JACKSON, Miss. — The Millsaps College softball team earned its second consecutive ranked win by bettering No. 14 Belhaven University, 3-1 at McLeod Field on Wednesday night.
The win was the first for Millsaps (4-2) in the head-to-head matchup since the 2017 season. Belhaven (5-4) had claimed the previous 16 meetings.
Sophomore Hailey Marange delivered a complete game performance, pitching all seven innings and allowing just one earned run on five hits.
Marange faced 30 batters, striking out two while issuing only four walks. The Madisonville, La., native maintained control with 110 pitches.
Junior Ella Morgan Sears led the Majors' offense with two hits and one run, reaching base with a hit-by-pitch and holding a perfect on-base percentage.
Classmate Allana Vasquez contributed both at the plate and on the bases, recording a hit a run, and an RBI in the contest.
Sophomore Caroline Mathis added to the team's performance with a hit and scored a run, playing a key role as the leadoff.
Classmate Hailey Peterson tallied the go-ahead RBI and forced two more runners to score on erroneous throws in the top of the fourth inning, helping give the Majors a 3-1 victory against the Blazers.
Belhaven started both the second and third innings off with their first batters reaching second base, but the defensive held tough on both occasions.
The fourth inning was pivotal for Millsaps, as the Majors generated all of their runs. Mathis started with a single to shortstop, followed by a Sears single to third base, advancing Mathis.
Vasquez then singled to left field to load the bases. Peterson then delivered a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Mathis for the game's opening run.
Sears and Vasquez both scored on the play with a throwing errors by the Blazers. By the end of the fourth, the Majors led 3-0.
Belhaven threatened in the bottom of the fifth by tallying a walk and a single to open the frame. Marange and the defensive again fought off the attack with a line out, pop up and force play at second base.
In the seventh inning, Belhaven attempted a comeback. With two outs, the Blazers hit a solo home run to left field, marking the host's first run of the game. After a walk, Marange forced a fly out to Sears in center field to close out the contest.
The Majors gathered and celebrated by third base as the team flooded out of the dugout, celebrating a 3-1 triumph over the Blazers.
The Majors will be back in action on Saturday to host MUW in a doubleheader, beginning at 12 p.m. at the Millsaps College Softball Complex with live video and live stats provided at gomajors.com.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps College softball program this year follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.
