Baseball | 4/27/2014 5:37:00 PM

Box Score LAGRANGE, Ga. -- The Methodist baseball team lost at LaGrange, 8-6, on Sunday afternoon to close out its 2014 season.
 
In the early going, the Monarchs (22-16, 15-11 USA South) got on the board with three runs in the top of the third to assume a 3-0 advantage.
 
Following Chris Power's leadoff double to right-center, Cody Molosky reached on an infield hit, and Power crossed the plate on shortstop James Maxwell's throwing error. Stephen Nalls then laid down a sacrifice bunt and was safe on Gage Mooney's throwing error. Steven Kirby followed with another sacrifice that drove in Molosky, and Mooney committed yet another throwing error. Lastly Tyler Hardee brought home Nalls on a double-play grounder.
 
The Panthers (14-23, 10-14 USA South), however, tallied the contest's next four runs, including a Cain Sauls run-scoring single in the bottom of the third. During LaGrange's next time to bat, the Panthers used four base hits, a sacrifice bunt, a balk and a dropped popup to nab a 4-3 edge after four complete innings.
 
MU tacked on its final three runs of the day in the top of the sixth. Ray Lanners hit a single to right to open the frame, and Alex Rodriguez reached a fielding error by Daniel Garrett. With Lucas Scott batting, both runners advanced on a passed ball before Scott walked.
 
Up to hit with the bases loaded and none out, Power hit a long single off the base of the fence in left, which drove in Lanners and Rodriguez, but Power was tagged out in a rundown between first and second. Now standing on third, Scott came home on a run-scoring wild pitch to make it 6-4 in favor of Methodist.
 
LaGrange tied up the action in the bottom half following a Casey Bell RBI triple and a sacrifice fly by Sauls. The Panthers tacked on the game's final two runs in the bottom of the seventh that accounted for the final score. Keith Sims and Maxwell each hit run-scoring singles to put LaGrange ahead for good, 8-6.
 
Power went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI for the Monarchs. Molosky had two hits and a stolen base and scored once, and Lanners finished 2-for-5. Mikie Morrison (1-2) took the loss after pitching 2.1 innings in relief and giving up four runs (2 ER) on three hits and one walk. He struck out one.
 
The Panthers finished with 14 base hits in all. Bell went 4-for-4 with a double, a triple and drove in a pair. Sauls had two hits, two RBI and stole a base, and leadoff hitter Jim Reed scored three times. Blake Schuck (2-2) came in relief and threw 3.1 scoreless innings of two-hit ball for the victory. He struck out two batters and walked none.