JACKSON, Miss. – The Millsaps baseball team won their fourth consecutive game by downing Vermont State University Castleton, 7-6 behind an eighth-inning rally at Twenty Field on Monday.
Junior Evan Scott went 2-for-3 with two doubles, walked and tallied three RBIs. Senior and Flowood, Miss., product Case Page batted home three runners, including the go-ahead run in the eighth and generated two hits.
Graduate Branyan Bounds went 2-for-4 with a walk, stolen base and scored twice. Junior Bradley Pelle led the team with two stolen bases, three runs scored, while adding an RBI and walk to his accolades.
Sophomore Gavin Tranchina pitched 3.1 innings, while allowing one run, three hits and threw three strikeouts.
Freshman Dylan Welter struck out four batters in 1.1 scoreless innings with zero hits and one walk. Senior Graham Harrison closed out the last two innings in scoreless fashion for the win. He allowed one hit and one walk, while striking out two batters.
VTSU Castleton (0-4) topped the Majors with three runs in the first inning. Millsaps (8-3) would begin to claw back as Pelle singled, stole second as was batted home by Page in the bottom of the first inning.
Millsaps tied the game up at 3-3 in the bottom of the second inning when Scott doubled to left field to advance teammates Pelle and senior David Abbadessa home.
However, the Spartans would retake a 6-3 advantage after tallying a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Pelle made a diving catch to begin the sixth to help limit the damage defensively.
As the game continued into the bottom of the seventh, Millsaps cut into the deficit yet again as Scott used a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Bounds. Page then doubled home Pelle to close the Spartans lead to 6-5.
In the bottom of the eighth inning with the outs dwindling down, the Majors tied the contest when Pelle singled home junior Zac Farris from third.
Moments later with the bases loaded, Page would deliver the go-ahead RBI when the ball rolled to the Castleton first baseman and he was unable to play the ball cleanly which allowed Bounds to advance home.
The Spartans would try to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning with a runner on second and two outs. A single would force a throw by left fielder Bounds to the plate where graduate Robert Vassallo applied the tag for the final out of the game.
Millsaps will be back in action as they face Edgewood College on Friday, beginning at 4 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala. Live video and live stats will be available at gomajors.com.
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