LaGRANGE, Ga. -- David Lockwood's two-out, bases-loaded double cleared the bases and capped a three-run rally in the top of the ninth inning to give the Covenant baseball team a 7-6 victory over LaGrange. Covenant would finish the three-game sweep with a 9-3 victory in the nightcap
Covenant has won nine straight USA South contests and 10 of its last 11 overall to move to 16-6 on the season and 12-3 in league play. LaGrange goes to 8-17 overall and 5-10 inside the USA South.
The Scots have moved into sole possession of second place in the conference and are one game back of leader Ferrum. Ferrum will visit Lookout Mountain next weekend for a three-game series starting on Friday.
GAME ONE: Covenant 7, LaGrange 6
It looked as though the Scots would see their conference winning streak come to a close as they trailed 6-4 heading to the ninth inning. But Covenant took advantage of two LaGrange errors and Lockwood delivered the biggest hit of the day with his three-run double to left-center field that gave the Scots a 7-6 lead.
Chris Rollins shut the door in the bottom half of the inning to pick up his second save of the season.
Lockwood had just the one hit in the game, but he made it count, as he went 1-for-5. KC Simons went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and Will Cleland added two hits in five at-bats with three runs. Perry Rigby finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. Will Carlton tallied an RBI in three at-bats.
LaGrange struck first in the fourth inning with two runs coming off the bat of Kyle Nerbonne on a single. The Scots took a 3-2 lead in the sixth when Simons walked and later scored on an error that was followed by a Rigby RBI single and a Carlton sacrifice fly.
The host Panthers regained the lead in the seventh with three runs. Jim Reed produced an RBI single and LaGrange scratched two more across via a wild pitch and a Simons error to make it 5-3. After Covenant got a run back in the top of the eighth, LaGrange responded with an RBI double from Chris Laye for the Panthers to go up 6-4.
Covenant starter Garrett Kriston went seven innings and tied a program record with 13 strikeouts, but did not factor into the decision. Kriston allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits. Taylor Bloye (1-1) relieved Kriston in the eighth and notched his first collegiate win in the process.
Reed finished 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI for the Panthers. LaGrange starter Zach Tatham lasted 5.1 innings allowing no earned runs on four hits. Blake Schuck (0-1) gets the loss after allowing the go-ahead three-run double in the ninth.
GAME TWO: Covenant 9, LaGrange 3
In game two, Covenant again fell behind but the Scots rallied from a 3-0 deficit to score the final nine runs of the contest to secure a 9-3 victory.
Cleland went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and Scott Gillespie and Luke Harvey had two RBIs apiece.
Alhanon Miller went seven innings and did not allow an earned run. Miller (4-2) scattered six hits and struck out four in his outing. Jordan Lester threw the final two innings and allowed just two hits.
LaGrange took a 3-0 lead with three runs in the second inning, but Covenant responded with two runs in the third, both coming off a Gillespie double, to make it 3-2. In the fifth, Simons led off with a single and Cleland followed with a two-run homer, his first of the season, to right field giving the Scots a 4-3 lead. Covenant would score twice more in that fifth inning as Lockwood tripled home Gillespie and scored himself on a wild pitch to make it 6-3.
The Scots added a single run in the seventh on a Z Arima RBI single and then two more in the ninth on Harvey's two-run single to left field.
Justin Yestrumsky (2-5) gets the loss for LaGrange after going 4.1 innings and surrendering six runs on six hits. Reed went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Panthers offensively.
Covenant will host non-conference foe Sewanee on Wednesday for two, seven-inning contests beginning at 2 p.m.
