LaGrange continued its winning streak by sweeping Brevard 17-8 and 19-2 in a USA South doubleheader Sunday at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium. The Panthers are now 17-7 overall and 9-1 in conference play after running their win streak to nine games.

LC has clinched one of the two berths in the upcoming USA South West Division Tournament. The Panthers travel to Piedmont for a three-game series to decide who will host the best-of-three division series. The Panthers have a two-game lead over the second place Lions.

Over the last six games, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 90-27, averaging 15 runs per game. The 19 runs tied the Panthers' season high set last weekend in a 19-6 win at Maryville.

In Game 1, the Panthers' 16-hit attack was led by sophomore third baseman Joe Ruth. Ruth went 4-for-5 with two home runs, five runs scored, and four RBIs. 

LC jumped out to a 13-0 lead after two innings. The Panthers got five in the first and eight more in the second. David Smigelski had a two-run single in the first. Ruth capped the third inning with a three-run blast to right center. He added a solo shot in the fourth inning.

Brevard (9-12, 3-4 USA South) cut the Panthers' lead to six, 14-8, after seven innings. LC added three runs in the eighth on just one hit; taking advantage of two walks, a hit batsman, and an error for the 17-8 final margin.

Baley Coleman (5-3) went five innings to get the win. Coleman allowed six runs, only one was earned, while walking two and striking out four. Brett Caneega closed out the game with 2-1/3 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and striking out four.

The Tornados jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead against Dalton Brooks (4-1) in Game 2. Brooks gave up five hits in the first two innings, but retired the last six batters he faced. He finished with six strikeouts in four innings of work. Michael Menheart followed with two scoreless innings and Cal Fuller closed out the game in the seventh, striking out the side.

Brevard's Trent Anderson (2-4) retired six of the first seven batters he faced. The Panthers broke through in the third inning. Ruth tied the game with a two-run double and Cael Chatham drove him in with the go-ahead run with a sharp single to right center. Chatham ran his hitting streak to 16 games in the doubleheader, finishing with four hits and four RBIs to raise his average to a team-leading .387.

The Panthers blew out the Tornados with a 12-run fourth inning. It was the most runs in an inning for LC since scoring 18 in a 29-1 win over Sewanee on Feb. 21, 2010. The Panthers had scored 10 against Piedmont earlier in the season and it is also the first time since 2010 having two double-figure innings in a season.

LC sent 16 batters to the plate in the inning. Rhett Mixon walked with the bases loaded to drive in the first run of the inning. He added an RBI double in his second at-bat of the inning. Chatham had a two-run single and Jared Aldrige a two-run double in the inning.

In the fifth, the Panthers padded their lead with three more runs. Trey Pearce tripled in two of the runs and scord the third on a balk. Aldridge's bases loaded walk in the sixth closed out the scoring. The game ended on the 12-run mercy rule.

The Panthers finished with 14 hits. Aldrige was 3-for-3 with the double and three RBIs. Mixon, Chatham, and Pearce each had two hits.