Huntingdon rallies in 8th inning for win over LaGrange

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Pitchers John Rice and Caleb Cofield kept LaGrange off balance and an Austin White single in the eighth inning lifted the Huntingdon baseball team to a 4-3 win on Saturday at Posey Field.

Huntingdon (23-10, 6-2 Great South Athletic Conference) took the first game of the series by the same score on Friday night and will host the Panthers (13-21, 4-4 GSAC) in the final game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.

"This was a good win. LaGrange's pitching has been tough all weekend," Huntingdon coach D.J. Conville said. "We couldn't get anything going for awhile, but the guys kept battling. Rice and Cofield gave us solid performances, kept us in the game and gave us a chance and we found a way to win."

Cofield (3-0) picked up the win in relief of Rice. Rice went seven innings, striking out six, walking one, scattering eight hits and giving up three earned runs. Cofield pitched the final two innings, striking out one and allowing one hit.

"I thought we did a pretty good job on the mound today," Rice said. "I felt good today and Caleb came in and did a great job the final two innings and closed it out. This team is still finding ways to win and every win is important for us as we get closer to the postseason."

Huntingdon trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the eighth before three straight singles by Joseph Odom, Trey Smith and Jordan Freeman loaded the bases. White's single scored Odom and Smith to give Huntingdon the lead.

Huntingdon's first two runs came in the second inning. A Seth Currie double scored Evan Agnew and Grant Brown singled to score Cameron Lewis.

Lewis and Brown each had two hits for the Hawks.