Emory University junior Wes Peacock doubled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, capping off a comeback that gave the Eagles a 4-3 win over Piedmont College in the team's home opener at Chappell Park on Saturday afternoon.

The win is the third straight for the Eagles, who improved to 4-1 on the season, while the Lions took their first loss of the campaign, falling to 2-1 on the year.

After Piedmont took a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth, sophomore Dylan Eisner opened the bottom of the inning by drawing a four-pitch walk, advancing to second and third on a pair of pitches in the dirt.  With one out, junior Brett Lake hit a ball to shortstop, scoring Eisner from third and beating the throw to first for an infield single.  Senior Daniel Iturrey followed with a single to centerfield, before Piedmont third baseman Michael Barnes made a diving stop on a Jared Welch ground ball down the line, forcing Lake out at third for second out.

However, Peacock swung at the first pitch of the next at bat, driving the ball deep into the right centerfield gap, over the head of right fielder Evan Gresham to drive in Iturrey for the game-winning run.

Senior Mike Bitanga pitched the final two innings of the game for Emory without allowing a hit, earning his first win of the season to improve to 1-0 for the campaign.  Piedmont's Jacob Brewster pitched the ninth for the Lions, taking the loss.

The game was a pitchers dual throughout, with Emory junior Connor Dillman allowing two runs on five hits and five walks, while striking out five over 5.2 innings.  For the Lions, junior Chris Goershel allowed just one run on four hits over six innings.  However, neither pitcher would factor into the decision.

Piedmont would break the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly from catcher Austin Brick.  The Eagles would even the score in the bottom of the fifth on an infield single from Brandon Hannon, scoring Jordan Selbach from third.  However, the Lions regained the lead in the top of the sixth, when Brick singled with two outs in the frame to drive in Barnes.

Emory remained resilient, knotting the score at two runs apiece on Lake's two-out RBI single, scoring sophomore David Coble.  Including his run-scoring hit in the ninth, Lake has driven in nine runs through five games this season, while batting .591.

After an inning and third of scoreless baseball from Matt McMahon, Bitanga entered the game for the Eagles with a one-two-three eighth inning, before allowing a run on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the ninth.  However, Emory's ninth inning rally would give Bitanga the win on the day.

Iturrey finished the day three-for-four, raising his season batting average to .412 for the season, while Lake went two-for-five.  Coble, Hannon, Welch, and Peacock all had hits in the game as well, while Hannon and Lake each picked up key outfield assists in the game.

Emory and Piedmont will be back in action on Sunday, playing a doubleheader in Demorest, GA, starting at 1:00 PM.