Ninth-ranked Birmingham-Southern spoiled LaGrange's 2011 home opener at Cleaveland Field on Tuesday. The visiting Panthers hit three home runs in a 10-0 win.

First baseman Bruce Maxwell hit two home runs and drove in four runs to lead Birmingham-Southern. Bryan Higgenbotham had the third home run, while Jon Walker had two doubles.

Birmingham-Southern finished with 12 hits off four Panther pitchers. Neal Smith (0-1) took the loss, allowing five runs in five innings. Doug Scherer gave up five runs in 2-1/3 innings.

Jesse Meir (1-0) scattered six hits in seven innings to get the win for Birmingham-Southern. Michael McCalib and Drew Crofton closed out the game with a scoreless inning each.

The Panthers finished the game with seven hits. Anthony Iannetta had two hits, while Robbie Shelton had a double.

Maxwell had an RBI single in the first inning to put Birmingham-Southern up 1-0. He hit a solo home run in the third and a two-run shot in the fifth for a 5-0 lead.

Birmingham-Southern broke the game open with five runs in the eighth inning. Higgenbotham started the inning with a two-run home run to left. J.D. Hulse capped the inning with a two-run double.

The Panthers had three hits in the seventh inning but could not score. The Panthers had a runner thrown out trying to steal and a runner picked off of second base.In the eighth inning, Shelton doubled with two out. He moved over to third on a wild pitch but was stranded at third as the inning ended.

The Panthers were shutout for the first time since losing 5-0 to Piedmont on April 18, 2008, a span of 94 games. It was the first time under coach Kevin Howard the Panthers had been shutout in a season opener

The Panthers host Oglethorpe on Wednesday at 3 p.m.