NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Denison, 9; Piedmont, 3
Records: Piedmont, 33-14; Denison 43-1
GRANVILLE, Oh. — After a tight contest through the majority of the game, the Lions fell to No. 1 Denison after a late rally from the Big Red.
Both sides traded zeros through the early innings. Piedmont sent Andrew Misirly to the mound as the CCS Pitcher of the Year allowed just two baserunners through the first three innings.
In the fourth, the Lions offense got the scoring started. The rally began with back-to-back singles from Ben Connelly and Cole Ellis, setting up Carter Few to drive home the game's first run. Piedmont loaded the bases, leading to a sacrifice fly from Jack Ryan and an RBI single from Davin Miller.
With Piedmont now leading 3-0, Misirly went back to work, retiring the side in the bottom of the fourth.
Misirly ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth. The Big Red with two outs collected three straight hits to bring home a pair of runners and cut the deficit to one.
Denison added another in the bottom of the sixth, and with runners on, Misirly was lifted in favor of Averrett Thompson, who collected the final out of the inning.
In a 3-3 game, Piedmont entered the bottom of the eighth looking to hold the tie, but a Denison rally denied that. The Big Red struck for six in the bottom of the inning, giving them a 9-3 lead.
Piedmont was unable to stage a rally in the top of the ninth, falling in game one of the Super Regional.
Piedmont held back the No. 1 team in the country for a majority of the game but fell late.
Next, the Lions will play in an elimination game for the first time this season tomorrow at 12 p.m. against Denison.
Turning Point:
- A late rally staged by Denison that allowed it to take the lead.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
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