Box Score Demorest, GA - The Piedmont College baseball team loaded the bases on two occasions late, but could not capitalize as the visiting Stormy Petrels of Oglethorpe University left Demorest with a 4-3 win to split the season series with PC. All three of Piedmont's runs in the game came on sac flies as the Lions could not recover from a two-run 5th by OU as PC left nine on base over the nine inning affair.
Oglethorpe traded runs with Piedmont in the 2nd and 4th innings as each team would plate a single score in each frame as a
Breck Davidson double to lead off the second was PC's response to a run in the top of the inning by the visitors. After being moved over to third on a
Daniel Lindsey single, Davidson would score on a deep fly ball to center off the bat of
Michael Barnes to tie it at 1-1.
OU again took the lead in the 4th, but PC responded with a run in the home half as Lindsey would account for the sac fly this time plating
Josh Bailey. Despite the answers in the 2nd in the 4th, Piedmont would have no answer for Oglethorpe in the 5th as the Stormy Petrels scored two in the inning.
Piedmont's best chance to even up the score after OU took their 4-2 lead came in the bottom of the 6th with bases loaded and just one out as they forced Stormy Petrel starter Sam Franklin out of the ballgame. However, reliever David Langhan came in to retire the next two batters in order, getting
Evan Gresham to chase strike three before inducing the pop up to 1st base by
Michael Barnes to get OU out of the bases-loaded jam.
The Lions would pack the bags again in the 8th after a two-out walk with one on followed by an error at shortstop put the home team in another great spot to tie or take back the lead.. However, designated hitter
Brad Stinson was caught looking at strike three to end the opportunity as PC would leave six on in just the 6th and 8th innings combined.
In the 9th, PC would have a chance to tie once again as a one-out single by
Will Skidmore brought
Griffin Olson to the plate representing the tying run. Skidmore stole second and advanced to third after the throw from Oglethorpe catcher Hunter Riley sailed in centerfield. Olson then drove a OU offering deep to center giving Piedmont its third run, all of which came on sac flies, putting PC now down just one but with only one out remaining in the game.
A grounder to first would spell the end of Piedmont's night as
Josh Bailey was retired with Oglethorpe holding on for the one-run victory, 4-3. Bailey went two for four on the night scoring a run while picking up his 29th walk of the season as he leads the nation in that category.
RBIs went to Olson, Lindsey, and Barnes while Skidmore and Davidson scored the other two runs. Skidmore also extended his now five-game hitting streak with his 1-for-4 showing with a walk.
With the loss, Piedmont falls to 22-11 while Oglethorpe improves to 16-19 overall. The two split a pair of contests in 2014 after Piedmont won 9-3 back on April 2nd in Atlanta taking a 4-3 lead into the top of the 9th before rattling off five runs for the big win.
PC will have a day off from competition before heading to Ferrum College for a Thursday, Friday, Saturday series against the Panthers in a huge series for both teams as Piedmont sits just one game back of Covenant College, the USA South leader. Ferrum is two games back in the loss column along with two other teams in Huntingdon and Methodist who have eight league losses.
The three-game weekend series will likely decide the fate of PC in the USA South regular season title race as that will also include the league's automatic berth into the NCAA National Tournament. Loudermilk Field is the site of the 2014 South Regional in baseball, so the Lions will need a big weekend if they hope to make it to a regoinal at home. The series starts with a 7:00 pm first pitch on Thursday night.
