MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Senior pitcher
Wil Wood and classmate left fielder
Sam Pitre powered the Millsaps baseball team to a 9-3, Game-Two victory over Rhodes in the SAA Opening Round on Stauffer Field at Irwin Lainoff Stadium.
Saturday's sweep in the best-of-three series advanced the Majors to SAA Championship Weekend where four series winners will meet in a double-elimination format at the end of next week. Times are to be announced, but the event will be hosted by No. 1 seed Birmingham-Southern. Millsaps enters at the No. 6 seed and will face BSC in the opening game on Thursday. No. 2 seed Centre and No. 5 seed Berry complete the field.
Wood pitched his third complete game of the season and longest of his career, going all nine innings. Using 118 pitches, the Memphis, Tenn., native struck out four Lynx, while holding the opponents to two earned runs, two walks and four hits.
Pitre posted a 4-for-5 day at the dish with two RBIs and a run scored. Graduate
Chris Hart, junior
David Abbadessa, sophomore
Bradley Pelle and freshman
EJ Ousley each recorded two hits, while the Majors combined for 16 in total. Pelle scored three times, added two RBIs and homered. Junior
Case Page also brought the power with a homer of his own.
The Majors threatened early with two runners in scoring positions and one out in the first inning. The Lynx held until Millsaps was able to scratch three runs across in the top of the second frame. Senior
Branyan Bounds led with a walk and raced around to score courtesy of a Pelle double.
A couple batters later saw junior
David Abbadessa plate Pelle from third. Graduate
Chris Hart followed with a single and steal of second base. He made it 3-0 after crossing home plate off a Pitre RBI single.
Rhodes tallied its first run of the game in the bottom of the second following a walk, hit by pitch and single with two outs. The Lynx further bit into the deficit with a run in the third, making it a 3-2 Millsaps advantage.
Pelle answered by crushing a home run to left field with the second pitch of the fourth inning. The Majors would then load the bases, but Lynx relief pitching stopped the threat with Millsaps out front, 4-2. Rhodes again responded with a single run in the bottom of the inning off a wild pitch.
Page created a repeat in the fifth by opening the frame with a solo home run. The Majors generated two more tallies in the inning to build a 7-3 advantage. Millsaps executed a double steal as Ousley made it home. Additionally, Hart posted an RBI double to score the seventh run.
Arceneaux added to the run barrage with an RBI single in the sixth, scoring Pitre from second. The Majors made it 9-3 in the seventh thanks to a Pitre single, bringing home Pelle.
Wood shut the door in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames for the Lynx. Only one Rhodes batter reached base as Millsaps earned an identical 9-3 victory in Game Two.
Stay tuned for updates on times and opponents by following @MajorAthletics on Twitter and following the baseball schedule page on gomajors.com. Live video and live stats will be available for all games at gomajors.com as well.
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.
