Huntingdon earns hard-Fought win against Piedmont

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Junior Taylor Fought scored from second base on a single by senior Josh Hines in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Huntingdon baseball team over Piedmont 7-6 on Sunday.

With the win, Huntingdon took the series 2-1. The Hawks won 14-4 on Friday night and fell 12-3 on Saturday.

Fought led the Hawks (7-15, 4-5 USA South) with three runs and two RBIs on a 4-for-5 day. Fought also recorded his first stolen base of the season, stealing home in the bottom of the first inning to give Huntingdon a 3-0 lead.

Piedmont (13-10, 3-6 USA South) took the lead in the sixth inning and led 6-3 after the top of the seventh inning. Huntingdon answered in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game.

The Hawks scored three runs on six hits in the seventh. An RBI double by Fought scored Will Cosby to make it 6-4 and an RBI single by Luke Ates scored Fought to make it a one-run game before Hines singled to score Ates and tie the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, Fought led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ates. Hines' single up the middle capped the comeback.

Hines finished with two RBIs and two hits. Freshman Wes Powell was 3-for-4 with an RBI and Ates had two hits, an RBI and a run. Garrett Headley, Cosby and Hunter Long each scored one run. Freshman Chris Fisher finished with two stolen bases.

As a team, Huntingdon had a season-high 16 hits. The Hawks had 15 hits in Game 1 of the series on Friday. The Hawks also had a season-high six stolen bases.

Freshman Ryan Smith (1-0) earned the win in relief. Entering a tied game in the eighth inning, Smith struck out one, walked one and allowed one hit in the final two innings.

Huntingdon travels to Rhodes College on Tuesday for a 2 p.m. game.