MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE — The Piedmont College baseball pitching staff strung together a stellar performance Wednesday evening with a combined four-hit shutout for an 8-0 victory over Rhodes College. The Lions had a total of 12 hits in the contest combined with three errors by the Lynx.
MAX BENING earned the victory marking his first of his career as he went five innings giving up four hits while striking out four batters. BRYAN WHITACRE, BUDDY GREEN, MATT VONDERSCHMIDT and STONE KELLY each tossed an inning of work without surrendering a hit and recording at least one strikeout.
The offensive output was led by BRECK DAVIDSON's pair of doubles, the first of which scored the first run after a leadoff walk was issued to CALEB NORTON. In the top of the fourth, Piedmont added another run after ZACK JOHNSON singled then advanced to second on an error and was driven in by CHRIS WHITE's sac fly.
In the fifth inning, the Lynx pulled starter Cameron Tinker and the Lions had a two-out rally scoring three runs to take a 5-0 lead. The Lions once again scored three in the top of the eighth to seal an 8-0 victory moving to 8-4 overall.
Turning Point
--A solid start from freshman MAX BENING proved to be the difference in the game as he tossed five innings giving up just four hits and striking out four.
Standout Performances
--BRECK DAVIDSON recorded a pair of RBI in a 2-for-5 day at the plate as he doubled twice in the contest.
--JAKE BROWNING and ZACK JOHNSON were the other Lions to record a pair of hits in the contest.
Inside the Box Score
--The Lion pitching staff gave up just four hits combined as all four relief pitchers pitched an inning without giving up a single hit.
News & Notes
--Piedmont's pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts in the contest led by starter MAX BENING's four.
--Each relief pitcher picked up at least one strikeout in a single inning as both BUDDY GREEN and MATT VONDERSCHMIDT had a pair of strikeouts in the three outs they recorded.
Up Next
Piedmont will be in action this weekend returning to conference play set to take on LaGrange College.
