LaGrange completed a sweep of its weekend series with the University of Dallas with a 7-2 victory Sunday at Cleaveland Field in Wiliamson Stadium. The Panthers upped their season record to 9-4 with their eighth straight win.
The Panthers outscored the Crusaders (7-4) 33-5 in the three games. LC scored 13 two-out runs in the series, including five more on Sunday. The Panthers batted .459 as a team with two outs.
Dallas took a 2-0 lead in the second inning off Panther starter Richie Post (1-2). The Crusaders strung together four straight one-out hits to take the early lead. Post escaped further trouble by getting an inning-ending double play.
The Panthers came back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally off Ryan Flores (0-1). The Panthers loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. McKinley Erves sent a drive to left center that center fielder Graeme Williams had pop out of his glove after a long run for it. Erves ended up at third with a bases-clearing triple and a 3-2 lead for the Panthers. Erves leads the USA South with 20 RBIs.
LC upped its lead in the fifth off reliever Jamie Wallace. Joe Ruth led off the inning with a single and went to third on Jack Layrisson's double to right center. Pearce drove in Ruth with a fly ball to the right field warning track. Cael Chatham followed with a single to center, scoring Layrisson to up the lead to 5-2.
The Panthers pushed across two two-out runs in the sixth on just one hit. Pearce's bases loaded hit up the middle drove in both runs for a 7-2 lead.
Post left the game with two outs in the fifth after allowing the two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out two. Four relievers followed Post, surrendering just two hits to the Crusaders, walking one and striking out five over the final 4-1/3 innings.
LC had eight hits in the game. Ruth had two of the hits, including a double, and scored twice. The Panthers did not commit an error in a game for the first time this season.
The Panthers host Huntingdon in a three-game USA South weekend series beginning Friday.
