Lady Hawk would have a play on the ball as the third error from Meadows proved too costly with Carter touching home plate standing up just before jumping into the arms of a sea of Green and Gold careening out of the 1st base dugout.

Piedmont had just rallied from two down in the bottom of the 7th to score a trio of runs including two on the final play to go from desperation to pure jubilation in Rocky Mount.  

The win in the circle went to sophomore Jordin Ellingson who had entered in relief of the senior Brittney Head who received a standing ovation and high fives all around when she left game two in the top of the 6th.  Up until that point, Head had pitched the team's previous five games as she courageously threw just over 38 innings on the weekend allowing only two earned runs in that same stretch.  

With Head's leadership in the circle and the bats of Piedmont coming alive, the Lady Lions moved to 41-6 overall after winning six of seven on the weekend.  As a result of claiming the league's tournament title, Piedmont also lays claim to the league's automatic berth into the NCAA National Tournament, the program's fourth such appearance in the last five seasons under Head Coach Terry Martin who sits just four wins shy of 400 in his illustrious career.

PC will now await word on their NCAA destination though that news won't come until May 5th when the postseason selection show will air on NCAA.com at 10:00 am.  

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
1B - Heather McGuirk, Huntingdon
2B - Lauren Welch, Huntingdon
SS - WHITNEY WOLFE, Piedmont
UT - Olivia Wolfe, LaGrange
OF - Ashley Johnson, Huntingdon
OF - OLIVIA DUNCAN, Piedmont
OF - LAURA CARTER, Piedmont
C - Halleigh DiNicholas, Huntingdon
C - LAUREN HEAD, Piedmont
P - Brooke Meadows, Huntingdon
P - BRITTNEY HEAD, Piedmont (MVP)