JACKSON, Miss. – The Millsaps baseball team continues its postseason run with a visit to Birmingham for the SAA Baseball Championship Series at Striplin Field. No. 3 nationally ranked and SAA No. 1 seed Birmingham-Southern hosts No. 6 seed Millsaps in a best of three series.
Game one is set for 4 p.m. on Sunday with game two slated for 4 p.m. on Monday, while an if-necessary game three will follow 45 minutes after game two's conclusion.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Tickets will be $10 per day for adults (13+). Kids 12 and under attend for free. Fans can watch at home with live video and stats at gomajors.com. Be sure to follow @MajorAthletics and @MillsapsScores for updates on Twitter.
JUST WARMING UP
Millsaps (24-19, 11-10 SAA) is heating up at the right time. The Majors enter the series winners of 10 of their last 12 games, including series wins over (RV) Rhodes, (RV) Hendrix and Sewanee. Millsaps also went 3-1 in the Berry Pod, April 28-30 to advance to the SAA Championship Series.
AGAINST THE ODDS
No. 3 Birmingham-Southern (36-8, 18-3 SAA) won their BSC Pod after falling to Sewanee in the opening game. The Panthers advanced through the loser's bracket by beating Oglethorpe, Sewanee and Hendrix twice.
LEADERS ON THE HILL
Junior
Wil Wood and graduate
Ryan Erwin have posted stellar seasons to lead the Majors pitching staff. Wood leads the conference in wins (10-2), innings pitched (78.0) and is fourth in ERA (3.46). Erwin is impressively third in the SAA in wins (7-1) as a relief ace. He also sits sixth with a 3.70 ERA and fourth with seven saves.
GOING YARD
The upperclassmen trio of
Avery Brock,
Chris Hart and
Sam Pitre have been Millsaps' most consistent home run hitters. Brock paces with 10 dingers, while Hart and Pitre both have seven homers thus far.
MORE THAN AVERAGE
Part of the Majors' success has been due to offensive depth. A total of five starters have posted a .300+ batting average, including
Sam Pitre (.357 BA),
Mark Petkovsek (.348),
Chris Hart (.341),
Avery Brock (.326) and
Bradley Pelle (.308).
TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM
Senior
Mark Petkovsek is not afraid to take one for the team. He currently ranks second across NCAA Division III in hit by pitches with 26 in 42 games. Petkovsek is one off the leader and paces Millsaps with a .462 on-base percentage.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Andrew Dutton leads BSC with a .406 batting average, while all nine regular starters have an impressive .400+ on-base percentage.
Ian Hancock has posted an SAA-best 13 home runs, while teammates
Cole Steadman,
Noah Best and
Jack Fleming all follow closely behind with 11 each. On the mound,
Connor Adams (2.25 ERA),
Oliver Livingston (2.74),
Carter Tyus (3.00),
Davis Williams (3.14) and
Preston Jenkins (3.16) have contributed to one of the nation's deepest pitching staffs.
LAST MATCHUP
The Majors were bested in three closely contested matchups against BSC in Birmingham, March 26-27. BSC won 10-4, 9-7 (7 innings) and 10-6.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The winner of the series will earn an automatic bid as one of 60 teams to advance to the NCAA Regionals, set for May 20-22. Regionals will be hosted by select institutions, with 14 regionals featuring four teams (double elimination) and two regionals with two teams (best of five series).
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps baseball program follow the Majors on Twitter and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.
