NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Piedmont 6, Christopher Newport 5
Records: Piedmont, 1-1; Christopher Newport, 0-1
DEMOREST, Ga. - The Piedmont baseball team rallied back from a 5-0 early deficit to walk off with a 6-5 win over Christopher Newport on Friday night at Loudermilk Field.
GRANT OLSON took one for the team with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, as the hit by pitch sent the Lions home victorious and completed the incredible comeback.
The Captains used a four-run top of the fourth to take control of the game. However, Piedmont gradually clawed back in, scoring twice in the fourth and once more in the seventh before tying the game in the eighth on back-to-back long home runs from
ALEX GONZALEZ and
HUNTER CAIN.
That set the stage for the ninth, where a
CONNER JELLEY leadoff walk and a pair of intentional walks loaded the bases for the game-winning hit by pitch.
Piedmont starting pitcher
BODIE EILERTSON delivered an outstanding performance in his first career start, striking out eight over 5.0 innings with only one earned run allowed.
After bad luck and two errors led to CNU grabbing a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning, the Lions began to chip away as freshman
COLE ELLIS smacked a leadoff triple to right center field and came around to score on a single by
CARTER BALLSTADT, who scored himself on an error to make it 5-2 heading to the fifth.
Junior right-hander
NATHAN BOYCE took over for Eilertson and delivered standout relief work, throwing 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball with a pair of strikeouts.
Back-to-back doubles from freshmen
KYLE CARLSON and
JACKSON RANDOLPH cut the Piedmont deficit to 5-3 as both recorded their first collegiate hits in the process.
While Boyce tired in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs, freshman right-hander
ETHAN LAILÂ came on and earned a key strikeout to strand three runners.Â
Having been 0-for-3 on the night with three strikeouts, Gonzalez's first hit as a Lion proved to be critical, as he launched a towering homer to left field to make it a 5-4 game before Cain's first career home run, a line drive missile to left, tied the score at 5-5.
With the game knotted up going to the ninth, Ballstadt entered in relief and struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning to keep the momentum in the Piedmont dugout.
Pinch-hitting to start the ninth, the senior Jelley worked a fantastic at bat to draw a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Then, after an Ellis sacrifice bunt moved the winning run to third, the Captains elected to intentionally walk Ballstadt and Gonzalez, setting up Olson, who was hit by an 0-2 pitch to end the instant classic in favor of the Lions.
Up next, Piedmont will conclude its weekend hosting No. 7 Birmingham-Southern tomorrow at 2 p.m.
TURNING POINT:
- Gonzalez and Cain launched back-to-back one-out homers to left field in the bottom of the eighth to complete the five-run comeback and tie the score at 5-5.
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STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Ballstadt earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief work in the ninth and also tallied an RBI single to bring home the Lions' first run.
- Ellis delivered his second straight multi-hit game to begin his Piedmont career.
- Boyce delivered 2.2 innings of scoreless relief to keep the Lions within striking distance.
- Eilertson flashed in his Piedmont debut, with 5.0 innings of work and eight strikeouts with just one earned run allowed.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Piedmont tallied five extra base hits and all five marked their first extra base hit as Lions.
NEWS AND NOTES:
- The win marks the third straight at Loudermilk Field for Piedmont over CNU, all of which have come by a single run.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
- To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont University Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions onÂ
Twitter: @PiedmontLions,Â
Instagram: @PiedmontLions, andÂ
Facebook. To follow each Piedmont athletic program on social media, use the Social Media Directory at PiedmontLions.com orÂ
click here.
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