LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- The Covenant baseball team dropped two in a double-header against conference foe Piedmont on Friday afternoon. The Lions took game one 6-3 and game two 10-3 on Senior Day for the Scots.
Seniors Brooks DuBose and Alex Gonzalez both recorded home runs for the day, but it was not enough as the Scots fall to 3-5 in the USA South and 17-11 overall.
GAME 1: Covenant 3, Piedmont 6
The Lions used a three-run seventh inning to pull ahead of Covenant and earn the 6-3 victory in game one.
Piedmont scored its first run without even recording a hit in the top of the first. The Lions used two walks and a hit by pitch to be able to gain the first score off of a groundout (1-0).
Though both teams had runners in scoring position in the next innings, the score remained 1-0 in favor of Piedmont heading into the fourth inning.
In their half of the fourth, singles from Tyler Smith and Kyle DeJesus allowed the Lions to take a 2-0 lead.
But the Scots would quickly tie the game in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a single from Lewis Saunders and a two-run homer from DuBose to even the score, 2-2. The hit marked the eighth home run for the senior this season.
The teams would again both have runners in scoring position in the fifth inning, but the score stayed notched at 2-2 going into the sixth.
After DeJesus was walked in the top of the inning, Carter Ballstadt was able to line a single through the right side, making it a 3-2 Piedmont lead.
The lead was not to be held for long though, as Saunders and DuBose would strike again in the bottom of the sixth, evening it back up 3-3. After Saunders reached second base due to a ground-rule double, DuBose singled to bring in the tying run.
From there, though, the Lions would bring in three runs in the seventh off of only a single hit.
With two players walked, Scott Lyon tripled to right center, giving Piedmont a 5-3 lead. Their sixth run came on the next play, as a Covenant fielding error at home plate allowed the Lions to extend their lead to three (6-3).
Ballstadt, who had been moved to pitcher for the final two innings, then made quick work of the Scots, recording back-to-back three-up three-down innings and four strikeouts as the Lions took game one, 6-3.
DuBose went 2-for-4 with all three Covenant RBIs for the contest. The Nashville, Tennessee native remains in the top three of the USA South in RBIs as the three from game one take his total to 35. Fellow senior, Saunders, was also 2-for-4.
Zach Tolleson got the start on the mound for the Scots and pitched 3.1 innings, with two earned runs and three strikeouts. Senior Ross Skipper came into the game in the top of the fourth and pitched 2.2 innings of relief, allowing only one hit and one earned run and striking out four.
Lyon went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, and DeJesus was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Ballstadt was 1-for-5 with two RBIs and earned his 10th save on the season. Sam Carpenter (8-2) got the start at pitcher for the Lions and tallied three earned runs and 11 strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
GAME 2: Covenant 3, Piedmont 10
Piedmont picked up right where they left off in game one, as they would jump out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Lions tallied a single from Jack Bartlewski and a double from Tyler Sheley to help bring in their first three scores.
The Scots would answer in their half of the inning, though, with a solo home run from Gonzalez that would cut the lead to two (3-1). The homer marked the senior's 10th of the season and his 100th career hit. He also remains atop the USA South for home runs.
The score would stay 3-1 in favor of Piedmont until Covenant would tack on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to even the score up 3-3. After DuBose was walked, the Scots would record back-to-back RBI doubles from Hunter Christian and Zeke Gilbert to tie the game.
But, like the first game, the Lions yet again used a multi-run inning to extend their lead. This time, they used four hits in the top of the fifth to bring in five more runs‒all coming with two outs.
After Bartlewski singled, the Covenant defense tallied two quick outs. From there, a double and a single would extend the Piedmont lead back out to two (5-3). Then, with two on base, Lyon would hit a three-run shot over the left field fence, giving his team the 8-3 lead over the Scots.
Though Covenant had a runner in scoring position in the sixth thanks to a ground-rule double from Christian, they were unable to capitalize, as the score would remain 8-3 until the eighth inning.
In the top of the eighth, the Lions would again extend their lead, scoring two more runs off of two hits. After DeJesus doubled and Ballstadt was walked, Heath Waldrop recorded an RBI bunt to the pitcher, making it 9-3 in favor of Piedmont. Soon after, Zach Norman hit a sacrifice fly to center field, racking up his team's 10th run of the contest (10-3).
After a three-up, three-down eighth inning for the Scots, senior pitcher Harrison Richards came into the game and did the same to the Lions in the top of the ninth, keeping the deficit to seven heading into the bottom of the ninth. But the lead proved to be too much for Covenant, as the Piedmont defense would retain it and earn the 10-3 win in game two.
Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a home run, while fellow senior Tyler Moore was also 1-for-4. Christian went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Senior Adam Carver (4-4) started at pitcher for the Scots and pitched 4.2 innings with five earned runs and two strikeouts.
Piedmont tallied 15 hits for game two. Lyon went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, while Bartlewski also went 3-for-5. Sheley was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Peyton Irvin (8-2) got the start on the mound for the Lions, recording three earned runs and striking out six in his 6.2 innings pitched.
Piedmont improves to 7-3 in conference play and 20-11 overall.
UP NEXT
Covenant is scheduled to play Piedmont for game three of the conference series tomorrow, Saturday April 24. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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