NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Piedmont 9, Wabash 7
Records: Piedmont, 10-5; Wabash 3-6

DEMOREST, Ga. — The Piedmont baseball team picked up its 10th win in comeback fashion, 9-7, against Wabash on Tuesday evening. 

The Lions' bullpen came through and hurled six shutout innings while the offense chipped away at the Little Giants' lead.

Ben Homansky started for the Lions, and the freshman did not have his best night, allowing five runs across two innings of work. The Wabash lineup was strong early on, and the Lions looked to answer.

In the bottom of the first, Cody Funk got his night started with a leadoff double and put the Lions on the board a batter later thanks to a Wabash error. 

Wabash scored two more runs in the top half of the second, and the Lions went to the bottom of the inning looking to strike back. The Lions loaded the bases but with two outs needed a big hit to cash in. Funk stood in a pivotal moment in the game and sent a shot to right-center field, clearing the bases and ending on third base with a three-RBI triple. Piedmont could not bring Funk home but still made a dent in the Wabash lead, leaving the inning with a 5-4 score.

Piedmont turned to the bullpen in the third, and Wabash didn't blink, sending five men to the plate and scoring two before the Lions turned to Landon May to take the ball. May entered with the bases loaded and quickly coaxed a 1-2-3 double play and finishing the inning with a soft liner to centerfield. While a big inning was escaped, the Lions now trailed 7-4.

Piedmont's offense stayed silent through the third and fourth while May went to work on the mound, finishing his night with two strikeouts across three innings of work, allowing just two hits and nothing more.

The Lions found success in the fifth and sixth, growing ever closer to the Little Giants' lead. In the seventh, Justin Shaffer laced a ball for a single, bringing home the tying run and making it a 7-7 game. 

The eighth inning brought more baserunners for the Lions, and Piedmont pushed Wabash to its breaking point as a costly error allowed Cole Ellis to score, giving the Lions an 8-7 lead. Piedmont added an insurance run and handed the ball to Luke Manry for the ninth.

Manry ran into trouble with two runners reaching, but the junior bore down, securing the final out on a line drive to Shaffer at shortstop and sending the Lions back to the win column. 

Piedmont scored in the final four innings of the game, charging back to take the lead while the bullpen, made up of Landon May, Averett Thompson, Lucas Tritt, Harris Bryson, and Luke Manry, shut down the Wabash lineup, holding them scoreless for the remainder of the game.

This marks the Lions' final non-conference game before CCS play begins on Friday, March 13, when they travel to Maryville to face off against the Scots at 6 p.m.

TURNING POINT:
- A costly error by the Wabash defense that allowed the Lions to score the game-deciding run in the eighth.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES: 
- Cody Funk went 3-3 on the night with three RBIs and scoring two runs.
- The Lions' bullpen was lights-out, allowing no runs across six innings of work while collecting five strikeouts.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
- To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont University Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions on Twitter: @PiedmontLions, Instagram: @PiedmontLions, and Facebook. To follow each Piedmont athletic program on social media, use the Social Media Directory at PiedmontLions.com or click here.