Box Score Jackson, MS – The Millsaps Baseball Team scored three runs in the ninth to secure a 10-7 win over local rival Belhaven College.
The Majors rebounded from Sunday's loss with a solid win against the Blazers where both teams combined for 17 total runs and 23 hits. With the win, the Majors improve over .500 on the year, as the local matchup marks the first of three total games between Millsaps and Belhaven this season.
Millsaps got things started early with a pair of runs in the first to take a 2-0 lead. A
Lee Ogletree sacrifice fly and
Cavan Breland RBI ground out gave the Majors the early lead, but the Blazers answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Belhaven then took their first lead of the day in the third on an RBI single, which gave the Blazers a 4-2 lead heading to the fourth. Neither team would score for the next two innings, that is, until the Majors' offense mounted a rally in the sixth.
Millsaps retook the lead on a furious sixth inning rally with four runs on four hits.
Drew Wray got things started by reaching first on a Blazers' fielding error with the bases loaded. The error allowed
Lee Ogletree to score and kept the bases loaded for
Brennan Ducote.
Ducote then reached on a fielding error to score
Drew Wray – and the rally was on. Overall, the Majors took advantage of six errors by the Blazers, as
Andy Page finished the scoring in the sixth with a two RBI single to center field.
The Majors took the lead with the four-run sixth, but the Blazers again answered scoring three runs in bottom half of the inning. From there, the Majors took over scoring four unanswered runs, but it would prove to be a difficult and intense task.
A
Drew Wray RBI double down the left field line tied the game 7-7 in the seventh inning.
Chris Guerin and the Majors' defense then forced a three-up, three-down bottom of the eighth, which sent the game to the ninth all tied up.
Connor Woodall got things started in the momentous ninth with a leadoff single to center field.
Isaac Glenn was then hit by a pitch to put the potential winning run in scoring position. Following Glenn's at-bat,
Cavan Breland scored Woodall on a well-placed bunt.
Breland reached first on the play, which kept the positive momentum going with runners on the corners and one out.
Drew Wray then followed Breland's lead with another well-placed bunt, this time for a sacrifice RBI.
Glenn scored on the sacrifice bunt, as the positive ninth continued when
Joseph Stearns stepped in to pinch-hit. Stearns reached on another fielding error by the Blazers, which scored Breland and gave the Majors a three-run lead.
In all, the Majors took the lead in the ninth with three runs on two hits and two Belhaven errors.
Needing three outs for a win,
Chris Guerin and the Majors' defense quickly retired two straight Belhaven batters with a strike out and fly out to right field. Following a double, Barrett Kaul then stepped in for a save opportunity with two outs on the board and a runner in scoring position.
Down to their last strike, the Blazers singled to place runners on the corners. Kaul, however, was never fazed, as he forced a fly out that landed in
Brennan Ducote's glove – ending any comeback chance for the Blazers.
Collectively, eight different pitchers played tonight for the Majors, as
Chris Guerin earns the win and
Barret Kaul earns his first save of the season.
Drew Wray led Millsaps in RBIs with three while
Cavan Breland and
Andy Page both totaled two each.
Breland also led in hits with three as
Logan Patterson and
Isaac Glenn finished close behind with two. Now at 11-10, the Majors will look to use the positive momentum heading into another conference series this weekend.
The Millsaps Baseball Team will travel to Birmingham, Alabama this Friday to begin a three-game series with Birmingham Southern. The Panthers and Majors will play Friday, March 25th before finishing the series with a double-header on Saturday the 26th.
First game of the series is set for Friday, March 25th at Striplin Field.
