LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- After a 40-minute rain delay, the Covenant Scots and the LaGrange Panthers began their three-game series on Friday afternoon. Jonathan Carter had four RBIs and Covenant scored five runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to pull away and win 16-2.

 Covenant (11-10, 3-4 GSAC) and LaGrange (11-17, 3-1) will play games two and three on Saturday starting at noon, weather permitting.

 Even with the rain delay, the Scots quickly reset the diamond for nine innings of play. LaGrange got on the board first in the first inning with a single run, thanks to two errors. Brent Kinsey singled with one out and came around to score when David Miller reached on a Covenant throwing error to make it 1-0.

 Covenant came back with two runs in the bottom half of the first. James Rollins singled with two outs and Sterling Witt followed with an opposite field two-run home run. It was Witt's third homer of the season and gave Covenant a 2-1 lead.

 Both starting pitchers settled down over the next few innings, until the fifth. LaGrange tied the game with a run in the fifth on an Evin Eichelberger RBI ground out that scored Miles Lee. But Covenant starter Tyler Smith work out of a first and second jam with two outs to preserve the tie.

 In the bottom of the fifth, Covenant regained the lead for good with two runs. Ben Chambers led off with a solid triple to center field and scored on a K.C. Simons single to make the score 3-2. Simons later scored on a single to left field by James Rollins that made it 4-2. Covenant added two more runs in the sixth on a wild pitch and a Carter run-scoring single to make it 6-2.

 In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Scots put four more runs across thanks to two-run doubles from Scott Gillespie and Carter. The diamond was soon unexpectedly covered by fog to delay the game once again. After a 15-minute delay, the fog cleared up and the Scots added another run to go ahead 11-2.

 Covenant continued to score five more runs in the eighth inning, with Kurtis Wiles capping the outburst with a soft liner that landed just inside the foul line beyond third base for a two-run single to make it 16-2.

 Smith (3-1) was awarded the win despite being hit in the throwing arm in the second inning on a batted ball. Smith continued to pitch seven innings and allowed four hits and one earned run with a pair of strikeouts. Alec Mitchell relieved Smith in the eighth and threw two scoreless frames. LaGrange starting pitcher Mason Webster (2-4) was saddled with the loss after giving up six runs on nine hits, while striking out five in six innings.

 Chambers led the Scots with four runs in the game and went 2-for-3. Wiles ended 3-for-6 along with three RBIs, while James Rollins went 2-for-3 with three runs of his own and one RBI. Simons went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Carter ended 2-for-4 and scored a run of his own and adding a team-high four RBIs for the Scots.