By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The LaGrange College Panthers opened a three-game series against Covenant with a resounding 14-3 home win on Friday.

They’ll conclude the series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.

The Panthers (16-6 overall) improved to 9-3 in the USA South, and they’ve won eight of their past 10 games.

The Panthers dropped the first game of their previous two USA South series, and they made sure that didn’t happen again.

Covenant had some momentum early after scoring three runs in the top of the first, but by the time the fourth inning ended LaGrange College had a 12-3 lead.

The Panthers pounded out 18 hits, and that included a triple by Joe Ruth, and doubles by McKinley Erves and Dawson Weaver.

JR Robinson was the starting pitcher, and he worked six innings to get the win.

Covenant was doing a lot of swinging and missing against Robinson, who had 11 strikeouts.

Coston Anderson and Austin Brown combined to throw three shutout innings to finish it.

Erves led the offensive effort with three hits and three RBIs, and Ruth had two hits and four RBIs.

Rhett Hollon had two hits and three RBIs, Liam Carbone had a pair of hits and an RBI, Judd Moore had two hits, Charlie Erickson had a hit and an RBI, and Cael Chatham, Dawson Weaver, Austin McDade and Jack Layrisson each had a hit.