NEED TO KNOW:
When: First Round (11 a.m. Thursday, April 30)
Where: Choccolocco Park (Oxford, Ala.)
The Opponent: No. 6 Covenant

DEMOREST, Ga. - The No. 3 seeded Piedmont softball team readies to travel to Oxford, Ala. for the CCS championship. The Lions during the regular season boasted a strong offense out of the gate before the pitching rounded into form and gave the team the boost it needed.

REGULAR SEASON VS. COVENANT

Game One Piedmont 4, Covenant 1 (4/18/26 at Piedmont)

Junior right-hander Taylor Spivey was dominant in the circle, shutting out the Scots until the seventh, walking none and striking out five. 

The Piedmont offense was led by a big-time performance from first baseman Valerie Bailey, who drove in three of the team's four runs for the game.

Still clinging to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Bailey delivered with the bases loaded, driving home a pair of insurance runs to increase the Piedmont lead to 3-0.

While Spivey was chased from the game in the sixth, freshman Jalyn McGee entered and stranded a runner to keep the team shutout alive.

Piedmont added on an extra run in the bottom of the sixth, giving it plenty of cushion going to the seventh. The Scots scored once in their final at bat to avoid the shutout, but it was not enough as the Lions took game one.

Box Score

Game 2: Piedmont 6, Covenant 5

It was the senior Erickson who was responsible for the game's first run, drawing a bases loaded walk as the Lions used instinctive baserunning to score two runs on the play.

Piedmont added on one more in the opening frame to lead 3-0 going to the second. However, Covenant answered quickly with two runs in the second to pull within one.

Another senior struck for Piedmont in the second, as Spieks tripled home Sarah Green to make it 4-2 in favor of the Lions.

The Lions added two more runs to lead 6-2 in the sixth, giving it just enough cushion for the final two innings, as they held off a Covenant rally, stranding the bases loaded in the seventh to hang on and win by a single run.

Box Score
 

PIEDMONT NOTES:
- Piedmont enters as the No. 3 seed in the tournament, the highest seed the team has earned since 2002, when they finished No. 1 and hosted the USA South Tournament. 
- The story of the season cannot be told without the newcomers to the team, including freshman star Anslee Saunchegraw. Saunchegraw slugged ten home runs in her rookie campaign while leading the team and conference in several offensive stats.
- The Lions have also boasted many other freshman standouts, including Ellie Lenz and Jalyn McGee as well as sophomore leaders in Valerie Bailey and Mandi Peretti.
- Piedmont had good results against Covenant in the regular season and looks to continue the trend.
- Pitching for the Lions was led by Jacy Vickery in the early going, but now heading into the tournament without Vickery, the Lions look to freshmen Jalyn McGee and Maile Dunn, along with junior Taylor Spivey, to lead the team in the tournament.
- Offensively, the Lions have been a top team in the CCS all season long. Led by Saunchegraw, Maddi Spieks and Peretti with Bailey and Lenz, Piedmont proves to be a formidable threat on the diamond.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
- 1x CCS Player of the Week