NEED TO KNOW:
Score:
Game One: Piedmont, 7; Huntingdon, 2
Game Two: Piedmont, 10; Huntingdon 0 
Records: Piedmont, 26-13 (CCS 11-6); Huntingdon 24-14 (CCS 9-9)

DEMOREST, GA.— The Piedmont baseball team ended the regular season strong with a doubleheader sweep over the Huntingdon Hawks to secure the regular season CCS title.

After a slow day for the offense in game one of the series, the bats exploded late in game one of the day and led the way in game two while the Lions pitching staff held back the Hawks to complete the sweep.

Game One: Piedmont, 7; Huntingdon, 2

The Lions sent Layne Ayers to the mound in game one of the day, and despite early trouble, allowing two unearned runs to come across, the sophomore kept the Lions in the contest while keeping the Hawks off balance.

Down 2-0, the Piedmont offense struck for runs in the second and third, with Cruz Mullinix delivering the tying run via an RBI single. 

With a tie game, both squads traded zeros through the middle innings. 

Despite a shaky start, Ayers settled in nicely and pitched five shoutout innings after the first, pitching in six collective innings in the winning effort. 

In the seventh, the Lions turned to Harris Bryson out of the bullpen, and despite traffic in the seventh, the right-hander worked a scoreless inning.

Looking to break through, the Lions went to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, ready to do damage. With one out, John Dickerson reached on a single, turning the lineup over for Cody Funk, who collected a walk. Ben Connelly increased the pressure on the Hawks by reaching on an error, giving the bat to Cole Ellis with the bases loaded. The team leader in batting average and senior Ellis ripped a single, scoring two and giving the Lions a 4-2 lead. Piedmont stranded a pair but entered the eighth with its first lead of the game. 

Bryson went back to work in the eighth inning and quickly collected two outs, but the Huntingdon lineup sparked a two-out rally and loaded the bases, chasing Bryson from the game. The Piedmont closer, Luke Manry, entered seeking a four-out save. On a 1-0 count, Manry induced a weak ground ball to shut down the rally and keep the momentum with the Lions.

Piedmont made the most of the momentum, starting another rally in the bottom of the eighth. After a pair of walks, Dickerson slashed a single, scoring both runners and breaking the game open for the Lions. Wanting more, Ellis stood in with a runner in scoring position once again and drove home another run, giving the Lions a 7-2 lead. 

Manry went to work in the ninth, recording the first two outs quickly before surrendering a double. Manry was not deterred and collected the third out of the inning, sealing the win for the Lions.

Game One: Piedmont, 7; Huntingdon, 2

Riding the high off a sharp game one, the Lions' offense went to work immediately. Funk set the table with a single, finding his way on base again. From there, the rest of the lineup continued to add on. A walk and sacrifice bunt led to a Cruz Mullinix ringing single, bringing home a pair and scoring Funk. With that run scored, Cody Funk set the new program record for runs scored in a single season with 54 runs at the time. The record was previously set in 2023 by Carter Ballstadt. The Piedmont offense did not relent, bringing home two more, heading to the top of the second with a 4-0 lead. 

Drew O'Neil took the ball for the Lions and pitched marvelously. In the second, O'Neil pitched around a double, giving the bats back to the Lions, where they brought home another run. 

While O'Neil pitched a gem, the offense scored four in the fourth and one more in the fifth to give themselves a 10-0 lead.

The offense found its footing, but the story of the game was O'Neil, who scattered six hits across seven innings of work, allowing no runs.

In the seventh, O'Neil ran into slight trouble with two on and two away, but the freshman didn't blink and got the final out, securing the doubleheader sweep and a regular season title for the Lions.

The Lions rose up and defiantly snapped a four-game losing streak with help from strong pitching performances from O'Neil and Ayers. 

Next, the Lions await the start of the CCS tournament in which they will hold the No. 1 seed. 

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Mullinix struck for four RBIs on his Senior Day, concluding his breakout regular-season senior campaign.
- Funk crossed home four times on the day, breaking and setting a new single-season record in runs scored in the process.

HOW TO FOLLOW:

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