LAGRANGE, Ga. - LaGrange evened its season record with a sweep of former USA South conference foe N.C. Wesleyan in a doubleheader Saturday at Cleaveland Field at Williamson Stadium. The Panthers (6-6) took Game 1 6-4, then won an 18-9 slugfest in Game 2.
Game 1: LaGrange 6, N.C. Wesleyan 4
Josiah Chiesa pitched 5-1/3 strong innings to up his season record to 3-0 Chiesa allowed three runs, but only one was earned, while striking out five and walking two.
Nick Morgan finished the final 3-2/3 innings to pick up his first save of the season.
The Panthers had 13 hits in the game.
Eli Selby had three hits, while
Jackson McElvy,
David Smigelski, and
Colby Zinser each two hits.
LaGrange took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, with all the runs coming with two outs. The Panthers strung together four straight hits, with Selby and Zinser having RBI singles to drive in the first two runs. Selby came around to score as McElvy reached on an error.
The Panthers made it 4-0 in the second. McElvy singled with one out and came all the way around on
Adam Dorn's double down the left field line.
The Bishops (2-8) took advantage of three Panther errors to score two unearned runs in the fifth inning. They trimmed the Panthers' lead to one, 4-3, with another run in the sixth.
The Panthers answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Riley George drove in
Fletcher Hislop with an RBI single and McElvy's bunt hit scored
Noah Preuer to make it 6-3. The Bishops tacked on a run in the seventh for the 6-4 final.
Game 2: LaGrange 18, N.C. Wesleyan 9
LaGrange followed the Game 1 script into the second game. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the second on a run-scoring single by George. McElvy had an RBI single, followed by a two-run base hit from Dorn to make it 4-0 after three innings.
Eduardo Peralta (1-1) had a solid start on the mound, going seven innings. He walked two and struck out five. Peralta's only mistake was a allowing a grand slam home run by Jacob Trivette in the fifth inning to tie the game 4-4.
The Panthers broke the tie with a seven-run seventh inning and then put the game out of reach with another seven runs in the eighth. McElvy had a two-run double in the seventh, while pinch-hitter
Ben Hollenbeck drove in two runs with a double of his own in the eighth.
LC finished the game with 18 hits. George had four hits, scored two runs, and had three RBIs. McElvy had three hits, including the double, and three RBIs. Smigelski and Hislop both had three hits.
Up Next: The Panthers finish the three-game weekend series Sunday beginning at 2 p.m.
