ATLANTA – The Millsaps baseball team made its mark this spring with several quality wins and outstanding statistical performances. The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) took notice and named five Majors to its All-Conference teams on Tuesday.

Mason Little and Sam Pitre earned All-SAA First Team honors, Ryan Erwin and Wil Wood secured spots on the Second Team and Alan Merkle garnered All-SAA Honorable Mention status.

Coaches from across the conference nominated and voted on the players and peers found most deserving of the honors following the regular season.
 
Millsaps' spring schedule included wins over then-No. 25 Hendrix and then-No. 23 Birmingham-Southern. The Majors also took three of four games from Oglethorpe and won both games while hosting Hendrix on Senior Day.

Little, a senior shortstop from Montgomery, Ala., started in all 34 games in 2021. He was a stalwart player with the bat and glove for the Majors. He finished tied for eighth in the SAA with 58 assists and tied for ninth with both 40 hits and 26 RBIs. His 0.345 batting average was also 12th best in the conference. Both his hit total and slugging percentage (0.405) were second on the team.

A sophomore left fielder hailing from Opelousas, La., Pitre was ranked in the top 10 of numerous statistical metrics within the SAA. In 34 starts, he averaged 0.391 at the plate (fifth best), slugged 0.582 (fourth), posted a 0.489 on-base percentage (sixth), and tallied the eighth-most hits (43) and walks (18).

His four triples were also tied for a league best, while his nine steals led the team. Pitre was recognized as the SAA Baseball Player of the Week on April 13 following his efforts during the Senior Day sweep of Hendrix.

A pair of pitchers were named to the All-SAA Second Team in Erwin and Wood. Erwin, a senior from Baton Rouge, La., was one of the top relievers across the league all spring long. The lefty recorded three saves (tied for second most), three wins (tied for seventh), yielded 14 runs in 37.0 innings pitched (second lowest), and surrendered 35 hits (third lowest).

His individual pitching accomplishments didn't stop there. He also had the sixth-lowest ERA (3.41), fifth best opposing batting average (0.236), fourth-lowest runs allowed (22) and he only gave up one home run all season long.
 
Wood, a sophomore pitcher from Memphis, Tenn., was the clear number one starter on the bump for the Majors. He was a workhorse who ended the season tied for fourth with 55.0 innings pitched. He nearly averaged one strikeout per inning with 54, which was the third-highest total in the SAA.

Wood also threw at least 6.0 innings in five of his nine starts. The Business Administration major was tabbed SAA Baseball Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 15 to begin the season after stonewalling then-No. 25 Hendrix with six strikeouts in five scoreless innings.

The final Major who earned All-SAA Conference status was senior center fielder Alan Merkle. He started 32 games, which only trailed Little and Pitre on the team. In those contests, the Ridgeland, Miss., native posted a 0.253 average, tallied 22 hits and scored 15 runs. Additionally, he drew the fourth-most walks with 10 and his 0.333 on-base percentage were fifth best on the squad for everyday starters.


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