DEMOREST, Ga. -- After a tough extra-inning loss on Thursday night and having Friday's game rained out, the Covenant Scots took on No. 5-ranked Piedmont in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon to wrap up the three-game series. Piedmont (18-6, 2-1 GSAC) scored seven runs in the seventh inning in game one to claim a 15-6 victory, but Covenant bounced back to take game two 13-8.
Covenant (10-10, 2-4 GSAC) received a solid effort in game two from starting pitcher Eddie Jamerson. Jamerson (2-0) went five innings allowing three runs, one earned, on six hits while striking out three.
James Rollins and Scott Gillespie each extended their hitting streaks to eight games with hits in both games. Rollins went 7-for-10 with five runs scored and an RBI for the day. Gillespie was 3-for-8 with five RBIs to help get the Scots a split.
Game One
Covenant got off to a great start in game one as David Lockwood hit a solo homer, his third of the year, in the top of the first inning. But the Piedmont bats came alive in the late innings to give them the victory.
The Lions scored three times in the second inning to go ahead 3-1. Tate Koons and Josh Bailey had run-scoring singles off Covenant starter Andre Glover.
Covenant responded in the fifth inning with three runs. Will Cleland led off with a single and two batters later K.C. Simons reached on an error to put runners at first and second. Rollins then came through with a two-out single to score Cleland, and Gillespie followed with a double to plate both Simons and Rollins to give the Scots a 4-3 lead.
In the sixth, Piedmont tied the game on another Bailey RBI single. Piedmont opened up the game in the seventh with seven runs to make it 11-4. Kyle Davis and Curtis Cornett each had two-run singles in the inning as the Lions recorded just three hits, but took advantage of two Covenant errors. Piedmont would add four more runs in the eighth inning.
Caleb Cochran (5-2) gets the win for Piedmont. Cochran went seven innings giving up four runs, one earned, and striking out 11. Glover (1-2) is hit with the loss for Covenant.
Lockwood and Rollins each went 4-for-5 with an RBI apiece. Gillespie was 2-for-4 with two runs driven in, while Ben Chambers added a triple and two RBIs.
Game Two
The second game started out in similar fashion as game one did with Covenant gaining an early lead. Lockwood and Simons each walked to start the first inning and Rollins then singled to load the bases with nobody out. Gillespie drove two of those runners home with a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 2-0. Chris Rollins reached on a fielder's choice that allowed James Rollins to score to give the Scots a 3-0 lead.
Covenant added a run in the third inning to go ahead 4-0. Chambers walked with two outs, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and was driven home on a Chris Rollins single. Piedmont got on the board in the bottom of the third as Koons doubled home Ethan Miers to cut the Scots' lead to 4-1.
The Scots were able to get more distance between themselves and the home team as they scored twice in the fifth inning and once in the sixth. Cleland scored on a wild pitch and Simons walked with the bases loaded in the fifth. In the sixth, Chris Rollins doubled home Cleland to make it 7-2.
Piedmont made its push as they added two runs each in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. But the Scots added four runs of their own in the eighth inning. Gillespie doubled home James Rollins, and Chris Rollins' triple scored Cleland and Gillespie. Jonathan Carter capped the inning with a single that plated Chris Rollins.
Jamerson picked up his second win of the season for the Scots, but got help from the bullpen. Demarius Johnson threw three innings and allowed four earned runs, but worked out of jams in the seventh and eighth innings. Alec Mitchell pitched the ninth inning to seal the win.
Matt Lisk (3-2) gets the loss for the Lions after going three innings and allowing four runs, three earned, on three hits and six walks.
Chris Rollins went 3-for-5 with five RBIs and was just a home run away from hitting for the cycle. James Rollins recorded his 10th multi-hit game of the year as he went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Cleland added four hits in five at-bats with an RBI and three runs.
Covenant returns to action on Friday, March 30 against LaGrange College on Lookout Mountain. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
