JACKSON, Miss. -- On Tuesday night, the Millsaps College baseball team opened up the annual Cowboy Maloney Series with crosstown rival Belhaven University.

It was a back-and-forth game all night long with both teams exchanging the lead several times. It took an extra inning to decide the winner. In the end the Blazers plated a run in the top of the 10th, and hung on in the bottom half to escape Twenty Field with the 12-11 win.

The loss drops Millsaps to 5-7 overall on the season.

How It Happened
Belhaven opened up the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the 2nd inning. They added another run to their total in the 3rd before the Majors rallied back. 

In the bottom of the 3rd inning Millsaps scored one run on a wild pitch and two more runs on a Belhaven error. Avery Brock added a RBI single in the inning to help give the Majors a 4-3 advantage. 

The lead grew to 5-3 in the next inning when Fritz Walker III singled to bring home Sam Pitre. 

The Majors added another run to their total when Pitre led off the bottom of the 6th inning with his first collegiate homerun. 

Unfortunately, Belhaven rallied back with five runs in their half of the 7th inning to pull ahead 8-6. 

However, Millsaps would respond. 

Jon Dale Dieckman was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the 7th. One batter later Mark Petkovsek homered to tie the game at 8-8. Chris Hart and Jimmy Johnstone each had RBI singles in the inning as well. All told, the Majors used four hits and one Belhaven error to score four runs, and retake the lead at 10-8. 

The wild game continued in the 8th as the Blazers plated three runs to pull ahead 11-10. 

Millsaps yet again had the answer though. This time it was Jackson Hailey coming through with a sacrifice fly to plate Brock and tie the game at 11-11. 

Both teams went quietly in the 9th and the game went into extra innings. 

A two-out RBI double in the top of the 10th by Belhaven gave the Blazers the 12-11 lead. Unfortunately they were able to hold that lead in the bottom half to escape with the win. 

Key Contributors
Johnstone finished the night 4-6 at the plate. He scored one run and had one RBI. Pitre went 3-5, and came around to score three different times. 

What's Next?
The Majors open up Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play at No. 8 Birmingham Southern this weekend. The series gets underway with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.