TYLER, TX- Millsaps got a double play line out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to stop a furious Whitworth Pirate rally in a thrilling 7-6 win in the opening round of the West Regional.
The win is the 700th in the storied career of Millsaps' head coach Jim Page and puts the Majors in the winners bracket of the regional. They will play old conference rival, Trinity (Tx) tonight at around 11PM at Irwin Field on the campus of UT-Tyler.
Smokey Ethridge battled through eight and a third innings to get his sixth win of the season. Daniel Ross put out the fire in the ninth to earn his first career save.
The Majors jumped on Pirates' starter Dan Scheibe early, scoring three runs in the first. Isaac Glenn had a key run-scoring double and Annon Etheridge singled home two give Millsaps the early lead. They stretched it to 4-0 when Logan Patterson scored on a double steal in the bottom of the second.
Single tallies in the second, third and fourth by the Pirates cut the Millsaps' lead to 4-3 but Ethridge did a terrific job of limiting the damage in each inning. The Majors responded with two insurance runs in the sixth on an Andy Page single to lead 6-3, chasing Scheibe from the ball game.
The Majors loaded the bases in the eighth and scored their final tally on a single from Logan Patterson, Lee Ogletree was thrown out at home trying to score a would-be eighth run.
In the bottom of the ninth, a diving catch by William Chenoweth proved pivotal and took a lead-off single off the board for the Pirates. Four straight hits by Whitworth made it a 7-4 game and loaded the bases, ending Ethridge's day. Isaac Glenn slipped on a fly ball off the bat of Joel Condray resulting in a two-run double, putting runners on second and third in a 7-6 game. Ross intentionally walked the next batter to load the bases and induced a game-ending double-play lineout.
Millsaps now stands at 29-12 on the season while Whitworth falls to 28-14. Whitworth will play the LaVerne Leopards this evening in an elimination game for the Pirates. The Majors will play the final game of the day against the Trinity Tigers who defeated the Linfield Wildcats 5-1 in a game that was started on Wednesday and concluded Thursday.
