• Game 1 Box
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Game 2 Box
JACKSON -- Millsaps closed the regular season the same way they opened it at Twenty Field in February, with a come-from-behind win, this time rallying from two runs down in the eighth inning for a 10-9 victory in Game 2 to salvage a Saturday split and clinch a 3-2 series win over conference rival Trinity.
Millsaps moved to 32-6 overall and 15-5 in SCAC play, tying its most regular season wins in school history, while Trinity dropped to 21-19 and 11-9 in league action.
In the opening game of the day, TU's Noah Solomon and Millsaps' \#Tait Hendrix\# each tossed four innings of scoreless ball in a pitcher's duel before Millsaps finally lit up the scoreboard with three runs in the fifth, without the benefit of a hit, for its first lead.
TU came back with two runs in its half of the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2, putting the first two runners on base by way of a walk and hit-by-pitch and scoring them on a Nick Pappas sac fly and Kyle Felix RBI-groundout later in the inning.
An insurance run off a perfectly executed trick play in the sixth gave the Majors a 4-2 lead, as \#Bryant Palmerton\# forced a throw from the TU first baseman when he tagged from first that allowed \#Will Hawkins\# to slide in safely at home.
Three outs away from defeat, the Tigers clawed their way back into the game in their final at-bat, scoring six runs off four hits to steal an 8-4 victory. \#Boomer Hudson\#, the Majors' top middle reliever all season long who entered with a 0.89 ERA in 41 innings, surrendered all six runs in his 1.2 innings of work to draw his first loss of the year.
In the finale, Millsaps built a 4-1 lead over the first three innings, highlighted by a solo shot from \#Hunter Owen\# in the third, before TU came firing back to knot the game at 6-6 in the sixth after trailing 6-3.
After a scoreless seventh, the expected weekend rain came pouring down to start the eighth along with the Trinity offense. Trailing the entire game, TU pushed three runs across the plate to take a 9-7 lead, thanks in large part to a John Paillet two-RBI double to right-center and Jordan Pennington's RBI-double down the leftfield line.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Millsaps found the go-ahead runs in its half of the eighth with two outs off a costly error from TU's Stosh Hoover that plated both \#Tyler Berry\# from third and \#Josh Ordeneaux\# all the way from second for a 10-9 lead.
Hawkins, who took the mound for the first time of his collegiate career to record the final out in the eighth, came out to finish the ninth. After retiring the first two in order and surrendering a walk to Dylan Early, Hawkins got Kevin Jackson to fly out to center to end the game and give the Majors their 12th come-from-behind win of the season.
"All year long I've been watching him (Will) fire the ball to second on double plays and I thought man, he has a good arm," head coach Jim Page said. "We worked with him early this week and threw a little bit and I told him don't be surprised if I hand you the ball to take the mound before the season's over."
Hawkins didnt' allow a hit in his 1.1 innings of work in earning his first collegiate win, while Eric Binder (1-4) was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs (one earned) off just two hits in 2.1 innings.
Millsaps will return to the diamond on Thurs., April 23 at Smith-Wills Stadium for the SCAC Tournament. The West's No. 1 seed, the Majors will face the East's No. 3 seed, Centre College, who won 2 of 3 games from Birmingham-Southern this weekend to earn a spot.
