Box Score
JACKSON - Recording as many walks as hits, the Millsaps College baseball team opened the 2010 season showing patience at the plate en route to a 16-2 victory over the visiting University of the Ozarks Friday night at Twenty Field.
The Majors (1-0) scored 16 runs on 11 hits and 11 walks and as a team stole nine bases led by junior
Jeremy Aliff's three to go with four hit batters.
The Eagles' Jeremy Hogan put Ozarks (0-1) ahead in the top half of the first inning when he singled in Chris Driedric.
The Majors answered in the bottom of the first when Aliff walked to open the game and proceeded to steal second and third base before senior
Tyler Berry hit a sacrifice fly to even the score 1-1.
In the third inning, Ozarks took a 2-1 lead with a bases-loaded single from Cory Briggs but Jonathan Cox was gunned down at the plate keeping the damage to one.
Millsaps responded by taking its first lead of the game in its half of the third inning when freshman
Kevin Wall scored on an error and sophomore
Drew Leonard stole home giving the Majors a 3-2 lead.
The Majors added two more runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the seventh to take a commanding 8-2 lead.
The free passes continued to mount for the Eagles as Millsaps took advantage of two walks and three hit batters by Ozarks' John Phillips and scored a total of eight runs in the eighth inning to secure the season-opening victory, 16-2.
Junior
Aaron Williams started for the Majors and got the win pitching five innings scattering eight hits and giving up only two runs.
Jake Mills,
Boomer Hudson and
Wes Perkins combined to pitch four shutout innings in relief allowing only one Ozarks hit.
Four Millsaps players recorded multi-hit games while Leonard and
Josh Ordeneaux scored three runs apiece to lead the Majors offensively.
Millsaps will continue its three-game series with the University of the Ozarks Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at Twenty Field.