Box Score Demorest, GA - The Piedmont College baseball team made it two in a row to start 2014 earlier today winning a second straight over Guilford College at Loudermilk Field by a score of 10-7.  The Lions rode a 4-run explosion in the 4th to earn the win getting an impressive debut on the mound from freshman pitcher Preston Graham who allowed just a pair of runs in his first-ever collegiate start.

Graham went five and two thirds giving up seven hits while striking out three and issuing a pair of walks.  Graham's two runs allowed came in the 1st and 6th innings as the youngster picked up the win on the mound while junior arm Jacob Brewster picked up another save making it two in two appearances as he got the final out of the game with Piedmont up 10-7 in the 9th.

Guilford got on the board first when leadoff hitter Herc Ingels doubled to open up the game.  After Ingels was moved to third, the leadoff man scored on a sac fly from Nathan Fulbright as the Quakers went up 1-0.  However, Piedmont posted back-to-back innings with a single run scored in the 2nd and 3rd to pull in front as freshman Griffin Olson picked up an RBI on a two-out single in the second and Josh Bailey's sac fly in the third gave the senior his first run batted in of the season.

With the lead already in hand, PC exploded offensively in the 4th with four runs scored as Evan Gresham hit a home run to lead off the inning, his first such blast of the 2014 season.  After Gresham's shot over the right field wall inspired his teammates, Keith Grabowski picked up a two-out, two-run double later in the inning scoring his teammates Olson and Casey Parham.

That 4th inning put PC up 6-1 and in control with the youngster Graham cruising on the mound having sat down the Quakers in order in the top half of the same inning.  In the Guilford 5th, Graham got two quick groundouts before finding himself in trouble with a runner at second and a two-out single to center sending that Quaker hurtling towards homeplate.  However, it was Grabowski getting it done in the field this time around as he charged the single into shallow center, scooped it up, and threw out the runner at the plate to keep Graham's stat sheet a bit cleaner.

PC got two more innings with a pair of runs each to take a commanding 10-2 lead after six as the Lions got into the bullpen now with the eight run lead.  The Lions would give three runs back in the 7th with a 2-run double from Guilford's Ingels and a run coming courtesy of a Piedmont error, but the home side posted a scoreless 8th to hold a five-run advantage to start the 9th. 

After a pair of runs scored for Guilford in the top of the final inning, closer Jacob Brewster was called on to get the final out of the afternoon as two Quakers loomed on the bags with the tying run at the plate.  However, the veteran pitcher was not phased as he struck out Michael Whited for the final out of a 10-7 win which became close late but saw the Lions in control for most of the day.

PC was led at the plate by Evan Gresham who tallied his first home run of his career with that 4ht inning shot, all while going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and RBIs.  Gresham's homer sparked a 4-run inning that gave Piedmont complete control of the game at Loudermilk as he tallied hits in his final three plate appearances of the day.

Also posting two-RBI days were Griffin Olson and Keith Grabowski as Grabowski went 2-for-5 with a run scored as well as an assist on that key inning-ending play in the 5th that kept a run off the boards.  Olson posted his second straight 2-for-3 day tallying two RBIs and a run scored this time around.  Leadoff hitter Will Skidmore set the tone from the start with his 2-for-4 showing to go with two runs scored and an RBI as the second baseman is hitting .625 through two games, a mark second only to Olson's .667 mark in the same time.

With the win, Piedmont improves to 2-0 overall after the two-game weekend sweep.  Piedmont has played Guilford in a two-game set to open the season in five of the last eight seasons as this weekend is the first time that PC has taken both of those matchups in the first two games of the season. 

The last time Piedmont took two from the Quakers was in 2008 when the Lions first played at Greensboro before playing the Quakers in a pair winning 9-8 and 9-0.  Those two wins came as part of a 17-3 start to that campaign, one which ended with Piedmont's first-ever appearance in a NCAA Regional.

The Lions now have two weeks off before a Valentine's date at home against Emory University in the first of the annual 2-home, 1 away Peach State rivalry.  The two home games this season will come at Loudermilk Field as Emory comes to town first for a February 14th first pitch at 7:00 pm.  Live coverage of that Friday night contest will be provided courtesy of the Mane Event Broadcasting Network.