(DEMOREST, Ga.) – Led by an outstanding performance from leadoff man Cole Ellis, Piedmont baseball saw its bats stay alive in a 10-2 win over Hanover on Saturday afternoon at Loudermilk Field.
In just his second game this season, and first starting in the outfield, Ellis was the catalyst of the Piedmont offense all day, going 5-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored. Shortstop Nathan Mix went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, his second consecutive night with a multi-hit performance.
On the mound, Peyton Irvin was solid, earning his first win of the season after throwing 7.0 innings of six hit, one run ball with a pair of strikeouts.
Both teams manufactured a single run in the first, but the Lions pounced for a big second inning, scoring four runs on four hits and never looking back from there. The Lions scored all four of their runs with two outs in the frame, with Ellis in the middle of it, knocking in two runs before stealing third and scoring Piedmont’s final run of the inning on a throwing error.
As Irvin settled in on the mound, Ellis drove in Mix for a single Piedmont run in the fourth before he also drove in a run on a double and scored a run as part of three-run Piedmont sixth inning to put the game out of reach.
For good measure, Ellis delivered his fifth and final hit of the day in the eighth before being lifted for a pinch runner.
Freshman Tyner Simpson entered and pitched the eighth while Tyler Roon closed it out in the ninth.
Up next, the Lions host Wilmington Sunday in the weekend finale at 2 p.m.
