Box Score Atlanta, GA - The Piedmont College baseball team picked up all its nine runs in the 1st and 9th innings of today's 9-3 win over Oglethorpe University on the campus of the Stormy Petrels in a non-conference, mid-week matchup.  The win comes in the first of two games in the season series between the pair of Georgia-based programs as OU will repay the favor with a visit to Loudermilk in just about two weeks. 

In the 1st, a leadoff walk for Piedmont turned into trouble as usual as Keith Grabowski took his base on balls and was promptly singled to third by youngster Griffin Olson who continues his strong debut campaign for PC hitting .330 on the season after tonight.  Grabowski was then singled in by senior Josh Bailey who knocked a base hit through the left side to send his center fielder home for a 1-0 lead in the first.

Things only got worse for the home team as the Lions' Daniel Lindsey started his night with a 2-RBI single bringing Bailey and Olson home to push the lead to three.  Lindsey went on to finish 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored as he would cross the plate later in the top of the 1st as Piedmont's 4th run of the opening inning. 

With a 4-0 lead to work with without having yet stepped up on the mound, mid-week starter Max Oberkofler would finally get his chance as he made his third start of the season though he would pick up his first win after getting no decisions in his first two outings.  Oberkofler allowed three runs on eight hits in the 6-run win for PC as he struck out four and did not issue a single walk in six innings of work.

Holding a slim 4-3 lead heading into the top of the 9th, Piedmont picked up more than insurance with a five spot in their final turn at the plate as ten Lions took a swing in the inning which was led off by back-to-back singles by Olson and Bailey. Olson finished his night with the pair of hits and two runs scored while Bailey was 2-of-5 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored though he was not issued a base on balls for the first time in five games.  Bailey has drawn at least one walk in 12 of his last 18 games played and twice has walked four times in a single game during that same stretch.

After a walk to Zac Johnson loaded the bases, a wild pitch allowed pinch runner Casey Parham to score from third before back-to-back walks with the bags full pushed in two more runs to make it 7-3.  A hit-by-pitch and a single by Grabowksi added two more to the totals as Piedmont turned a one-run lead heading into the 9th into a half-dozen advantage before three outs could be recorded by the home team.

With a lead firmly in hand, reliever Josh Thomas was brought in for the 9th as he caught the second Stormy Petrel batter of the bottom of the 9th looking at strike three before inducing the game-ending 6-4-3 double play.  Oberkofler picked up the win as Piedmont took the first of the two-game seasons series with OU as the Lions look to secure their 7th straight season with at least 20 wins in a season, needing now just three more to get to that point. 

The Lions stand at 17-9 with the win which came out of league play for PC and just two days after they finished a three-game series at NC Wesleyan with a doubleheader on Monday afternoon.  Piedmont will host LaGrange College in its next time out on the diamond in a three-game league series at Loudermilk Field beginning with a Friday night contest set for 7:00 pm. 

Games 1 and 3 of the series will be covered live on the Mane Event Broadcasting Network, but the Saturday afternoon game will not due to conflicts with other sports at PC on the air during a busy day of athletics at Piedmont.  Five of six teams for the Green and Gold that could play on the campus of Piedmont are doing so with men's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, softball, and baseball all playing contests that day at Walker Athletic Complex.

The only one of six not in action is the top seeded Lady Lion lacrosse team who received a first-round bye in the USA South quarterfinals which take place Saturday on campus sites as the second-year program claimed a USA South regular season title this past weekend with a 19-6 win at Huntingdon.