The masterful effort on the mound was one thing, but Ben Levinson also paced the Piedmont offense on Wednesday afternoon, leading the Highlanders with his arm and bat to a 3-2 victory over Saint Mary's.
Levinson struck out six in three innings to open his season on the mound, allowing just two hits to the Panthers. He also gave himself an early cushion with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first to score Kyle Spanier and give Piedmont a 2-0 lead after one frame.
The Panthers took advantage of Levinson's exit from the mound in the top of the fourth, scoring once to slice the lead in half, but Piedmont in the bottom half of the inning, as Aiden Mitchell singled up the middle to score Cal Barna, finishing a short rally started by singles from Barna and Levinson, who combined to go 5-for-5 at the plate.
Lars Derr slammed the door on the mound for the Highlanders over the final two innings, striking out four and allowing just one base-runner on a one-out walk in the top of the sixth.
